Worlco's Guide to Phone Interviews

Phone interviews can be very stressful. Without the benefit of seeing your interviewer in person, it can be hard to pick up on body language or social cues. Even worse, some people neglect to take phone interviews seriously and pick up the phone completely unprepared. Below is Worlco’s list of phone interview tips!

DO:

• Pay attention to enunciation and tone- Say each word separately, paying attention to your tone of voice. Assume off the bat that the phone service will not be perfect, leaving you to work extra hard to have each word heard.
• Speak slowly- Have you ever been on the phone with a friend as they rushed through a story, merging words together and mumbling to the point that you had no clue what they just told you? Don’t make that mistake!
• Refer to your resume and the job description- One positive of phone interviews is that you can keep your interview and the company’s website/ job description in front of you the entire time. Check your notes often to make sure every answer is perfect.
• Prepare the same way you would for an in-person interview- Just because the interview is on the phone doesn’t mean it’s any less serious! Practice in advance and study up on the company. The day of your call wake up early and dress in your go-to interview outfit, so you can feel as ready as possible.
• Say thank you and follow up- Just like you should prepare for a phone interview the same way as an in-person meeting, you should follow typical interview protocol after. Thank your interviewer for their time at the end of your call and be sure to send a thank you note.

DON’T:

•  Take long breaks between words or sentences- Long pauses will have your interviewer checking their reception or wondering if you’re confused by their question. Pauses over the phone don’t feel as natural as they might in person!  
• Take the call in public or a noisy area- The last thing you need during your phone interview is a distraction! Take the call at home in a private room where your family or roommates know not to disturb you.
•  Put the phone on speaker- While it might be nice to have your hands free during your call, having your phone on speaker may produce a loud feedback or echo. Use headphones with a speaker if you’ll feel more comfortable not holding your phone.
•  Cut your interviewer off- Without body language or other cues it can be hard to tell when your interviewer is finished speaking. While you don’t want to wait too long to answer a question, you should allow at least one full second after your interviewer has finished a question to make sure they’re done speaking.