A phone interview sounds easy, doesn’t it? You don’t have to get dressed in your best interview attire, travel to a company’s office, or interview one-on-one with a hiring manager. Instead, you’re interviewing on the phone from the comfort of home.
It’s not as easy as it seems though. You can blow a phone interview just as easily as you can blow an in-person interview. Dropped calls, background noise, not knowing about the company, and/or not being prepared to respond to interview questions can knock you out of contention for a job.
Review these tips for how to conduct a phone interview and what not to do when you’re interviewing via the telephone to make sure your phone interviews get you to the next step in the hiring process.
How to Handle a Telephone Interview
Create a checklist. Review the job posting and make a list of how your qualifications match the hiring criteria. Have the list available so you can glance at it during the interview.
Also have a copy of your resume in clear view, so you don’t have to remember what you did when.
Research the job and the company. Take some time to research the job and the company. The more prepared you are for the interview, the smoother it will go.
Prepare for phone interview questions. Review answers to typical phone interview questions and think about how you’re going to respond.
Use a land line. Unless your cell phone service is 100% all the time, use a land line instead of a cell phone. That way you won’t have to worry about dropped calls and getting disconnected.
Turn off call waiting. If you have call waiting turn it off.