Telephone interviews are becoming more popular these days. Whether that’s good or bad depends on how you handle them!

Sometimes telephone interviews are used as a pre-screening technique for all candidates. Other times they are reserved for candidates who live far away.

Regardless of the reason, you must take them as seriously as an in-person interview.

In other words, you must be prepared if you’re going to ace the test. Here are six steps that will help you do just that:

#1. Take the call when you’re ready. If an employer calls and wants to do the interview when you’re not expecting it (instead of setting up an appointment), excuse yourself politely (”I’m in the middle of something right now”) and offer to call back in ten minutes. This will give you time to prepare.

#2. Get rid of distractions. Take the call on a phone in a quiet room away from co-workers, radio, television, family, roommates, or anything else that may make noise or take your attention away from your task.

#3. Gather your tools by the phone. These include:

Your resume


Pen and paper to jot down notes, including the interviewer’s name


Company research (with relevant information highlighted)


Questions to ask about the company and position


A list of your selling points to mention, and items to cover as you talk about the position. These include your best qualities, specific experience and skills related to the position, and personal traits such as dedication, enthusiasm, and team-building skills.

#4. Stand up to talk. Your position affects the quality of your voice. If you are sitting down relaxing, you don’t project the same enthusiasm and intensity as you do if you’re standing up. Also, smile as you’re talking. It will come through in your voice.

#5. Make a good sales presentation. You are selling yourself, so make sure you do it well… Just as you would during an in-person interview. Ensure that you’ve covered all the selling points on your list. (You do have a list, don’t you?)

#6. Let the employer end the interview. When it’s obvious the conversation is over, don’t try to drag it on. Say “Thank you for your time,” reiterate your interest in the position, and ask what the next step will be.

Follow these steps, perform well on the telephone, and you’ll be invited to an on-site interview with the hiring manager!

Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, “Career-Life Times.” Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.Best-Interview-Strategies.com

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The job interview tends to be where the job is won or lost.

Often, you don’t get a lot of valuable feedback from a company after you’ve interviewed with them but have been told you didn’t get the job.

Sometimes they will simply tell you they’ve decided to hire someone else who they felt best suited their requirements, other times they might throw you a bone and give you a hint as to why you didn’t get the job.

The fewer details you get regarding why you didn’t get a job, the harder it becomes to actually figure out how you can improve your performance during interviews in the future.

At the end of the day, job interviews are how you separate yourself from other job searchers and having as much information at your disposal is how you will win the job.

As a recruiter, I’ve taken many phone calls from hiring managers where they have explained why one of my candidates did or didn’t get the job. In many cases where the candidate didn’t get the job, the feedback the hiring manager gives me is often the complete opposite of what the candidate told me after the interview.

In other words, the candidate told me the job interview went great. The hiring manager told me the opposite.

Since you can’t always guarantee being told why you didn’t get the job, here is some typical interview feedback that I get from both job searchers and hiring managers regarding the same interview.

In other words, here are both sides of the story so you can ensure you aren’t making mistakes during interviews that you might not even be aware of:

Job Searcher: I answered all the questions they asked me.

Hiring Manager: They gave vague answers on some questions and couldn’t properly answer several others.

Job Searcher: I arrived for the interview on time.

Hiring Manager: They arrived 30 minutes before the interview started and had me paged the moment they arrived. I was in another interview at the time so this really disrupted things.

Job Searcher: I filled out their application when they asked me to.

Hiring Manager: They complained about having to fill out our application and they didn’t bring a pen and had to ask me for one. They left some important areas blank.

Job Searcher: I wore a nice suit to the interview.

Hiring Manager: They wore an ill-fitting suit and they wore white socks with their dress shoes. They didn’t present very well.

Job Searcher: I have all the skills they are looking for.

Hiring Manager: Many of the skills they have are theoretical ones they learned at school. Some of the others skills aren’t as developed as we require or haven’t been used in several years.

Job Searcher: I asked them some questions regarding the job when I was prompted.

Hiring Manager: They asked about the salary we are offering and asked about the benefits plan. They seem money motivated.

Job Searcher: I felt really confident about this interview. I think it went really well.

Hiring Manager: They seemed very nervous and they tripped over their answers. Their answers were long-winded, they didn’t make eye contact with me and they fidgeted a lot. I don’t think they were really interested in the job to be honest.

As you can see, there are certainly two sides to every story, or in this case every interview. Are you doing everything as well you think you are during the interview?

Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur and professional recruiter who wants to help you find your dream career.

Visit Carl’s website to separate yourself from other job searchers: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com

Sign up for The Effective Career Planner, Carl’s free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html

Please feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your website but please don’t change any of the content and ensure that you include the above bio that shows my website URLs.

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This article is continued from ‘15 Ways To Sell Yourself Effectively In A Job Interview - Part One’.

6) Know Your CV (Resume) Inside Out

Everyone who has ever applied for a job has written their CV (Resume) more than once. If you’ve written your CV more than once then there’s a danger that you won’t know which version your prospective employer is looking at. You cannot let this happen. The best way of avoiding getting important details of your previous experience wrong at the interview is to bring along another copy of your CV for yourself. You shouldn’t have to think about what you did in previous job roles when being interviewed. Knowing your CV inside out will help you be a lot more spontaneous with your responses and aid the fluidity of the interview.

7) Listen To Each Question Meticulously

Don’t presume what your interviewer is going to ask you. Too many interviewees answer the question that they think they’re being asked instead of the question that is actually being asked. Make sure that you concentrate fully on the question and don’t start forming your answer until the question has ended. If you fail to listen to the question fully not only could you answer incorrectly, you’re failing to demonstrate effective listening skills.

Involve Multiple Interviewers Equally

You have to prepare to be interviewed by two people. Being interviewed by two people is different compared with being interviewed by one quite simply because you may have to deal with two different personality types. On the other hand, one of the parties may simply be taking notes. However, you need to ensure that you are aware of the role of each party in order to make sure that one of the interviewers’ doesn’t think that you are paying more attention to the other person conducting the interviews.

9) Smile

A smile is worth a thousand words in an interview. A smile not only relaxes the interviewer, it relaxes you. It helps you keep things in perspective. A smile shows the interviewer that you’re approachable and caring. It shows the interviewer that you have the personality to form a good bond with your co-workers and that you have the ability to relate with and negotiate with your customers. Don’t forget to smile when appropriate at your interview. Don’t forget to show your interviewer that you have a lot more to you than the ability to answer questions like a robot.

10) Use Open Body Language

Remember that your interviewer only has one opportunity to judge your personality. Your interview will probably be no longer than an hour and possibly a lot less. That means that you have a very short time to make a good impression.

By ‘closing’ your body language you significantly decrease the effectiveness of your answers to the interviewers’ questions. This means that with the best will in the world, your interview won’t be listening to you talking as much as they should be because you arms may be folded or you may appear too slovenly.

This article will be concluded in ‘15 Ways To Sell Yourself Effectively In A Job Interview - Part Three’.

David Bain is a consultant to http://www.uteachrecruitment.com - a specialist teaching jobs recruitment agency. U Teach Recruitment is based in Coatbridge, Scotland and brings schools and teachers together from all over the UK.

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