December 13

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

Interviewing Skills and Tips, Job Interview Advice, Job Interview Preparation, Job Interview Questions and Answers, Job Interview Skills, Job Search, Job Search Success, Job Search Tips, Jobseekers, Phone Interview Questions, Phone Interview Tips, Phone Interviews

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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 Interview Tips Series

Table of Contents

Phone Interview Tips 1-10
  1. Phone Interview Tip #1 -- Check Your Voicemail Greeting

  2. Phone Interview Tip #2 -- The Best Time to Set Up Your Call

  3. Phone Interview Tip #3 -- Where’s the Best Place for a Phone Interview?

  4. Phone Interview Tip #4 -- How To Keep Your Focus

  5. Phone Interview Tip #5 -- How to Build Your Confidence

  6. Phone Interview Tip #6 -- How to Project Enthusiasm

  7. Phone Interview Tip #7 -- Use Cheat Sheets

  8. Phone Interview Tip #8 -- Research the Interviewer

  9. Phone Interview Tip #9 -- Research the Company

  10. Phone Interview Tip #10 -- Prepare Answers to Common Phone Interview Questions

Phone Interview Tips 11-20
  1. Phone Interview Tip #11 -- Practice Your Phone Interview

  2. Phone Interview Tip #12 -- How to Hit Your Phone Interview Goals

  3. Phone Interview Tip #13 -- The Best Phone for Your Interview

  4. Phone Interview Tip #14 -- Your Phone Interview Voice

  5. Phone Interview Tip #15 -- How to Give the Interviewer What They’re Looking For

  6. Phone Interview Tip #16 -- How to Project the Right Image Over the Phone

  7. Phone Interview Tip #17 -- Help Them Qualify You for the Face-to-Face Interview

  8. Phone Interview Tip #18 -- Speak the Right Body Language (Yes, Even On the Phone)

  9. Phone Interview Tip #19 -- Secret Tricks to Phone Interview Success

  10. Phone Interview Tip #20 -- Ask Questions

Phone Interview Tips 21-30
  1. Phone Interview Tip #21 -- How to Listen Well

  2. Phone Interview Tip #22 -- Don’t Talk Too Much

  3. Phone Interview Tip #23 -- Watch Your Language

  4. Phone Interview Tip #24 -- Phone Interview Etiquette

  5. Phone Interview Tip #25 -- Getting the Face-to-Face Interview

  6. Phone Interview Tip #26 -- How and When to Follow Up

  7. Phone Interview Tip #27 -- Biggest Phone Interview Mistakes

  8. Phone Interview Tip #28 -- Small Phone Interview Mistakes That Cause Big Problems

  9. Phone Interview Tip #29 -- Things You Should Never Say

  10. Phone Interview Tip #30 -- Make a Phone Interview Checklist

Phone Interview Tips 31-37
  1. Phone Interview Tip #31 -- Relax, Be Calm, and Make a Good Impression

  2. Phone Interview Tip #32 -- Good Telephone Communication Tips

  3. Phone Interview Tip #33 -- Typical Phone Interview Questions

  4. Phone Interview Tip #34 -- Thank You Notes

  5. Phone Interview Tip #35 -- The One Question You Should Ask

  6. Phone Interview Tip #36 -- How to Keep Them From Screening You Out

  7. Phone Interview Tip #37 -- How to Prepare for a Phone Interview

Click to expand question sets, then click individual questions to read the article.

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.

Phone Interview Tips

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 for the 37 Phone Interview Tips.

 

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  1. Hi Peggy, I just wanted to stop by and thank you for all these wonderful resources. I am a few weeks out from completing postgraduate studies as a mature age student and will be interviewing for positions in mid September, 2013. I will be stopping by your site and blog over the next few weeks to start my preparation, and have subscribed to some of your resources.

    Phone interviews are not my favorite I must admit. For some reason I am more nervous on the phone than in person, so these tips have really helped.

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