Learning to prepare for a phone interview can be tough. It seems like 75% of millennials don’t answer the phone, preferring to avoid them overall! I guess it would be fair to assume a phone interview wouldn’t be their favorite way to conduct business. Yet, whether you like it or not, phone interviews are here to stay, and for a few reasons.
Phone interviews allow the interviewer to be as neutral as possible. Body language won’t influence, and neither will looks. It enables the interviewer to focus on the content and format of the interview. Phone interviews are also conducted in a way to filter out candidates. That’s right; they’re meant to eliminate candidates early on in the process, thus the necessity for you to excel at and prepare for your phone interview! The employer wants to quickly discover if you’re capable, fit the role, or find out if anything disqualifies you from the job! In other words, phone interviews check basic information and quickly weed out candidates.
Here are 27 tips that will help you prepare for a phone interview and hopefully land you the job you want!
7 Basic Phone Interview Tips
Let’s start with the technical stuff, even if some of these sound basic!
- Make sure your cell phone is charged. You wouldn’t want your phone to die on you. Using a landline could even be better… if that still exists in your area!
- If you’re planning to wear wireless earbuds or headphones, ensure they’re charged as well.
- Prepare a professional voicemail in case your interviewer needs to call you prior to the meeting.
- Quiet your smartphone by not allowing notifications to come in. The new iPhone can offer you that possibility.
- Eliminate all possible distractions by finding a disturbance-free room.
- Take a bathroom break before the interview (so many people forget to do this!).
- Get dressed for the part. Put your favorite professional clothes on, wear your favorite color, and put on those lucky shoes. Why? The person at the other end of the line doesn’t know if you feel and look good, but you do!
Since those are now out of the way, understanding how it is conducted will help you better prepare for a phone interview.
Structure of a Phone Interview
It usually lasts about 30 minutes and is structured around five axes and questions that revolve around each axis. If you do the quick math, this means you’ll spend 5 to 7 minutes per category.
- Discovery: Tell me about yourself.
- Curiosity: Why are you applying for this role?
- Knowledge: What do you know about this role?
- Investigation: Why are you looking for a job?
- Expectations: What are some salary expectations?
- Conclusion: Questions from you.
2 Discovery Tips
In this first portion, your interlocutor wants to gain insight into who you are and find out if you can express yourself adequately. Questions will sound like, “Tell me a little more about yourself” or “Tell me about your background.”
- Prepare a quick intro of who you are, elevator-pitch style. This is the “business card” you’re giving. List 1 to 3 qualities, plus 1 or 2 characteristics of your work, while adding background. It could sound like this, “As far as I can remember, I’ve always been prone to be a good listener, driven by relationships, and helpful in different circumstances. All that makes me a hard-working teammate.”
- Give a brief description of things that you appreciate and motivate you, like your appreciation of friendships or working on DIY projects. Those two examples could indicate your tending to value relationships or your commitment to long-term projects.
3 Curiosity Tips
After gaining some basic information from you, your interviewer will be curious about why you want this specific job, trying to find insight into what motivates you. Questions will sound like, “Why are you applying for this role,” “What made you decide to apply to this job,” or “How did you hear about this job?”
- Note down a list of 3 professional accomplishments that summarize your work experience and use action-oriented verbs. Examples could vary from, “I built a team of 25 volunteers” to “Organized the Christmas concert” or “Created a new follow-up system for first impressions.”
- Your developed self-knowledge is important here. Prepare for questions focused on what you have succeeded/failed at in the past. Stating what you’ve done, accomplished, or even failed at is equally as crucial as knowing what characteristics led to these outcomes.
- Have a reason why you applied for the job. “It pays well,” “The environment is great,” or “I need a change” can be acceptable answers, as long as you know it! If you’re uncertain about wanting the ministry position, your answer will reflect that reality.
2 Knowledge Tips
The researcher will ask you what you know about the role, if you’ve read the job specs, or even why you would want to work at that specific place. Your answers will reveal how much you know about the role, the organization, or how much prep time you invested!
- Have the job description printed out as you will need to clarify how your qualifications match their requirements.
- Learn about what the organization really strives for, like missions, community outreach programs, or ministerial initiatives, and formulate the reasons why you find those motivating.
2 Investigation Tips
This section is usually a great time to put your best foot forward as your interviewer really allows you to freely talk about the things that get you moving, and stir you up.
- Get ready a list of specific skills you’ve learned and are still learning that would be useful for the role. As you balance out “people and task skills”, remember you can mention the soft skills at which you excel.
- Talk about your passions in work. Maybe you’re passionate about building people up, and that’s why you helped out at a juvenile detention center. Do you spend your free time on puzzles? Great, as long as you link that to your proficiency in solving problems in broken systems!
1 Expectation Tips
You’re getting to the end of the interview, and all of a sudden, you hear the dreaded question, “What is your expectation salary-wise?” It may not be as blunt as that, but this is to set you up and find out how you can communicate in hard situations.
- Know how much this job is worth. You can easily answer, “This is a very good question. I’ve looked into the cost of living in the area and the average salary for this job. What is the expected range the organization has budgeted for this?”
3 Conclusion Tips
This is when the interviewer usually says they want to respect your time and ask you if you have any questions prepared. This is not a mandatory way to conclude the interview, but it is common.
- Have 2 questions ready for the interviewer, good ones like, “What’s the best part of working there?” Or “What does the church do for personal and professional development?”
- You can certainly ask what the next steps are. The answer may be vague or very precise.
- Last but not least, show gratitude by saying thank you for the time and the opportunity to connect.
7 Tips on What Every Phone Interview Answer Needs
You will probably answer between 6 and 15 questions in the interview. While you prepare for your phone interview, think of ways that you can include these 7 ingredients in each of your answers.
- A smile. Your voice has a different tone and rhythm to it when you smile, and your interviewer can sense it.
- Honesty is important. Don’t exaggerate numbers or experiences. Mention them honestly. And if you don’t know an answer, it’s ok. Just say, “I’ll have to look into that.”
- No “buts”. You have no excuse to say, “But I didn’t know the answer.” You can prepare for questions. You have the privilege to get ready. Make sure your preparation is up to par.
- Brevity. Time your answers and limit them in duration. You shouldn’t go beyond 60-75 seconds for an answer.
- Practice. Rehearsing your answers to the most common questions permits you to pace yourself.
- Assurance will begin with how much you practiced your replies. The better you are, the more certain you’ll sound.
- Active listening. Always let your interviewer finish their sentence before speaking.
There you go, 27 tips to help you prepare for a phone interview!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions Christian job seekers might ask:
1. How should I handle unexpected technical issues during the call?
If your call drops or you encounter technical issues, remain calm, redial immediately, and briefly apologize to the interviewer for the interruption. Keep backup contact information nearby to ensure you can reconnect if problems persist.
2. Is it okay to have notes during a phone interview?
Yes, keeping brief notes with key points (e.g., your accomplishments, questions for the interviewer) can help, but avoid reading verbatim to sound natural.
3. How can I demonstrate enthusiasm without visual cues?
Smiling while you speak adds warmth and energy to your tone. Emphasize words that reflect your excitement and match your answers to the organization’s goals to convey genuine interest.
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