Technology has made a lot of things easier for employers. One of this is the fact that they can be able to screen applicants through phone interviews.
It is one thing to apply for jobs and it is another thing to keep tabs on the applications you have made. It is annoying when an employer calls you in regards to a role you had applied for but are not even aware of what the job description is all about or not much research has been put into what the potential employer actually does. No employer will take you seriously.
Technology has made a lot of things easier for employers. One of this is the fact that they can be able to screen applicants through phone interviews. No employer wants to call you for an interview and feel like they wasted their time. Interviewing candidates for various roles is very expensive for a recruiter to do and is second to the cost of hiring the wrong candidate thus the reason most employers’ first conduct phone interviews.
An interested employer may call beforehand to schedule a phone interview or it might be an out of the blue thing. I believe photographers get the best shots of people when the people they are photographing are caught off guard. The photos that I treasure most of myself were taken without me being aware. Not being prepared captures the subject in their natural setting. It is almost the same for a phone interview as the recruiter will get to know you better. How first you settle your mind to the interview after the introductions have been made by the recruiter all depends on you as the candidate.
Here are a few tips on what to do when you get a phone interview:
1. Be prepared
A recruiter will never start interviewing you without introducing herself and the reason she/he called. Hence you need to have your mind settled. If it was unexpected, as she does the introductions, begin thinking of what you would say if it was an actual face to face interview. Don’t overthink things as you will start having a lot of ‘hmm’ ‘uhm’ moments which might make the employer think you have difficulty expressing yourself.
2. Think of it as a friendly chat
Any recruiter who wants to know you and took their time to go through your CV out of the thousands of CVs they receive, must have been drawn to something. Think of the call as friendly but official. Use official language to communicate and be articulate in your diction. If you are not in a position to talk, always ask the employer if it would be okay to schedule the phone interview at your convenient time.
3. Answer your phone
Some people have made it part of their lives never to pick calls from strange numbers or numbers that they don’t have saved on their phones. This might be okay for someone who is not job hunting. But if you are, it would be good to reconsider your thinking. Inviting people for interviews is mostly done via phones unless a company’s official communication channel is via email. If for some reason you are not able to pick and you have a voicemail message, let it be a message that is appropriate within any business setting.
4. Sell yourself
Phone interviews are done to eliminate candidates who the employer felt would be worthy considering but are not 100% sure about, thus you need to sell yourself. Answer all questions as you would a face to face interview. Remember, there is no harm in trying. You can either win or lose. That is the worst that can happen.
