It’s common for companies to use this selection method to weed out applicants for job openings. Sometimes so many candidates apply for a position that a first screening step is a brief phone contact with them. This is called a phone screening interview.
In it, they’ll check the details on your CV, explain the job offer in detail and try to discover the candidate’s interests from their tone and their answers to the questions. It’s a way of eliminating candidates who don’t meet the requirements before a more complex selection process. The way the candidate answers is something the HR specialist takes into account when deciding whether to invite the person they interviewed by phone to the next stage.
If you’re a candidate and they call you, be careful and be on your best behaviour. They’ll always catch you by surprise, probably at a bad moment, but they aren’t aware of your personal circumstances, only of their own, and theirs are to move you on to the next round or to eliminate you.
How to be ready for a phone interview
When we phone someone, we pick up on the mood or interest of the person taking the call: when they’re annoyed, when we’re bothering them, when they don’t greet you with enthusiasm and eagerness, or when they simply treat the call as a formality. I’m sure you’ve picked up on these feelings in a phone call at some point.
The same thing happens when Company X calls you as a candidate. The first impression reveals surprise or reluctance, enthusiasm or lack of motivation. From my own experience, I can say I’ve made many calls of this kind, and the first impression you get tells you what response you’ll get from the candidate. Those who take the call gracefully stay on for the next stage; those whose first impression, by ear, is poor don’t make it through.
We can put the call off until later. Yes, fine. By agreeing on a time and day for the call, we’ll even be better prepared to respond to their questions. However, postponing must be done with extreme courtesy and while showing the greatest interest in the caller. Let’s not forget to offer to make the call ourselves, and even to note down who is calling so we can address them personally. The same goes for the name of the company calling and the reason. Imagine we’ve sent our CV to several companies: this way we’ll find out which company is getting in touch.
It makes a bad impression not to remember, at the moment of the call, which job ad we sent our CV for, or some detail in our cover letter or CV. That’s why it’s a good idea to have it to hand, along with all the necessary documents, when the call comes: it gives our answers confidence and shows interest in the caller.
Don’t forget to clear up your doubts
This is the moment to have our list of questions ready to ask once the company has finished. That list lets us learn what we don’t know about the company or the ad we applied to. It’s also our chance to show that enthusiasm and interest in the job and the company, putting the right emphasis on our questions or suggestions.
Even though it’s a phone interview, let’s look after our image. Let’s not answer from a bar, where the background noise says a lot about the candidate. It also signals a lack of interest or motivation if the candidate answers from bed or with a negative attitude.
Remember that your voice gives you away. We’ve all noticed yawns over the phone, or someone talking with their mouth full. Our academic profile and work experience are the only things the company knows about us when it calls, but it will pay close attention to the other sounds in the conversation, and also to the way we answer.
The tone of the conversation
Some people have pleasant voices and some are “gruff” on the phone. That comes across, and we’ve all experienced it when calling somewhere. Let’s take care of this detail when we’re called for a job interview by phone.
Let’s not repeat words, and let’s not use hesitant language either. Let’s be practical and aware of what we’re answering, conveying quality and confidence. The words should be just enough, and concise. Let’s not ramble in our answers, nor use terminology the other person can’t easily understand. A phone interview is quick and agile; let’s not make it longer than necessary, as that would work against us.
Featured image: Nenad Stojković, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
