5 Tips For A Successful Phone Interview

More and more employers are deciding to interview candidates via phone, especially if the prospective employee lives in another city or state. Telephone interviews have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage is that you have to sell yourself using only words and the tone of your voice. You won’t be able to impress them with your physical presence. There are, however, ways to nail a phone interview. Below are 5 tips for a successful phone interview.

If you prepare properly for the interview, you have the advantage of being able to have notes right in front of you, and the comfort of familiar surroundings. Most tips that can be applied for face-to-face interviews can also help you in telephone interviews. But, there are also some extra things that you can do for a phone interview. These include:

• preparing some relevant notes and practicing answers to possible questions

• paying attention to your tone: a note of irritation or frustration in your voice will be much more noticeable over the phone

• restating the question asked to you. This will give you more time to prepare an answer, prevent long silences over the phone, and ensure you properly understood the question.

[tweetthis]Here are five additional tips to help you gain success in a phone interview.[/tweetthis]

1. Eliminate distractions.

Make sure you are in a quiet place away from people, TV, pets, etc. This will allow you to keep 100% focused on your interview.

2. Make a conscious effort to be energetic, and smile while speaking.

This will project into your voice and make you sound warmer and friendlier. Your goal should be to convey to the interviewer that you are an upbeat and outgoing person.

3. Tailor your answers to the company you’re interviewing with. 

You are apt to get a lot of scripted questions in a phone interview, so try to answer each question in a way that is specific to that particular company or position. Your goal should be to show how your set of skills and background will benefit the specific role.

4. Try to make a personal connection with the interviewer.

This can seem harder over the phone, but is necessary to make a lasting impression. You’re marketing yourself to the company, so try to talk about how your specific skills and personality will solve any problems that the company is facing, or how you will fit in with the company’s character. Attempt to change the tone of the interview from a question-answer format to a discussion of the present situation of the company and what you can bring to the table to improve things.

5. Be confident.

And leave the interview with an open invitation to continue talking. Express interest in continuing the conversation at a later date. This will help the interviewer to remember that they will want to get to know you better.

If you follow these steps, you’ll be sure to land the phone interview and distinguish yourself from the rest of the candidates.

Have you had a successful phone interview using these tips or others? Comment and share. Need additional assistance? Reach out to Candace to learn more!