Lots of applicants don’t take telephone interviews seriously, often not seeing them as important as face-to-face interviews. However, telephone interviews can have a huge impact on your success and are crucial to the progression of your application. Here are our top 10 tips to help you succeed in your next telephone interview!
Speak Clearly
Try to speak as clearly as you can throughout your interview to make sure that the interviewer hears everything you’re saying and that they are able to take note of everything you’re saying. Mumbling and speaking quickly can cause the employer to miss important points to your answers and could cost you a role.
Location
Make sure that you take the call somewhere quiet! If you’re given a specific time for your telephone interview, make sure that you plan to be in a quiet location. Minimising any background noise and removing yourself from a busy room will ensure the interviewer can hear you. A calm and quiet location will stop you from getting distracted, ease your nerves and help you answer questions more effectively.
Charge Your Phone
If you plan on using your mobile for the interview it’s essential that you make sure it’s charged! If you miss your time slot waiting for your phone battery to charge, or if your battery dies half way through the interview, it can lead an employer to question your organisational skills and you may miss out on the opportunity.
Be Professional
Make sure that you are polite and stay professional throughout the telephone interview. Speaking informally during the interview, using terms such as ‘mate’, can show lack of respect and make the interviewer question your professionalism.
Ask Questions
It’s really difficult to gauge the interviewer’s reactions during a telephone interview, as you won’t be able to read body language and facial expressions. If you’re unsure if you’ve answered a question correctly don’t be afraid to ask! Asking questions such as ‘Is that what you were asking?’ or ‘Would you like me to go into more detail?’ can make a huge difference to your success!
Take Notes
Taking notes during a telephone interview is a great way to ensure you ask relevant questions. Notes can also be a big help when you reach the next stage of interviews, as they can give you talking point and highlight areas to research before your face to face interview.
Be Prepared
Make sure that you read through the job description before the interview so that you are able to tailor your answers to suit the role. You can even try having the job description in front of you during the interview to refer back to. Also, carrying out some research about the company prior to the telephone interview will ensure your answers are relevant and give you an edge over other candidates.
Have Your CV Nearby
Make sure that you have your CV close by during the interview. You can refer back to this when asked about your experiences and it can give you talking points. However, don’t just recite your CV! Use it as a guide and expand upon it. An employer will likely have your CV in front of them so it’s important you don’t just read it word for word!
Don’t Eat
Don’t eat during your telephone interview! It can be really tempting to eat when you’re on the phone, especially if you’re sat at home next to a packet of biscuits. No matter how hard you try to hide that you’re eating, your interviewer will know! Eating will make it much harder for the interviewer to understand your answers and will create a bad first impression. Crunching on the other end of the phone is really off putting and will likely harm your chances of progressing to the next stage.
Smile!
Although it may seem silly, a great may to sound enthusiastic on the phone is to smile! Try smiling during your next telephone interview, it will improve your tone and help to demonstrate to the interviewer that you’re seriously interested in the role.
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