Telephone Interview Tips

Telephonic interviews can be tricky, as you have to do justice to your skills with only your voice to help you. You will have to be perpetually prepared for a telephonic interview as you may have to take the call at a moment’s notice. One of the keys to succeed in a phone interview is to sound confident and eager to take up the job. However, you need to remember that the keyword is ‘eager’, not ‘desperate’. For more tips on how to prepare for a telephone interview, go through the tips given below. Follow these suggestions during the interview and success is sure to follow you.

Preparing For A Telephonic Interview

Decide the place where you will take the call. Find a place that is peaceful and has minimum distractions. This will help you concentrate better on what is being asked. You can sit relaxed in a chair, with a table in your front, where you can lay any important papers.
It is important to get rid of all the distractions, like TV, radio, computer and your landline phone. Switch off these appliances and choose a room that is far from the location of your landline, so that you are not distracted by an incoming call, during your interview.
Keep all the important papers ready at your disposal. Your updated resume should be right in front of you, as your CV invites most of the questions from the interviewer.
Tell your family members in advance not to disturb you when you are attending the call.
Sound enthusiastic over the phone. No matter how talented you are, it is important to appear keen and interested over the phone, to convey how much willing you are to take up the job. However, don’t come across as desperate.
Since it’s a telephonic interview, you should speak clearly and slowly. In a face to face interaction, it’s easy to explain things in a clear way, as you can repeat something that has been missed by the interviewer. This advantage is significantly reduced in a telephonic interview. So, keep a clear tone and go slow.
Take care not to interrupt the interviewer when he/she speaks. It’s important to be a good listener and ensure that you begin to respond only when the question is complete.
Take your time before answering. Analyze every question and frame a suitable answer to impress the interviewer. While you can’t buy time to answer every question, it is perfectly ok to think upon a certain question for a few seconds, before answering.
Although getting your interview rescheduled is not a great idea, you may have to do it if the interviewer has called at an awkward time. However, this should always be kept as the last option. If your convenience is being really bothered at a given time and there is a possibility that it can have a negative affect on the interview, you can politely ask the interviewer for another date and time, citing the reasons for the reschedule.

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