Tips to Guarantee a Successful Phone Interview

Finding new talent is an expensive process for so many companies across the business landscape.  Companies spend thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars each year, acquiring new talent.As the job search begins, often the first step of any job interview process is going to be speaking to someone on the phone.  Usually this will be a recruiter for the firm you are interviewing with, or possibly an HR or hiring manager.  The purpose of this initial interview is really to screen candidates (read: eliminate) before moving them to the next step of the process, which often times will mean an in-person interview.It is important to note that each job posting can receive hundreds of resumes and applications, and the true purpose of the phone interview is to discover the candidate’s true interest in the job, try and turn over any glaring red flags, and ultimately get a feel for if the candidate will be a fit for the position and the company culture.While you really cannot gain employment from a phone interview, you can certainly eliminate yourself if you are not careful.  Here are some helpful tips to prepare and follow up with each of your phone interviews.

1) Research the Company

Doing a small amount of research in preparation for each phone interview can go a long way to demonstrating your knowledge, and shows respect for the company you hope to work for.  Having the information to write a doctoral thesis is not necessary, but you should know basic facts such as: what year the company was founded, what industry they primarily work in, and where the headquarters is located, in addition to other relevant history and recent news.Here are a few example questions you can ask yourself as you research:

• Did they transition to a different industry in the last 10 years?
• Have they been in the news recently?
• If they are a publicly traded company, how is the stock price doing during the past year?
  • Bonus: If the company is publicly traded, reading a company’s 10-K financial report (a 10-k is an annual report that gives a comprehensive summary of the company’s financial performance) can give you great insight to not only the company’s financial health, but also a detailed overview of their business and the future outlook of the company.
• Are they acquiring companies, or have they been acquired?

By doing adequate research on the company, not only will you be finding out information you can possibly use in your interview, but it is important to remember that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.  If you google them and several recent lawsuits or accusations of sexual harassment come up, it may not be the best environment to work in and that is information you will want to have when going into your interview.

2) Research the Interviewer

Researching your interviewer can give an interviewee a better feel for who they will be talking to, as well as possibly finding common ground to possibly connect on.  Maybe you grew up in the same state where they went to college or, better yet, attended the same college. Or maybe you see in their biography online that they enjoy surfing or were a college athlete.  It could be a hundred different things you find out, but do not feel pressured to “use” that in the interview.  You are just simply gathering information, and if it does come up in the interview, you simply talk about it and try to make it a small point of connection.  You never know what may make you stand out to an interviewer.You can often find out who is interviewing you because it will be the same person contacting you to set up the phone interview, or your contact person will simply tell you who you will be interviewing with.  It is also perfectly normal for you to ask who you will be speaking with on the phone interview and what their role is with the company. A simple Linkedin or google search should give you all the information necessary to become familiar with your interviewer.

3) Be Prepared to talk about Yourself

You may feel as if you do not have a whole lot to talk about when it comes to your work or life history.  It is perfectly normal to feel this way, and what I would say is that everyone has a story to tell, so find your story.  The interviewer is not going to be looking for you to have authored any books or started any companies, just be honest about how you got to where you are today and do your best to let you personality come through as you talk about your journey.For recent college graduates, they will certainly be asking you about is to talk about your education history.  Being honest is always the best approach in these situations, so do not feel like there is a wrong answer.  Everyone’s story is their own and it is really important that you own your story.  Got suspended your freshman year for plagiarism? Be up front about it, but also talk about what the experience taught you.  The interviewer will respect your honestly, and it will look even better if you can illustrate what you learned about yourself as you went through this adversity.I think it is important to remember that there is no wrong way to answer their questions.  You control the narrative.  If it takes you 7 minutes to talk about your experience working at the bagel shop while paying your way through college, make sure you are telling that story.  The ability to tell those stories and convey what you learned from your previous experiences are what will ultimately set you apart from the rest of the candidates.  Be honest and let your personality shine!

