5 ways to excel in a telephone #interview

Well #workinggirl , you've created a great eye candy resume, you found a fab job on indeed.com and submitted your application, keeping your fingers crossed that you hear back.

A few days pass and there it is. You've Got Mail.

Your future employer wants to set up a quick, informal "chat".  Congratulations sister!  You have managed to cut through the HR key word search and pass the recruiter quick screen.  However, don't be too overjoyed just yet.  This "chat" is far from informal so if you really want to excel, check out these 5 tips.

1. Be flexible.  Try to be as accommodating to your interviewer's schedule as possible and accept one of their suggested times to talk.  The last thing you want to do is appear to be difficult.  If you need to cancel that hair appoint to accommodate them, do it.  
2. Find a quiet environment where you can speak freely.   You don't want your interviewer to have to strain to hear you.   Avoid anywhere that has dogs barking, children playing, or general background noise.  Also ensure you can speak freely.  Don't take the call in the break room at work if there is a chance others will walk in.  You need to speak without hesitation and without the whole office knowing you are interviewing.  
3. Know your audience.  Exactly who will you be speaking with?  Is it the HR recruiter, the actual hiring manager, or a group of people?  The HR recruiter will ask basic questions about your work experience and education and will try and determine if you are worthy of passing on your resume.  The hiring manager is likely to ask you more specific questions related to the position to determine if you fit the skills needed.  Finally, if you are interviewing with a group on the phone, be prepared for a range of topics and stop talking when others speak.  It's rude.  
4. Do your research.  Although this is not a formal face to face interview, it doesn't mean you get a pass on preparing for your conversation.  Ensure you are familiar with what you put on your resume and have a copy of the job description in front of you.  Do some light LinkedIn stalking on those you'll be speaking with to identify some common interests and be familiar with their background.  Finally, make sure you know some basic facts about the company.
5. Let your personality shine.  Phone interviews can make it difficult to make a real connection to the interviewer.  You will have to work even harder to build a rapport than if you were face to face.  Avoid giving one word answers - short anecdotes often will show more depth.  It is important to NOT speak too much.  Allow yourself to pause at least every 30 seconds so the interviewer can interject, if necessary, so the conversation flows smoothly.  

Hopefully the conversation went well and you are talking next steps to arrange an in person interview.  Nice work girlfriend!

Cheryl Reynolds

College Girl to Working Girl

@CGirl2WGirl

Building an Eye Candy Resume

In our post earlier in the week, we talked about some tips for searching for jobs online.  But before you can apply for a job, you need to build a resume (or for my readership outside the US, your CV).  There are various styles and layouts available, but I have found a lot of success using this College Girl to Working Girl Resume Template.

This template works because it has 5 key characteristics:

One pager and headline.   I have seen various experts argue for and against the one page resume.  But the truth in the matter is that we live in a fast pace world and unless you are applying to be CEO, one page is just fine.  Your name is your headline.  Always display this in bold and make it large.  Skip the objective, this is what a cover letter is for.

      

      List what you accomplished, not your tasks.  It’s not always possible in your pre-college work experience to only list your accomplishments, but do where ever possible.  “Exceed weekly sales targets by 10%” is much more impressive than “assisted customers with purchases”.

        

      Education.  Some list this above work experience, others below.  If your professional work experience is more robust than your education, list it first.  If your education is your spring board into your first post-college employment, then list it first.  In either case, if you graduated from college, no need to list your high school  information, it’s assumed you went.

      

      It all counts, list all of your experience, no matter how small.  Amy Astley from Teen Vogue told The New York Times earlier this week “Always be proud to put waitress on your resume…I love seeing someone who scooped ice cream or was a waitress. To me, it means they had to make some money and they had a job dealing with the public.”  This is so true.  Work ethic is important and any previous experience demonstrates your future potential. 
   

     Travel and Other Experience.  Working or traveling abroad is a valuable life experience and demonstrates you can work with people from different cultures.  Ensure you list it and if nothing else, it gives your potential interviewer additional topics for discussion.

      

      Always have a resume on file, you never know when you’ll need it at a moment’s notice!

Cheryl Reynolds
College Girl to Working Girl
@CGirl2WGirl