What NOT to Do in a Phone Interview.

Jeff’s Tips:

I was helping a candidate prepare for a phone interview today.

The most important thing that I wanted to make them aware of is that you have a very limited time to make an impression. A phone interview, you of course, can’t see the body language, know if you’ve said enough, or if you need to say more. One of the most common mistakes that people and individuals make, while interviewing via phone, is just to talk too much.

You try to answer the question, you have a limited amount of time, you want to make sure you convey the story; when you probably already answered the question several minutes before. Then you catch yourself saying too much but you can’t stop, and it makes the problem even worse.

So, remember in a phone interview, it’s really more about the employer.

Of course, if there are questions that you need answers to decide if you want to continue in the process with that employer, you need to get those answers. But, my experience has been with most individuals they would be already happy to move forward in the process and spend more time. So, you need to realize that that phone interview is a screening situation for that employer. Stay very succinct with your answers. Stay on topic and only say as much as you need to answer a question. And the goal is simply to get to the next step, which is an in-person interview. So keep it simple in phone interviews. Don’t say too much or talk too much. Really demonstrate your listening skills, and you’ll have a lot of success in a phone interview.

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