Improve Your Phone Interview Skills: 5 Tips to Prepare for a Phone Interview
Smile while you talk. Did you know that people can hear you smile? People who heard someone speak but couldn’t see them were able to correctly identify when the speaker was smiling. Smiling into the receiver of the phone is a great way to show that you have a pleasant personality and will get along with other employees.
Get dressed. If you wear your professional work clothes while on the phone, your professionalism will shine through as well. When you’re wearing casual clothes, your tone of voice seems much more casual than if you’re wearing a suit or dress.
Keep important documents close. Have a copy of the job description and your resume in front of you when you have your phone interview. That’s a good way to talk about your experience on your resume as it relates to the job description you’re interviewing for. Have a pen and paper handy to take notes if necessary.
Avoid phone interruptions during your interview. A call waiting signal can interrupt your train of thought or interfere with hearing what the interviewer is saying. You can disable call waiting on most phones by first dialing *70. When you are finished with your interview and hang up, your call waiting feature will be automatically reactivated.
Eliminate all distractions. Get rid of all unnecessary noise during your interview. Children, pets, televisions, radios, and computer videos should not be within hearing range while you are conducting the interview.
Here are some more tips to remember during your phone interview:
*Speak slowly and clearly. It’s okay to take a few seconds to collect your thoughts.
* Do not smoke, chew gum, eat or drink.
* Address the interviewer by their title (Mr. or Mrs.) and their last name. Don’t use their first name unless they ask you to.
* Do not interrupt the interviewer.
* Do not go into extensive details over the phone. Keep your answers short and save the details for a face-to-face interview.
*Thank the interviewer and ask if it would be possible to meet in person.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Your phone interview is the first impression the interviewer will have and will determine whether you advance to a face-to-face interview. Take advantage of the resources at JobPrepCenter.com to make sure your first impression really wows them!