Telephone Interview Tips

[Dr.EM]

Are you familiar with the Arnold Schwarzenegger soundboard? They will be expecting you to use it throughout so try to become experienced with it.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

"I want to ask you a bunch of questions and I want them answered immediately! Who is your daddy and what does he do?"

 

[Furton]

Look for competency based questions on the internet and write down bullet points or ideal answers to questions they'll ask you.

 

[Moredhel]

Wear nothing but your underpants and sit in the comfiest place you can. You will never have a more relaxed interview.

 

[Ricochet J]

So far the questions I have prepared are:

1. What are the most important skills for the job?


2. What are the company’s long and short term goals in engineering?


3. What kind of challenges might I face in the engineering scheme?


4. When would I hear from you regarding the outcome of my application?


Trying to think of a 5th and final question.

Does anybody see any problems with the questions I'm asking?

 

[Ekim]

So far the questions I have prepared are:

1. What are the most important skills for the job?

Shouldn't you know the answer to that?

 

[meghatronic]

Trying to think of a 5th and final question.

Can you guess what colour underwear I'm wearing?

Personally I don't like pre-written questions to ask. They sound obviously faked. Should be spur of the moment.

 

[Ricochet J]

Shouldn't you know the answer to that?

They're accepting applicants from most engineering disciplines and haven't listed the minimum requirements.

 

[SoundsGood]

Use a headset/handsfree kit.

 

[nst68]

Do it standing up and still dress appropriately for an interview, you'll feel more focussed.

Dress up for it and do it standing up. Trust me - this will result in a more professional sounding interview.

Definitely do his.

I know it sounds a bit strange, but it does work.

Putting on a suit will (probably) subconsciously get you into the right frame for the interview, and standing up makes you focus on what you're doing.

 

[V4NT0M]

Just be yourself...

HAHAHAHA, only kidding, are they likely to ask you psychometric questions? If so get a list of the common questions and prepare some answers, oh and use a bluetooth headset.

 

[semi-pro waster]

I'd go against the advice of stand up while on the phone, I tend to pace about if I do that as I just generally don't much like being on the phone but obviously that may differ for you.

However as mentioned make sure that you'll have no distractions and stay focused on the questions they are asking. Having a copy of your CV in front of you might not be a bad idea either as a prompt for when you've been able to demonstrate attribute X or skill Y.

 

[memyselfandi]

- Go to the loo first so you don't need to during it.
- Have a (non-alcoholic) drink near by which you can sip if your mouth/throat gets dry.

 

[Dave****]

Smile while you on on the phone. Sounds odd ye, but you can tell.

And Good Luck!

 

[Steve2000]

Very important to relax. Don't think about it too much and just take it as it goes. Think of it as just a basic chat between two people. Don't rehearse your answers too much as it will sound canned, just imagine it's one of your mates asking you questions about your job, strange as it seems.

 

[KNiVES]

Wear a suit!

 

[bigredshark]

Don't cheat and look stuff up, you've no idea how obvious it is...