Page 29 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

22 Nail the Job Interview!

minutes, an office interview may take an hour or more. The telephone
interview is especially cost effective when applicants are from out of town,
since it saves the expense of bringing several in for face-to-face interviews.
Since employers can be expected to conduct screening interviews with
greater and greater frequency as interview costs increase, it pays to be
prepared when your telephone rings.
If you receive an initial phone call from an employer, assume you are
being screened for a later face-to-face interview. Take this telephone
interview as seriously as you would one in any other format. What you
say and how you say it will probably determine whether you will be
invited to a hirindplacement interview.
With this in mind, it is advisable to have an area by your telephone
equipped with everything you will need to come through the unexpected
screening interview with flying colors. A pad of paper, pen, copy of your
resume, a calendar (with commitments noted) are basic elements. It is
also a good idea to have a list of the organizations which you have
contacted in your job search; the names of individuals to whom you have
sent your resume (or talked to previously) listed; and a folder or notebook
with copies of all your job search correspondence organized alphabetically
by company. If, however, you are contacted on your cell phone, you may
not be in a situation conducive for handling this screening interview, such
as being at work, driving, or in a meeting. Ask to call back (“17m irt n
meeting right now. Could I callyou back in a haEfhour?”) so you will have time
to get better organized for handling this screening interview.
Keep the essential elements you need to be prepared for the telephone
interview available at any location where you are likely to receive a call
from a potential employer. If you have listed both your home and work
numbers on your resume or application, you could receive a call at either
place. If your present employer doesn’t know you are engaged in a job
search, you may wish to keep your interview essentials organized in your
briefcase in the event you get a call at work. However, if you have no
private place at your office where you could conceivably talk on the
phone, you may prefer to ask potential employers not to call you at your
present place of employment. Alternatively, you may want to ask the
interviewer if you could call her back at a specific time - convenient to
the interviewer - since you are in the middle of an important meeting.
This will give you time to collect your thoughts and find a more private
location from which to handle the telephone screening interview.