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Phone Interviews: The 37 Most Essential and Extraordinary Tips That Will Get You To the Face-to-Face

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Phone Interviews

I am very pleased to announce that we are starting another blog series for you (past ones were How to Answer Interview Questions and the Fastest Way to Find a Job). This phone interview series will give you the most essential and extraordinary tips to help you succeed in the super-critical phone interview!

Phone interviews are often the very first step of the interview and hiring process. You’re not likely to get a call to come in and interview without some kind of conversation on the phone first.

How Important Telephone Interviews Really Are

Your resume got you the phone call. Now this one 10-minute conversation is THE deciding factor as to whether or not you’ll get the interview. That’s how important it is.

This is the gating process companies use to whittle down their list of candidates. You will not get a second chance here. This is the make-it-or-break it moment that determines whether or not you can be in the running for the job.

Why Companies Do Phone Interviews

You know how strong the competition is. You know how many people are applying for your job. Companies and hiring managers don’t have time to interview them all. So they run you through this little conversational test to see if you’re worth spending an hour on in a regular interview. This way, they can meet with more people in less time.

Time is the most valuable thing that hiring managers have. That’s why they do phone interviews. Time is money. If they’re talking to you, they’re not producing. If they can be more efficient with that time, they’re going to do it.

They get some extra bonuses out of it, too. For one thing, there’s less commitment involved. In a phone interview, they don’t feel bad if they decide to cut the call short because they’ve decided against you in the first few minutes. It’s a lot easier for them to give you a thumbs down and move on if they’re not looking at you and haven’t gotten to know you.

Why People Succeed or Fail in Phone Interviews

Job seekers fail in the phone interview for two major reasons: they don’t take it seriously enough, and they don’t take into account the unique challenges a phone interview poses for them.

Phone interviews, just like other interviews, are really all about communication. Here’s the problem: the vast majority of communication between people is visual, not the actual words they say. Think about body language, facial expressions, gestures, all the things that affect how your words are coming across. Those visual cues really do give you an advantage. On the phone, those cues are gone.

If you take the phone interview as seriously as a face-to-face interview, and you learn to work with the unique circumstances of a phone interview, you can succeed.

Why This Series

Each article in this series will give you another “lesson” in phone interviews: How to prepare, what to say, how to follow up, and much more. There are so many details involved in a good phone interview that you might not have even thought of. That’s OK…we’ve thought of it for you. All you have to do is follow along.

Come back often in the next few weeks to see all 37 phone interview tips.

Click the link below to see what’s been published so far.

Phone Interview Tips - List

Tips 1- 37 Click to expand

Phone Interview - Tip 1 -- Check Your Voicemail Greeting
Phone Interview - Tip 2 -- The Best Time to Set Up Your Call
Phone Interview - Tip 3 -- Where’s the Best Place for a Phone Interview?
Phone Interview - Tip 4 -- How To Keep Your Focus
Phone Interview - Tip 5 -- How to Build Your Confidence
Phone Interview - Tip 6 -- How to Project Enthusiasm
Phone Interview - Tip 7 -- Use Cheat Sheets
Phone Interview - Tip 8 -- Research the Interviewer
Phone Interview - Tip 9 -- Research the Company
Phone Interview - Tip 10 -- Prepare Answers to Common Phone Interview Questions
Phone Interview - Tip 11 -- Practice Your Phone Interview
Phone Interview - Tip 12 -- How to Hit Your Phone Interview Goals
Phone Interview - Tip 13 -- The Best Phone for Your Phone Interview
Phone Interview - Tip 14 -- Your Phone Interview Voice
Phone Interview - Tip 15 -- How to Give the Interviewer What They’re Looking For
Phone Interview - Tip 16 -- How to Project the Right Image Over the Phone
Phone Interview - Tip 17 -- Help Them Qualify You for the Face-to-Face Interview
Phone Interview - Tip 18 -- Speak the Right Body Language
Phone Interview - Tip 19 -- Secret Tricks to Phone Interview Success
Phone Interview - Tip 20 -- Ask Questions
Phone Interview - Tip 21 -- How to Listen Well
Phone Interview - Tip 22 -- Don’t Talk Too Much
Phone Interview - Tip 23 -- Watch Your Language
Phone Interview - Tip 24 -- Phone Interview Etiquette
Phone Interview - Tip 25 -- Getting the Face-to-Face Interview
Phone Interview - Tip 26 -- How and When to Follow Up
Phone Interview - Tip 27 -- Biggest Phone Interview Mistakes
Phone Interview - Tip 28 -- Small Phone Interview Mistakes That Cause Big Problems
Phone Interview - Tip 29 -- Things You Should Never Say
Phone Interview - Tip 30 -- Make a Phone Interview Checklist
Phone Interview - Tip 31 -- Relax, Be Calm, and Make a Good Impression
Phone Interview - Tip 32 -- Good Telephone Communication Tips
Phone Interview - Tip 33 -- Typical Phone Interview Questions
Phone Interview - Tip 34 -- Thank You Notes
Phone Interview - Tip 35 -- The One Question You Should Ask
Phone Interview - Tip 36 -- How to Keep Them From Screening You Out
Phone Interview - Tip 37 -- How to Prepare for a Phone Interview

Can I Interest You In A Bribe?

This information is so important I'm willing to 'bribe' you in order to get you to attend. Of course it's an ethical bribe. In fact I am willing to bribe you three times. You NEED to get this information if you are in a job search.