How to do a Telephone Interview

“Despite having an excellent work profile and educational background, why haven’t I landed a good job?” Is this a nagging thought in your mind? There are various ways for any company to test your skills and knowledge and one such way of testing you is “Telephonic Interview”

Varun, who passed out from a Engineering college at Pune was a fresher and felt lucky to get a telephonic interview rather than a interview in person. But you have to be aware, telephonic interviews are much more difficult to crack as in most cases, it offers more competition as the number of applicants are more in case of telephonic interviews.

So how to do a telephone interview? Here are some telephonic interview tips

1. Prepare yourself for a Big Day

A day before your telephone interview, visit the website of the employer for whom you have to appear for the telephone interview.

You should be absolutely clear about the business of the company which you will get in the “about us” page of company website.

To know more about your job specifications clearly, one must read “career” or “work with us” page on the website which will give you an overview of the key skills required for the profile.

2. Finding a Soft Spot

The best place to give a telephone interview is your own house. Find a quiet and a soft corner in your house & send all your family members, children and your pets away from your room. I have personally seen that most of the telephonic interview sessions end up an unsatisfied employer or HR because of high disturbance in the background.

3. Know your Resume

Yes, read your Resume 10 times before you appear for your interview and try to step into the shoes of interviewer and try to think as many possible questions you can think while reading your Resume.

Then after getting questions, try to get the best possible answers for those questions in your mind. Don’t cram them but just try to have fair ideas about these questions in your mind

4. Always carry your Resume

It is always advisable to carry your resume while you are being interviewed telephonically. It would be quite awkward when an interviewer asks you a certain point from your resume and you are not carrying your hard copy of resume.

5. Check the name of Interviewer

A lot of interviews start with a name of the interviewer mispronounced & this leaves a bad impression in the mind of the person taking the interview. If the name is new or difficult, do check the name of your interviewer by calling up your HR before the interview date.

6. Remove your Mental Stress

Take a deep breath. A lot of candidates appearing for telephonic interview or any other interview start thinking about negative ideas

• What if I don’t clear a interview
• What would I answer if the interviewer asks him about this?
• I am not a smart enough person to give a interview for such a position or such a good company

These are the kind of questions which will only make you uncomfortable before any interview. One must keep these ideas aside before appearing for the interview. Try to think positive in your mind that companies want talent like you only. And if they want more talent, then they must offer me double the package what they are offering me for this position

7. Keep a rough paper & a pencil handy

One should keep his/her hands free when appearing for the interview. The interviewer may ask you to do some number crunching or solve a particular case study.

Or he may give you some Shakuntala Devi puzzle to solve to check your smartness. So be prepared for that also. May be a hands free phone would be useful for such a scenario

8. Asking about the next step before ending

Before you sense your telephonic interview is ending, ask the interviewer about the next steps and try to gather some contact details provided by the person. And if you have a work email id of HR, send him a “thank you” mail which will reduce your chances that they will miss out on your name

9. Have a Glass of Water

Last, but not the least, have a glass of water on your table. A glass of water keeps your mind cool during increased stress levels

Conclusion

Telephone Interviews should be treated with same calmness and passion as an in-person interview as it’s only your words which can impress the other person. Keep these points in mind and wishing you good luck for your telephonic interview

After reading this article, I am sure Varun won’t face any problem in cracking the telephonic interview and would have landed a good job to start his professional career