The recruitment process is all about finding the one perfect candidate among the basket full of candidates. The phone interview has become a popular, flexible, inexpensive and speedy way of finding that one person:

Preparing for a Phone Interview

Before you begin your phone interview make sure that you are confident in your understanding of the position you are applying for and the company you are applying with. Do extra homework on the company’s history and research recent company news. Preparation is the key and will make a great impression on your interviewers.

Prepare your Interview location. Make sure you’re in a comfortable place with no distractions. Keep your resume in clear view, have a pen and pad to take notes and a glass of water sitting close by. Minimize any outside distractions that could potentially take your mind off the interview (HOT TIP: Disable call waiting on your phone). Dress the part so you feel and sound professional. The more professional you feel the more professional you will come across on the telephone.

Most importantly – Practice Interviewing. Rehearse and Practice. There are many ways to help you prepare for the telephone interview. Have a friend/ family member conduct an interview. Ideally, rehearse with someone from the same industry. The best way to hear how you sound is to tape yourself. Remember the more preparation you put into the interview the better prepared you will be.

Preparation is the key! Write down answers to questions you believe are going to be asked. Have questions ready to go so when the interviewer says ‘Do you have any questions to ask us’ you’re ready and prepared.

What to do during the phone interview:

• Remember to Smile. Experts say that smiling puts you in a better state of mind and will project a positive image to the listener
• Speak in a steady voice. Don’t rush what you’re trying to say. Ensure that you sound enthusiastic and passionate
• Don’t forget to breathe. It will help you stay calm and sound more relaxed
• LISTEN – Answer the questions which are being asked. Do not make the mistake of telling the interviewer what you want to tell them. Give them the answers to their questions.
• Keep a glass of water handy – Nothing is worse than having a dry mouth
• Address the interviewer in the appropriate way. Do not shorten people’s name. They are your potential employer not your ‘mate’
• Take your time – Don’t rush the interview. This is your time to shine. If your feeling nervous take a moment or two to collect your thoughts
• Cheat Notes. Prepare beforehand with notes to help drive you through the interview. If the interview is going to be technical then have notes ready to prompt yourself if needed
• Don’t forget to ask questions

What NOT to do during the interview:

• Do not eat
• Do not chew gum
• Do not drink
• DO NOT SMOKE
• Don’t interrupt the interviewer
• Don’t answer with just a ‘yes’ and ‘no’ - elaborate your answers, provide examples if applicable
• Don’t be too Casual/informal
• Long winded answers to questions

Conclusion:

The only way to master a phone interview is to practice, be professional, and show your passion for the job role. Remember you have made the phone interview stage so don’t blow your interview by not being ready.

Good luck!

Gavin Davis is the owner of RedStarResume and one of the hiremyparents experts – hmp members can take advantage of his very special and very limited offer here

Telephone Interview Technique

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• Better Talking Lets You Practice And Review for Interviews [Interview] (lifehacker.com)
• How To Ace a Telephone Interview and Get the Job (howcast.com)
• Thank You Letter After Interview (slideshare.net)

This is the exact same scenario with your resume, it can be discarded within a matter of seconds. An example I always use to highlight this reality came during my experience as a recruitment agent in London. I was to fill a new job opening as an equities trader for one of the most prestigious investment firms in the UK. I was asked to select the top 10 resumes to forward onto the hiring manager. I advertised the job on a Monday and by Thursday I had over 300 resumes sitting in my inbox. I did not have the time to sit and read through every line of each resume sitting there, let alone the hundreds more that would follow. I had to ‘scan’ the resumes and eliminate the weak or moderate ones right away. This is a very typical scenario, especially in this current economic climate. Your resume needs to be convincing from the start.

When applying for jobs, you can bet that 50% of all the other applicants have similar skills and knowledge. So how do you make your resume stand out from the others? How do you ensure that you’re at least given the chance to present yourself in person?

