How to Prepare for a Telephone Job Interview

If you have just been notified that you will be interviewed for a job by telephone, don't panic. With a little preparation you can have a successful telephone interview.

Prepare your telephone interview area: Find a quiet area where you will not be disturbed. Your interviewer can only base his opinion of you on what he or she hears as they cannot see you in person. Make sure they do not hear any distracting sounds. Make sure television and radio is turned off. Ask someone to watch your children during the interview. Keep pets away from the interview area. In addition to barks and meows, pets have a way of disconnecting telephone lines and walking across keyboards at the most inopportune moments. Turn off loud machines such as dishwashers, washing machines, dryers and fans.

Designate a desk or table as your interview area and clear it off completely. Gather the following items and place them on the desk or table: Notepad, your resume, a copy of the job description or job posting that you are applying for. A printout of the history and facts about the company you are applying for. The name, position and telephone number of the person who will be interviewing you. Two or three pens in case one fails. A telephone that plugs directly into the wall is preferable to one that is cordless and requires a battery. It looks irresponsible for the battery to fail during a call. Turn off your call waiting feature on the phone if you have it. Turn off your cell phone so that it does not ring during the call.

Try to anticipate some questions the interviewer may ask and write down your answers ahead of time. Here are some common telephone interview questions and suggestions for how to best answer them:

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Briefly summarize. For example, "I'm a Florida native and I have been a project manager for the last 5 years. I supervise a staff of 5 persons." Do not say anything personal like I have 3 kids, 2 dogs and a mortgage. Keep it business.

2. Why are you interested in this position? Your answer should be that you are interested in this position because you can help their company or business with your skills. Do not say you are interested in this position because it pays more than your last job or because you are unhappy at your current job. Look at it from the hiring manager's viewpoint; you are interested in helping him somehow.

3. They may then tell you a little bit about the position. If there is a pause or a gap in the conversation, you may ask, "Please tell me a little more about the position."

4. What is your greatest strength? This one should be easy. Some common strengths are organized, determined, set goals and reach them, good listener.

5. What is your greatest weakness? We all have weaknesses here, but be careful. Do not start listing all of your flaws. Choose one weakness that you can turn into a positive. For example, "I am so concerned with things being done right, that I hesitate to delegate work. I realize that I am this way, so I have learned to delegate to others and then proofread my work before turning it in."

6. How has your career up until now prepared your for this new position? Look at the job description for the new job. What are some of the requirements? Choose one and then describe something you have done at your current job that is the same. Example: New job requirement is to hold weekly staff meetings. You could say, "In my current job, I hold conference calls once a month, so I could definitely see myself expanding this to include weekly staff meetings."

7. Describe a difficult situation you faced in your job and how you overcame it. The difficult situation should be something business-related, not an issue with another person who was difficult to work with. For example, a piece of equipment that had to be delivered to the customer by the next day, but someone failed to call Fed-Ex, so you drove it there yourself as it was only an hour drive away. Show your resourcefulness and willingness to sacrifice for the company.

8. Why should I hire you? "You should hire me because I am the right person for this job. I have training, knowledge, experience and a strong desire and willingness to work for XYZ Company."

9. Let's Talk Salary: If this is the first interview, this issue will not likely be discussed. You should not bring it up on the first interview. If this is the second or third interview, and they bring it up, you can discuss it. No matter what the salary, you should always ask for more. They will often give you more and are sometimes just testing you to see if you are assertive enough to ask. If they do not give you more, they will still respect you for asking. When they state the salary, you say, "I understand you are offering $45K for this position; however, I would feel comfortable with a salary in the range of $48-52K." Then remain silent. Do not talk about your current salary and how you are having trouble making ends meet, or that you are hoping to be able to afford a new house. Remember they do not care about your personal finances; they are only interested in what YOU can do for this amount of money. Keep it business. If they absolutely will not budge on salary, try to get perks instead, extra vacation days, time off, bonus plan, your own office, work at home 2 days a week, etc.

10. The interviewer will almost always ask you if you have any questions. This is your cue that the interview is almost over. Always have one or two questions ready. For example, clarify anything you did not understand during the interview. Ask what a typical day on this job is like, how is the team structured. Do not ask about money, vacations, time off. Ask what future opportunities for advancement there are.

At the conclusion of the interview, always thank the interviewer for his or her time. If possible, send a thank-you card to the interviewer. If you follow these suggestions, you will increase your success in getting the job offer.