Congrats! You caught the eye of a potential employer and now they want to get to know you better – what next?

In today’s increasingly digital world, many companies will choose to do their pre-screen over the phone or on Skype.

Oftentimes, candidates make the mistake of seeing the phone interview as more casual and consequently, they go in being less prepared

…Do not be one of these people!

In phone interviews, there’s no relying on your killer smile or tailored suit to make a good first impression. Not being face to face with your interviewer means that you will have to try much harder to be the lion in a herd of sheep.

Here are some sure fire ways you can get to the next round of the interview process:

1) Do your research

This is one of the most crucial aspects to nailing your phone interview, but it’s also one of the easiest.

Take 10 minutes to google the company – what are they doing? How are they doing? What makes them a desirable place to work?

Companies use the phone interview to weed out candidates who aren’t worth meeting in person. If you couldn’t be bothered to take the time to learn the basics of the organization, you can add yourself to that list!

2) Cut out all distractions

Turn off the TV, put away your cell phone, take the dog outside, use a landline!

No interviewer wants to hear about your job history with last night’s episode of Game of Thrones playing in the background.

Be professional and do whatever you need to do to focus on the task at hand

3) Use a cheat sheet

Not interviewing in person means you can prepare your answers – take advantage of this!

Approach the interview expecting to be asked “a little about yourself”, and about the time you spent at company X. Have your resume ready! This way you are not fumbling for answers and can highlight aspects of past jobs that would be relevant to the one you are applying for.

Still, be careful not to over prepare your answers and sound like a robot! Leave some room to be candid and less rehearsed.

4) Be concise

One of the toughest parts of interviewing over the phone is that it can be hard to know when to stop talking.

Avoid going into long rants (especially if it’s not relevant to the job) and do not interrupt your interviewer. Wait for them to ask the whole question before cutting them off by saying how great of a listener you are!

5) Follow up

I can’t stress this enough. A day or two after the phone call, be sure to drop your interviewer a short email thanking them for their time.

This is the polite and professional thing to do – don’t forget it!



Looking for work? Check out TPD's Job Board for tons of exciting and diverse job opportunities around North America!