Your resume is a marketing document, a convincing reason to want to meet with you for an interview. Without an appealing and marketable resume that contains information employers require, you will not get the job you want. Of course, never forget the complementary role a cover letter plays. A cover letter goes hand in hand with the resume. Good resume and bad cover letter end up in the same place – the trash bin.

Remember, your resume is the greatest asset you have – don’t forget this!

Find below a list of my top 10 resume tips:

• Professional

Keep it professional. Your resume is a business document, so it must be professional. Your resume is no place for gimmicks, pictures, or funny email addresses. Although you may think you look great in your picture or that your email address is funny (yes, I have seen love_homersimpson@hotmail.com), this is not required on your resume. You may think it looks great, but your employer may disagree. Stick to the facts and keep it professional!

• Targeted

The more targeted your resume is, the better you have at landing an interview. Employers want to know exactly what you can do for their company. It is important that you tailor each resume to each job (it will only take a few sentences to do this). Get rid of any information that is not required for a particular job. This will alleviate the tendency to overcrowd your resume with too much irrelevant information.

• Well-written

A well-written, concise resume will make a greater impression with your employer than a long winded ‘padded’ resume. Use positive action words such as: enhanced, influenced, restructured, and attained. This will add that extra boost to your resume. On the same hand, avoid everyday buzz words. Remember, your resume needs to focus on your key skills and achievements. Words such as ‘hard worker’, ‘reliable’ and ‘ambitious’ can have a more detrimental effect on your resume as these words are seen as adding no value to resume.

• Self-promoting

Your resume is a marketing document. Promote and sell yourself! Do not be scared to sell your skills, accomplishments, and abilities. If you don’t tell the employer, no one else will. Focus on what you can offer the business rather than what the business can offer you. Emphasize your skills, especially the ones the job is asking for. An employer wants to know that you have the relevant skills for that particular job. If a coffee shop is hiring a barista, and you’ve already worked as one, make your skills stand out and take centre stage. Just like with the example of skimming over the magazines, you need your employer to take one glance at your resume and want to read on.

• Tailor your resume

Very important – a one size fits all approach does not work here. Every job is different, and depending on what the job is, you need to make sure you tweak your resume (and cover letter) for that particular job. Ask yourself, ‘What job am I going for, and does my resume have the skills and strengths required to present to my future employer?’ Tailoring your resume to the specific job you’re going for will show the hiring manager that you are serious about working for their organization.

• Quality, not quantity

Quality not quantity! Your resume is not a life story. Stick to the facts using irrelevant data, waffling, and padding your resume are detrimental. Let your skills and experience do the talking for you.

• Simplify

Forget about fancy fonts or clever uses of italics. Keep it simple. Your resume is not meant to be a work of art to be displayed on the wall. Not only can it be hard to read, but there are multiple scanning software programs that might be unable to read it, meaning it will end up being deleted before even being opened.

• Spelling /Grammar/Punctuation

Every word program these days has spell check – USE IT! Poor spelling and grammar will immediately land your resume in the deleted items box. It is a hard enough to get an interview, do not let yourself down with basic spelling mistakes. Re-read every word yourself, and get someone else to read it as well.

• Consistent

Be sure that your resume is written in a commonsense way – in order, logical, and easy to read. Be consistent throughout your resume with your margins, fonts, and line spacing. Don’t be scared to accentuate your skills or achievements with a different style of font or by using a bold font (but remember keep it simple. There is a fine line of going overboard when using different font styles). Consistency shows professionalism.

• Do not mention money

Unless you are directly asked about money, do not mention it. Keep your cards close to your chest. Do not rule yourself out before you even begin because of money.

Gavin Davis is the owner of RedStarResume and one of the hiremyparents experts – hmp members can take advantage of his very special and very limited offer here

More Resume Resources…

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A job listing says as much about the company as your cover letter and resume says about you. If a job listing has errors or looks extremely unprofessional …

Tips To Write Elegant Resume Without Lying at Career Advice

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Keywords should be an extremely important component of both your online social media profiles as well as your resume. These keywords can be a difference maker.

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