Maximize Your Chances: Phone Interview Etiquette

In an increasingly fast-paced world, phone interviews are quickly becoming the norm. They allow interviewers to “weed-out” potential candidates, thereby decreasing the amount of time they must spend on face-to-face interviews. And, while they may only be a first-step in the process, nailing a phone interview is crucial in moving forward and is therefore key in a successful job placement.

However, many people have never had a phone interview or simply feel uncomfortable selling themselves via a telephone conversation. If this is you, or you just want to brush up on your skills as you prepare to take the leap to your next career, read on. Think you’re the perfect phone interviewee? Read on anyway. It never hurts to brush up.

1. Provide accurate contact information – Ladies and gents, this is crucial. Don’t be that person. Check, check and re-check to ensure that all of your information is correct. You wouldn’t believe the number of times our office has reached out to a seemingly perfect candidate to set up an interview, only to find out that the person’s email or phone number is incorrect on their resume. You can’t have a phone interview without a phone number. Buh-bye.
2. Try to get the interviewer’s phone number in advance, even if they’re calling you – The interviewer will appreciate your thoroughness if you ask for this. While you’re at it, confirm their time zone and, once again, that they will be calling you (or vice versa).
3. Make sure you answer the call – There’s nothing more frustrating to an interviewer than setting up a time to talk only to reach a voicemail when they call. Sure, life happens, but if you’re not answering the call, you had better have a really good reason. Which leads us to our next point…
4. Set up a professional voicemail message – No one plans on missing the call but, just in case, set up a professional sounding voicemail message. We don’t need a “Hey, it’s __________. You know what to do.” Instead, introduce yourself, first and last name, and suggest the caller leave a voicemail while also assuring them that you will return their call as soon as possible. Follow-up on that promise as soon as you’re available.
5. If you did miss a call, note the caller’s first and last name – There is a good chance that you will not be calling a direct line. The receptionist will need this information to direct your call. Not only that, but people talk in an office. If you’re a disorganized disaster when speaking to the receptionist, your interviewer is going to hear about it. Make a good first impression with everyone you speak to at the organization, not just the interviewer.
6. Whenever possible, use a landline and limit outside noise – If you don’t have a landline, do your best to ensure good reception. Further, do not use speaker phone and limit outside noise such as children, pets, chewing, television, etc. No matter how professional you may sound, it’s hard for an interviewer to move past outside distraction and noise or, worse, to have to waste their time playing phone tag after your poor reception causes a dropped call. Oftentimes, interviewers will have multiple calls back to back – they do not have time to mess around with phone tag and may disqualify you on the spot.
7. Smile when speaking – We’ve all heard it. “Smile more!” But did you know that people call tell whether you’re smiling or not based entirely on your voice and how you sound on the phone? No one wants to talk to an Eeyore. Smile.
8. Take this interview seriously – Again, this is just as important, if not more so, than the subsequent steps thereafter. Do your best to prepare for the call. Research the company, research the hiring company, take all of the information available to you and do your best to sound educated with regard to what they do.
9. Have a list of talking points – Build a bulleted list of personal and professional strengths that would apply to this position. Try to naturally work some of these strengths into the conversation – back it up with examples. Additionally, make sure you have a copy of your resume and cover letter in front of you for when the interviewer references the same. You may think you know it like the back of your hand, but you’d be surprised what nerves can do to your memory.
10. Provide clear, concise answers – Do not get sidetracked with unrelated matters or force yourself down a rabbit hole of nonsense. Again, most interviewers have multiple calls a day – they don’t need to hear about that one time in eighth grade when your crush asked you to the school dance. If it isn’t applicable to the position and the question at hand, leave it out.
11. Do not interrupt – Do NOT, we repeat, do NOT interrupt the interviewer. More than likely, they will ask if you have any questions. At this time, go ahead and feel free to ask any questions that you came prepared with (make sure they haven’t already been answered in the course of the conversation) as well as any questions that have arisen from the conversation.
12. Do NOT bash your current or a former employer – We don’t need that kind of negativity in our lives. Stay positive. Your boss was an awful human being and you need/needed to get out in order to stay sane? Well, maybe you should just leave it at having “differing professional standards.” We’ve heard it before – maybe we’ve experienced it before. We understand what you’re saying and we appreciate your efforts to stay positive.
13. Follow-up with a thank you note – Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Thank the interviewer for their time with a brief follow-up. This gets your name back in front of the interviewer in a positive light and can set you apart from the possibly dozen other candidates.

So there you have it, folks. Our lucky 13. We can’t guarantee you the position but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ensure that you’re doing absolutely everything to at least maximize your chances through proper phone etiquette and follow-up. Good luck!