How to be Impressive in the Phone Interview

What if you got a phone interview instead of a "face-to-face" meeting?

Phone interviews are not really different from face-to-face interviews and you should be ready for all the questions that you might be asked during the phone conversation, because phone interviews determine whether you could get the chance to have a face-to-face interview with the company representatives.

Moreover, a phone interview is considered to be the first step in the employment screening process, as it saves the company's time and also serves a good function in considering foreign or out-of-town candidates.

Phone interviews are usually held in 20- to 30-minutes, with either one person or several people. You should always be ready for a phone interview that isn't really different from a face-to-face interview, except for minor modifications in your preparation process. 

Here is what you should do:

1-Get a good phone
You should make sure that you have a good phone that doesn’t cut in and out, so that you and your interviewer could listen to each other well, to be able to understand each other.  Moreover, make sure that nobody of your family interrupts you during the interview or try to use that same phone line you are using.

2- Be Serious
Take the phone interview very seriously, while preparing yourself for it, just like you would do for a face-to-face interview.
 
Don’t get deceived by the "informality" of the phone interviews, because you might be turned down if you were not prepared well enough for the interview. You should research the company's history, services or products, and objectives, as well as learn about your job description and tasks. Prepare the answers for the expected questions that you would be asked during the phone interview, just as you would for the personal interview.

3- Hold your CV and cover letter
Be sure to have your CV and cover letter in front of you as you would be asked about some of the information written on these documents, including your working experience, your educational background, and your projects. 

4- Prepare a cheat sheet
Write few notes about the most important things that you want to emphasize and make clear to your interviewer, including certain skills, experiences, interests or hobbies, as well as your achievements. Hold that cheat sheet during the interview in order to be ready for any question that might come up. 

5- Care for your looks
Although this might be a weird tip, yet you should focus on your appearance, just as you would for a personal (face-to-face) interview. From a psychological perspective, caring for your looks would make you feel more confident and be able to master the   phone interview more professionally and formally. But if you're lying in bed in your pajamas, you wouldn’t take the phone interview that seriously.

6- Keep a good posture
Research has shown that people project themselves better when they are standing up, as they feel more confident. So you should either stand up or sit up straight at a table or desk.

Although you won't be able to read your interviewer's facial expressions or body language during the phone interview, yet if you take the phone interview seriously and get ready for the expected questions, you will get the chance to have a face-to-face interview, where you could turn out to be the best candidate for the job position offered.