Telephone Interview Tips

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Soldato
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
12,957
All the interviews I've had in my life have been face to face.

I have my first telephone interview on Thursday morning. This can have its pro's and cons:

Pros:
- Don't have to travel to the interview.
- You'll be more comfortable answering questions in your own home.
- You can have notes ready on the coffee table whilst you answer questions.

Cons
- The interviewer can't read your body language so will not be able to guage in depth if you are really passionate about the position.
- Telephone connections can cut off.
- Doesn't seem as real as a face to face interview.



So OcUK, can you give me any tips on answering questions in telephone interviews?
So far I've had:
- Be concise and to the point.
- Don't talk fast, don't talk slow. Talk clearly.
- Don't talk with a monotone voice. Express words which carry more emphasis.


Ta. :)
 
I will have to do one of these in a few weeks, really not looking forward to it. I have no problems doing a face to face interview.

And you would have to have a pretty bad line to not hearing someone smashing on a keyboard googling answers!
 
Showboat said:
And you would have to have a pretty bad line to not hearing someone smashing on a keyboard googling answers!
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I could do it on my laptop easily enough - or my phone even without the noise being heard.

But you can tell if someone is looking something up my the change in intonation and speech speed.
 
groen said:
Tip for any interview is that you have to try and convince the person doing the interview that you are worth the money per year that they are offering. If you don't know rather say that, than give a wrong stupid answer.
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I always find the "what are your salary expectations?" question crippling, as I tend to over think. Especially as quite a few jobs I've seen have very wide brackets, or not advertised.
 
i have an interview on friday, i have to call in sick at my current job and then go to the interview...

I always find the "what are your salary expectations?" question crippling, as I tend to over think. Especially as quite a few jobs I've seen have very wide brackets, or not advertised.
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depends what job it is and what they are offering, i always try and get more and they always want to hire me for less. i always use the "my last job i was on xxx"
 
Print out your CV and covering letter and anything else related to your application as no doubt they will be quizzing you directly on that for at least a small part of the interview.

Is this a competency based, technical or general interview?
 
Reference one of the OP's cons about telephone interview not being as real as face-to-face: I've had two telephone interviews and both of them led me to a subsequent real interview. Therefore don't be surprised if they ask you later on to come to a real interview.
 
Monserrat said:
Reference one of the OP's cons about telephone interview not being as real as face-to-face: I've had two telephone interviews and both of them led me to a subsequent real interview. Therefore don't be surprised if they ask you later on to come to a real interview.
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It could be that there are many possible candidates and that a telephone interview is a cheap and easy way of thinning the field.

OP: Don't fap whilst on the phone.
 
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