SOME FACTS ABOUT TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW
Some job advertisements invite a telephone response, especially if the job involves great use of the phone. It is a way of checking your telephone manner, and a satisfactory conversation may be followed by a request to come for interview or to complete a formal written application.
Before you pick up the phone to dial an advertiser, have your CV by you, so you can answer relevant questions accurately. If you are job hunting, keep the following items near the phone or on you:
- CV
- Letter of application for any job, plus enclosure
- Note pad and pencil
- Diary, so you are prepared to make an appointment.
If you have been sending out different versions of your CV to match different advertisements, it is essential to know which one is being referred to at the time. Don’t have your computer skills CV in front of you when the caller is responding to a telesales CV.
Warn others in the house that you are sending out applications, so they can be prepared to take calls in your absence; ask them to fetch you to the phone immediately or take a clear message if you are out – name, number, company name, best time to call back. Interviewers also use the telephone to vet applicants, whether they have written in on spec or in answer to an advertisement. It is cheaper than face-to-face interviewing, and is a quicker way of making up a shortlist. They may ask for clarification of a point in your CV or application, or simply be using this as the reason for calling to vet your speech and communication skills.
Try not to be flustered when a call comes, and answer the questions. If you can sit comfortably while talking and smile – even though no one can see you – a friendlier image of you will be received at the other end.
Make a note of :
- The name of the person calling
- The organisation
- Address and phone number
- Directions on how to get there.
If there is time, confirm the arrangement in writing; it looks very efficient.
If you have to phone back, be prepared for large organisations to answer with recorded messages and a ‘menu’ which you can access with a press-button phone only. If you still have a dial phone, keep your cool and hold on until the end of the message and, one hopes, someone who speaks to you, live.