| The Phone Interview is usually the first real contact | | | | question and to ask them questions. The best way to |
| between the job seeker and the company. This can | | | | show friendliness is to actually smile while you are |
| be nerve racking for some job seekers who are new | | | | talking on the phone. Just doing this will cause you to |
| to the process or are having difficulty getting to the on | | | | be more friendly on the phone. The other tip here is to |
| site interviews. We take a look at several Phone | | | | try to make the interview into more of a conversation |
| Interview Tips that when mastered will enable you to | | | | than a question and answer period. This will allow you |
| approach all phone interviews with confidence and | | | | to stand out more and give you an opportunity to win |
| increase your odds of getting to the next round. | | | | the interviewer over to your side. |
| 1. Prepare for several types of interview questions. | | | | 3. Have your questions for them ready prior to the |
| The phone interview is an early screen interview | | | | interview. In any interview, you will have some |
| where you can expect to see three types of | | | | questions that you will want answered. These could be |
| questions: (1) resume-related, general interview | | | | as simple as what is the next step in the process, who |
| questions, and (3) behavioral interview questions. For | | | | will I be interviewing with, or what is the salary range |
| this reason, it is important that you practice answering | | | | for this position. The bottom line is you need to have |
| these types of questions prior to the interview. If time | | | | thought about these questions beforehand to ensure |
| is an issue, you can write out your answers in bullet | | | | that you do not forget to ask them and risk missing |
| form on note cards and paste them on the wall. Then, | | | | out on some important piece of information. |
| if you get stumped during the interview, you can refer | | | | 4. Get the interviewer's contact information for a thank |
| to these note cards without the interviewer knowing. | | | | you letter. It does not matter whether you are being |
| However, you still want to be thoroughly prepared to | | | | interviewed by a secretary, HR representative, or the |
| answer these three types of questions so you can | | | | boss, get in the habit of asking for their contact |
| give off the best impression. | | | | information. You need to send a thank you letter out to |
| 2. Show interest and confidence over the phone. If | | | | everyone who interviews you. You do this because it |
| there are two things every job seeker must do is (1) | | | | gives you a chance to leave them with a positive |
| show them that you want the job and (2) be friendly | | | | impression of you and can be used as a tool to |
| and professional. One of the best ways to show them | | | | market your best skills one last time. |
| you want the job is to have prepared answers to their | | | | |