Give me your best (phone) interview advice

[hamster]

Apparently you all give good job search advice, since now I have a phone interview later this week. Any words of wisdom? I've only done two phone interviews before, and they are hard!

[Deleted]

Be in a quiet room, talk with a smile in your voice, have prepared talking points, don't walk around, sit up, know that silence is okay, and be confident.

I hear phone interviews all day long in my office and that's what I've gathered so far.

ETA - Congrats!!

[y4m]

Phone interviews are awesome because you can have notes - your resume, a copy of the job description, maybe a notes on a few good stories of work-related triumph you want to work in. And you can write out 5-7 thoughtful questions you want to ask.

Use a landline and headset in a quiet space whenever possible. I recommend dressing professionally too, because it puts you in the right state of mind.

[mlvmd]

Have your resume in front of you as we'll as a list of examples and notes for any questions you think they might ask.
I've heard standing up can help but have never tried it myself.

[hamster]

Unfortunately I'll have to do it during my lunch break, and I live too far from home to go there so I'll have to sit at a park or something. I like the idea of having notes though!

[Deleted]

Be careful not to talk over the interviewer.

Make your points briefly. I tend to zone out doing phone interviews when the interviewee just drones on. Tell the good stuff in the first part of the answer.

Know about the job you're interviewing for--hunt down any contacts with the company, etc to find out whatever you can.

[thegooser]

When you are done talking, stop talking. Don't ramble on to fill the silence. Good luck!

[bronxgirl]

I've only had one phone interview, but I felt much mopre confident b/c I didn't have to worry about how I looked, if I was nervously fidgeting, stuff like that. I agree with the idea of keeping a few notes in front of you.

[orangeblossom]

Nov 26, 2012 17:40:31 GMT -5 y4m said:

Phone interviews are awesome because you can have notes - your resume, a copy of the job description, maybe a notes on a few good stories of work-related triumph you want to work in. And you can write out 5-7 thoughtful questions you want to ask.

Use a landline and headset in a quiet space whenever possible. I recommend dressing professionally too, because it puts you in the right state of mind.

Dressing professionally definitely gets you in the right frame of mind, IMO. Good luck.

[sunshinedaydreams]

I usually try to highlight a few key points in the job description that I can quickly pick out if they ask me something like, "Why do you think you're a good fit for this position?" Then I'm not fumbling for an answer. I have a concrete example of what they're looking for and how I've met/can meet that criteria.

I've done several phone interviews in the past couple of months in my car. It should be fine. Just make sure you leave yourself enough time to be sure you're parked in an area with good reception. And be sure you have a notebook or another solid surface in the car with you so that you can take notes without stabbing your pen through the paper. (I learned that one the hard way. :-))