4) Be prepared to address concerns

No one has the perfect resume or experience.  Whether it is your GPA, a suspension in school, or a gap in work history, it is important for you to be self-aware and recognize what someone may question you about on your resume.  Whatever the concern may be, spend some time and think about how you would answer the question.  The interviewer may not even bring it up or ask about it, but it is important to think about in case it is brought up.When you are asked about any concern, my suggestion would be to tell a succinct account of the situation surrounding the concern for context (not a 5 minute story), say what happened, and then address what you learned from the situation or how you remedied the situation.Example: You have a 2.7 cumulative GPA for your undergraduate degree, be prepared for the interviewer to ask you point blank why it was not higher.Interviewer: “Why was your GPA so low?” You: “Well I know my GPA is not a true reflection of what I am capable of.  Honestly, college academically was quite an adjustment for me and I did not truly learn how to study until the end of my Sophomore year.  So although my GPA was close to 2.5 my first 2 years in school, when I finally did learn what it took to be successful academically, my GPA was well above 3.0 my last few years in school.”Be short, calm, and honest with your answer.  Although you may not like the tone of the question, sometimes interviewers will ask you questions like this more to see how you react or if you get rattled easily by the question, rather than actually being concerned about your GPA from 3 years ago.

5) Prepare to Ask Questions

Asking questions throughout or at the conclusion of the interview is critically important.  Your questions display your interest in the position and also give you, the candidate, the opportunity to show your intelligence with the questions you choose to ask.DO NOT ask about:

• Length of lunch breaks
• Vacation time
• Dress in the office
• What food is in the break room

These things can be addressed later in the process and, ultimately, are not important in getting the job.  If you ask these questions, it lets the interviewer know that you are focused on the fringe aspects of the job, rather than the job itself.Think about what will be important to you in accepting a job. Good questions to ask in the phone interview are:

• “Do you have a training program?” and “What does the training program look like for new hires?”
• “Can you describe to me what the company culture is like…”
• “Is there opportunity for advancement in this position?”
• “What would you say are the most common challenges for people in this position?”
• “What are some personality traits that you think lead to the most success in this position?”

Really anything that shows next level thinking or growing within the company can not miss, and can also give you great ammunition for later on in the interview process.  If the phone interviewer tells you that the most successful people in this position are competitive, be sure to make a note of that so that as you progress through the interview process, you can make sure and emphasize your own competitive nature.

6) Close the Interviewer

A critical step in each interview is closing for the next step.  One easy way to do this is when it feels like the interview is coming to an end, or you have asked your last question, ask the interviewer these two questions:“What are the next steps in the interview process?”AND, most importantly:“Do you have any reservations about moving me to the next step of the interview process?”This gives the interviewer an opportunity to honestly tell you about any hesitations he/she may have in moving you forward, AND allow you, the interviewee, one last opportunity to address these concerns and reassure the interviewer that you are indeed a good fit for the position.If there are no reservations, ask what the next steps are, and when you should anticipate hearing from her/him.  If they say they have to talk to this manager and then have a meeting, just try and get them to say a day, and say: “Ok great. I look forward to hearing from you next Wednesday, and if I don’t hear from you then, I will reach back out on that Thursday”The important thing is to leave the interview with either a confirmation for the next step or at the very least, a date you expect to hear from them by and when you can follow up with the interviewer.

7) Follow Up

Once the interview has concluded, be sure and send a follow up email.  This email does not have to be fancy, but simply say how nice it was to speak with them, how excited you are about the position, and that you are excited to hear back about the next steps in the process.I also think it is a nice touch if you can add something detailed that you both talked about during the interview.  Maybe it was the way they train new hires, or something that was discussed about the company culture.  By adding something specific about the interview, it shows you are detail oriented and can help separate you from the group of other candidates that just send a boring “Thanks for the time today” email.

8) Reflect on your Performance

The last thing is to take note of your performance.  It is important to analyze areas that tripped you up or how you could have answered certain questions better. Maybe you worked out that morning and gave you that extra boost of confidence.  Or maybe you ate a chili cheese burger for lunch and didn’t quite feel 100% for the interview.  Whatever it is, it is always important to recognize things you did well, and areas you can improve on for next time.