Page 78 - Oscar Adler - Sell Yourself in Any Interview_ Use Proven Sales Techniques to Land Your Dream Job (2008)

SELL YOURSELF IN ANY INTERVIEW

get directions, and pick up general information before an
interview. More important, you probably will be asked to par-
ticipate in a phone interview. The sole purpose of a phone
interview is to weed you out! Your listening skills during a
phone interview will play an important role in getting you
over this first hurdle.
There are advantages and disadvantages to phone inter-
viewing. On the plus side, you can be dressed for comfort
instead of to impress. You can have your notes, résumé, and
notepad arranged to suit you, and no one will be the wiser.
On the other hand, you don’t have the advantage of see-
ing the nonverbal signs that are expressed during an inter-
view. You can’t read the interviewer’s facial expression or
body language. You must rely even more heavily on your lis-
tening skills to catch minor changes in voice and manner.
There are a number of things you can do to enhance
your phone interview experience. As in other interview
circumstances, preparation is key. In addition to the research
and other groundwork you would do for a standard in-
terview, you must make special preparations for a phone
interview.

❏ Plan to conduct the interview on a landline, if at all pos-
sible. Cell phones are notorious for poor connections and
dropped calls. If you must use a cell phone, pick a place
where you know that you get good reception. Never
attempt a phone interview while you are driving. In addi-
tion to being unsafe, you will not be able to give the
interviewer your undivided attention.

❏ Turn off your call waiting. If you don’t know how to do
this, contact your phone company.

❏ If you live with someone, be sure that they know that you
will be interviewing and that they should not interrupt.

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