艾拉费舍尔的脚:Preparing for Phone Interviews

If you don‘t like surprises, follow these preparation suggestions to reap applause for your telephone performance.

Keep your telephone well stocked

Keep one telephone stocked with all your interview essentials. Must-haves include the following:

• Current resumes

• A list of answers to anticipated key questions

• A list of points, such as specific skills and achievements, that you want to mention

• A calendar, with all scheduled commitments

• A folder for each company you‘ve applied to -- put any correspondence in this folder

• A notepad, pen, and calculator

Make telephone appointments

Whenever possible, don‘t answer questions when the call comes in, but schedule an appointment for your telephone interview so that you can be ultra-prepared -- you have to take your child to Little League, you‘re repainting your apartment, or something. Find a reason to be the one who calls back.

If a recruiter insists on calling you back, do what you would do for any other interview: Be ready early. This may sound surprising, but as a reminder to interview as a professional, change out of your jeans and into the type of dress you‘d wear in a face-to-face business meeting.

How do you sound?

Recruiters rely on your telephone presence in deciding whether to call you in for a face-to-face, so make the most of your vocal graces:

• Speak loudly enough that you can be easily heard.

• Use correct grammar.

• Use complete sentences.

• Avoid pauses.

• If your voice is high-pitched, try to lower it a bit.

Most importantly, put warmth in your voice. Smile. You should sound energetic and enthusiastic. A few rounds with a tape recorder will help finesse your vocal performance.

The screening script

When the oh-so-important call comes, follow these tips to get yourself off the telephone and into the interviewer‘s office:

• If you have a home office, use it because it‘s businesslike.

• Gather essential information -- At the start of the conversation, get the caller‘s name, title, company, address, and telephone number. Read back the spelling.

• Be a champion listener -- Prove that you‘re paying attention by feeding back what the interviewer says.

• Expect challenges -- Some telephone interviewers ask candidates to join them in an improvisation.

The interviewer sets up a job-related scenario for a role-play. The interviewer may, for example, play a boss asking why a deadline was not met, a vendor trying to change the terms of a contract, or a disgruntled customer; your challenge is to try your hand at acting out the situations in the pretend problem. Interviewers say they‘re looking for creativity and a cheerful spirit. They downscore you if you run out of talk early in the exercise or refuse to go along with the game.

• Be coachable -- If the interviewer criticizes one of your role-play answers, don‘t get defensive. The interviewer is testing you. Instead, recognize the objection and try to understand it. After you get a handle on your weakness, revise your answer to show that you understand and that you‘re willing to take direction.

• Provide feedback and ask for it in return -- After making a statement, inquire, Is this the kind of information you‘re seeking? Or Have I sufficiently answered your question about my managerial experience? Be sure that the interviewer is listening and that you say things the interviewer wants to hear.

• Don‘t rush -- Make a heroic effort to feel relaxed and speak exactly as you would in an interviewer‘s office.

• Divert important questions -- Tickle interviewers‘ interest by answering most of their questions. Then, when they ask a particularly important question, give them a reason to see you in person. Tell the interviewer that you can better answer that question in person: That‘s an important question -- with my skills (experience) in _____, it‘s one that I feel I can‘t answer adequately over the telephone. Can we set up a meeting so that I can better explain my qualifications? I‘m free on Tuesday morning -- is that a good time for you?

Decide beforehand which questions can best be put off. You can use this tactic two or three times in the same conversation.

• Push for a meeting -- As the call winds to a close, tell the interviewer, As we talk, I‘m thinking we can better discuss my qualifications for (position title) in person. I can be at your office Thursday morning. Is 9:30 good, or is there a better time for you? Remember, what you want is an in-person meeting. Assume you‘ll get it and give the interviewer a choice as to the time.

• Say thanks -- Remember to express your appreciation for the time spent with you.

• Remember to write a thank-you letter -- Just because the interview was via telephone doesn‘t negate the wisdom of putting your thanks in writing (fax, postal mail, or e-mail).

Remember, telephone interviews can screen you out of the running in the first leg of the race. Avoid getting skunked by stating only the positive and eliminating the negative.

The salary question

Telephone screeners often ask you to name an expected salary. Play dodge ball on this one. You don‘t know how much money you want yet because you don‘t know what the job is worth. If the interviewer persists, flip the coin and ask the interviewer to identify the range for the job for someone with your qualifications. If pushed to the wall, give an estimated salary range with a spread between $15,000 and $20,000.

Psychological readiness carries the day

Are you psychologically ready to work a telephone interview as effectively as you would an in-person discussion? You have the same challenge to establish a rapport with the caller and communicate effectively.

Be ready to use stories, examples, and anecdotes to prove your skills and sound believable about the contributions you can make. Have a list of your own questions ready to ask the recruiter. Preparation makes the difference in whether you‘re invited to take the next step in the selection process.