Phone Interviews: How to Prepare for and Make the Most Out of Them

As a professional, you might have to go through a number of interviews (most usually 2) to get certain jobs. One of those interviews will most certainly be a phone interview. It will always be the first interview of any number of interviews. The phone interview will have some technical flavor, meaning that you'll present yourself on a technical level. Some typical questions are: What's your background? What have you been doing lately and what would you like to be doing? What's your career goal? What's your preferred work environment?

For instance, a computer programmer candidate might be asked about his/her level of expertise on a specific programming language. Other questions might be in the areas of coding practices. That is, which methodologies to use, why, etc. While the phone interview will touch on some technical stuff, it will not certainly be fully technical. That is, they won't ask you questions that require very detailed explanations and the like. So what exactly is the point of the phone interview?

Before we get into the specifics of the phone interview, let's say a few words about a job interview in general. A job interview serves the ultimate purpose of finding out if the candidate meets the requirements for the position (on all levels) and if the opportunity is right for the candidate. With that being said, you should NEVER try to fool an employer by making it seem like you are a fit for a job (when you are NOT). Likewise, employers should be truthful about their opportunities. As you know, if either party wasn't not truthful it'll come to an end very quickly - either you'll be discharged or you'll quit. It is very important - at the professional level - that employers and employees are good fits for each other. After all, it's your career; you have to love coming to work. Assuming that you are a good fit for the job, how do you make the most out of the phone interview?

For your phone interview, you need to accomplish 2 main things:

1. Successfully present yourself on a multi-dimensional level. You have to give a high-level presentation about your skills. You could include how you started in your field (very briefly). You might want to briefly talk about some key points in your experience.

2. Get a good overview of the job opportunity (including the company, the environment, etc). Besides researching about the company before the interview, ask the interviewer for an overview of the company (financially, size-wise, etc). Try to get a good understanding of what it is you'll be doing if you get hired. DO NOT ask about benefits and the like.

How to make sure that you successfully accomplish the two things - as described above? Consider your interview as a speech you'll deliver. That means you have to write stuff down, read it and make adjustments as necessary. Especially for number 1 above, you have to write down what you'll talk about - in terms of skills, experience. Write it down!

In fact, while holding the phone you should be looking at what you wrote down and use it. You'll be amazed at how useful that technique is. Yes, you know what your skills are and what you've been doing. But you won't be talking about it all. You will only use part of it. The only way to make sure that you talk about the truly essential part is to plan ahead. That's what you get by writing it down. You don't want the interviewer to be spending time on the phone waiting for you to figure out what to talk about next. That's not acceptable!

And as people usually do with speeches, don't be afraid to rehearse. Read it out to someone close to you and have them comment on it. In fact, how about making that someone the interviewer and have them ask you some questions? So rehearse - if necessary!

Don't let your dream job slip away from you because of some silly mistakes! Be prepared, do your homework, plan ahead and sell yourself!