{"id":8424,"date":"2020-02-11T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T09:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8424"},"modified":"2020-10-15T16:01:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T15:01:18","slug":"phone-interview-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/phone-interview-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Phone Interview Do’s and Don\u2019ts"},"content":{"rendered":"

One way to prepare for your future career is to pursue the appropriate qualifications.\u00a0 You may not have as much flexibility as others and could benefit from home learning courses<\/a>.\u00a0 However, once you have evidence of all the skills you require for a job, you need to find one.\u00a0 Well done if your application attracts attention.\u00a0 However, now you may need to go through a phone interview.\u00a0 It is different meeting people in person.\u00a0 You have a lot more tools to impress the interviewer.\u00a0 Consequently, how to prepare for a phone interview is different.<\/p>\n

The phone interview is often used to screen a larger pool of talent before a more formal, face-to-face process is undertaken.\u00a0 Therefore, it’s another step in the process of screening, and you will have more to do before the job is yours.\u00a0\u00a0 The phone interview isn’t about cutting corners; it is a means of minimising expenses and only involving candidates who have a serious chance of the position.<\/p>\n

The \u201cDo\u2019s\u201d of phone interviews<\/h2>\n

Prepare<\/h3>\n

It would be best if you prepared for your phone interview in the same way as a traditional interview.\u00a0 It would help if you started by compiling a list of your strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 You should also put together a list of questions to ask the interviewer.\u00a0 It is never a good idea to say that you have no questions, as it looks like you are not fully engaged in the process.<\/p>\n

Another way to prepare is to match your qualifications to the job description, as this will help you give examples about why you are a strong candidate for the post.\u00a0 Prepare a copy of your CV and highlight the key dates of when you have held specific positions and the skills exhibited at this point in your career.<\/p>\n

Practice<\/h3>\n

You may think you are adept at talking on the phone<\/a>.\u00a0 However, it is more of a skill than you realise.\u00a0 Therefore, rehearsing the questions over the phone with a friend or family member is a sound suggestion.\u00a0 Focus on how you pronounce words and what happens when you falter.\u00a0 You need to be more aware of those moments when you stumble, or you are considering an answer.\u00a0 Speak with the person practising with you and seek advice on the impression you gave.<\/p>\n

It might also be a good idea to record your answers.\u00a0 You will be surprised by the number of ums and ahs and noises that indicate your uncertainty and your nerves.\u00a0 When you hear the potential issues, you can practice in everyday speech, trying to overcome this in your normal conversational speech.<\/p>\n

Ready yourself<\/h3>\n

You then need to make sure you know the details of the call.\u00a0 It would help if you had a warning set up that reminds you 15 minutes before the interview, so you can make sure the environment around you is as perfect as it can be.\u00a0 If the caller doesn’t ring bang on time, don’t panic, they may be falling behind schedule.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The \u201cDon\u2019ts\u201d of phone interviews<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t be in a busy place<\/h2>\n

You have researched, prepared, practised and made yourself ready for the call.\u00a0 It is time to consider all the pitfalls to avoid.\u00a0 An obvious one is to avoid taking the call while you are driving or when you are in a busy place.\u00a0 If you take the call and cannot continue the interview for one reason or another, you are going to appear unreliable. Reliability is the number one quality that an employer is looking for in its staff.\u00a0 A bad start in this way cannot be walked back.<\/p>\n

You should not only make sure you are in a quiet room with do not disturb on the door, but you need to be sure you are answering the call yourself.\u00a0 You need to let family members and housemates know that you are expecting a call and you should answer.\u00a0 Then, when you answer the phone, don’t just say hello.\u00a0 Respond with your name in a perky tone, letting the interviewer feel confident they are speaking to the right person.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Interrupt<\/h3>\n

Do not interrupt the interviewer.\u00a0 They have no visual cues. Therefore, you need to listen to the whole question<\/a> and then begin your answer.\u00a0 It would help if you had a notepad with you so you can note down ideas as they come to you.\u00a0 This is especially important if the question is quite involved, with multiple parts.\u00a0 You do not want to ask the interviewer to repeat a long question.\u00a0 If you miss a part of the item, ask questions to clarify this point of the issue.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t speak until you know the answer.\u00a0 Pause, live with the quiet.\u00a0 Then, begin your answer when you know your response.\u00a0 If you need a long time to think, ask for the question to be repeated or ask a question about the subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One way to prepare for your future career is to pursue the appropriate qualifications.\u00a0 You may not have as much flexibility as others and could benefit from home learning courses.\u00a0 However, once you have evidence of all the skills you require for a job, you need to find one.\u00a0 Well done if your application attracts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-advice"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/phone-interview.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Nick Cooper","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/author\/nccnickcooper\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38703,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8424\/revisions\/38703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ncchomelearning.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}