Essential Tips for Acing a Phone Interview

Phone interviews are very common for job applicants as hiring managers look to narrow down the talent pool without spending as much time with each potential candidate. If you are asked to do a phone interview as a part of your job search, you want to make sure that you ace the interview so you can move into the next phase of the hiring process and ideally end up with the job of your dreams.

Tips for Acing a Phone Interview

Success on a phone interview means impressing the person at the other end of the line and coming across as competent, capable, and prepared. These three tips will help you to make sure that you present yourself as a candidate the hiring manager definitely wants to move further with:

• Schedule the phone interview at an opportune time. Try to schedule the phone interview at a time when you are sharpest, if you can. If you tend to excel in the mornings but get tired out in the afternoons, see if you can schedule early.  Whatever time your interview is scheduled for, be sure you can give it 100 percent of your focus, that you have a phone with a reliable connection, and that you are in a quiet place with no noise or distractions.
• Practice and be prepared to answer some common questions.  You should be prepared to paint a visible picture of your career achievements and to provide some solid answers to some of the things that you are most likely to be asked. Providing overly brief answers or stumbling to come up with replies is not likely to impress your interviewer, but coming back with clear answers that show your skills should get you advanced to the next hiring phase.
• Learn about the business and brush up on industry knowledge. If the job you are interviewing for requires specialized knowledge or skills, review the basic info you’ll be expected to know. Learning about the company can also help you be more prepared to ask intelligent questions on a phone interview, and it will show the potential employer you are seriously interested in the job.  You can also tailor your answers towards showing that you have skills that will make you a success in the business.

SmartTalent has helped many candidates with their job search and can provide you with assistance finding employment opportunities in Lynwood, Kirkland, Renton, Fife and surrounding areas.  To talk with a top staffing firm in western Washington and get some phone (or in-person) interviews lined up, give us a call today.