Phone Interviews

Apart from being a Social/New Media Assistant for the office of Career development, I’m also a Resident Assistant for the Residence Life Department of Chestnut Hill College. During a meeting with my Residence Coordinator (my supervisor), we were discussing her future job options once she leaves Chestnut Hill College. She brought up the fact that she had interviewed at several places (including Penn State University) and she had a phone interview lined up in the upcoming weeks. Earlier on in the year, I had heard about phone interviews but this truly got my interest piqued regarding phone interviews. After asking some questions of other job seekers, I learned that phone interviews are quite important for job seekers With that in mind, I fully immersed myself in research and came up with some tips for those who will have to face phone interviews in their quest to locate jobs.

First, it’s important to know that employers use phone interviews as a way of  identifying and recruiting candidates for employment. Furthermore, phone interviews are often used to screen candidates in order to diminish the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews. They can also be used by companies in order to lessen the costs of interviewing a candidate who is out-of-town or out-of-state.

After figuring out what phone interviews are used for, I conducted some high-class research in order to find out some tips for a successful phone interviewing tips.

• Use a landline - Although cell phones are the choice of communication for most of the younger generation, when it comes to a phone interview, you should play it safe and use a landline. Don’t allow outside noises or a choppy cell signal keep you from an awesome opportunity. Making the call from a landline leaves less room for misinterpretation and cuts the odds of disconnection to a minimum
• No pets allowed – Look everyone loves their pet but no one is going to think any less of you if you move your pet for the duration of the interview. If you conduct the phone interview from home, do it in a pet-free room. Make sure your cat, dog or bird is occupied and safe in another room, so barking and meowing is out of earshot. As cuddly as they might be, don’t give a pet the opportunity to be a distraction during this important phone call.
•  Be ready! – Prepare all of the materials you will need for the interview and be at the location of the call at least five minutes early. The interviewer can call early. In fact, some hiring agents use this as a tactic to test candidates. If you want to take it a step further, have a physical copy of your resume and the job description in front of you during the call. Type up a bulleted list of items you want to cover during the conversation.

Hopefully, now you are prepared for any future phone interviews that come your way. Good Luck, Griffins!