Phone interviews can get excruciating at times. It jinxes up one’s anxiety and gives no room for expectations. The question of ‘did I?’ or ‘did I not’ perform well keeps replaying in one’s head like a record. The added pressure of not identifying expressions of content and dislike on one’s face gets onto your nerves. It is until you receive your confirmation email. The key to identifying the credibility of one’s phone interview is to assess and analyze both the caller and the responder’s tone of attitude. You only have to take time to recall the whole interview and keep in mind that you still have to move on whatever the result is. This might get quite difficult for some, but here are some easy pointers to recognize if you’ve made it or not.
- A Patient Phone Experience: An interview is supposed to be smooth and slow. Any indication of rush or a hurried note suggests that the interviewer has already ruled out your name from the waitlist. On the other hand, if the interview earned the other person’s patience, you can assure yourself that the interview went fairly well.
- Interviewer’s Attitude: A customary interview will have the interviewer in a jovial mood setting. Of course, this may not be the case all the time, but any reliable company will mostly employ a socially amiable person to conduct interviews. If the conversation is a balanced proportion of professionalism and a non-hostile atmosphere, then you are good to go. But if the friendliness deteriorates over time, you may have to check on your communication skills.
- Presence of Your Own Mind: Very few people have confidence in their own performance. But a teeny tiny bit of satisfaction can go a long way. Of course, this identification method may not be fruitful for everyone, especially for those with crippling anxiety, but having a sense of contentment might be beneficial.
- Good Laughs: If you are a person with a knack for humor, and let’s say you got a few giggles from the other end for your tiny jokes, you might as well iron your suit and go to your job the next day. The probability of hiring a humourous person is way more. This makes it easier for you to guess your fate.
- A Hearty Conclusion: An interview that ends on a good note is an indicator of a good interview. For example, if the person on the other side seems delighted to have spoken with you and weighs pressure on the ‘looking forward to working with you’ phrase, there’s a high chance that you have been an amazing candidate in the interview.
- Punctuality: The most common mistake that 60% of the phone interviewees make is missing the scheduled call. If you did not miss the interview and answered on the very first call, your punctuality will stand out as an added advantage.
What to avoid during a phone interview?
- Ers and Ums: Fluency is the key to proper communication. When there are too many ers and ums in your delivery, the interviewer might retrieve an idea that you aren’t confident and well prepared for.
- Long Pauses: Having long pauses in between sentences is not a good omen for your selection. Prepare a set of fillers when you are expecting a pause. A conclusive or a conjunctive phrase might come in handy.
- Artificial Attitude: Faking an accent or behavior makes a conversation awkward. If being yourself doesn’t benefit the interview, similarly, there is no way that a fake accent will benefit the interview. In fact, it will only worsen your chances of making it to the ‘selected list.’
- Elaborating on One Topic: Just like a personal interview, phone interviews need to be precise to the topic and shouldn’t stretch over like sugar candies. Crispness is the key. Being a man/woman of little words isn’t too bad after all.
- Being Finicky: Do not stress on certain topics that the interviewer is not ready to discuss with you. This leads to added frustration in assessing your deliverance. In addition, it will make you seem naggy and unfit for the position.
- Eating or Drinking: Do not munch onto food or gulp in water continuously while speaking. It portrays an image of unprofessionalism and also adds to a factor of distraction.
What to do during a phone interview?
- Prepare Notes: If you seem to have a fair idea of the questions that will be shot your way, you need to keep a set of notes written/typed down in advance. This will avoid the entry of long pauses mentioned earlier. It will also help you to keep track of your pointers and make you confident.
- Ensure Proper Connection: Though you cannot entirely control your phone network, it is advisable to be seated in an area with a good connection. Nobody prefers crackling voices and static noises.
- Be Authoritative: Being inconclusive about your ideas and stances is not a conventional way to speak in an interview. However, an assertive set of words or phrases will help your image and personality shine even through a mere phone call.
- Keep Calm: Rushing into things will only make situations worse. Keep calm and have a delightful composure. Ensure to greet your interviewer and do not forget to ask questions that increase your execution’s integrity.
- Research: Conducting at-home research about the company you are interviewing for will give you an idea in advance about the business’s working. Your research will, in turn, profit you. Tweaking your presentation according to the company’s interests will gain you brownie points.
- Post-Interview Email: Regardless of you are getting the job or not getting the job, sending an email to the employer about your intrigue in their open position will make you seem worthy and a hard-working candidate for the job.
- Neat Environment: Do not be seated in a busy environment. Instead, move to a calm place with ample lighting and keep all the stuff required right in front of you. Home or a work cafe are the best options. Cutting out background noise is an indication of professionalism.
All these criteria will help you figure out how you have spoken, and you might even turn out gaining more confidence than earlier. The extra tips will also help you for interviews in the future. Do not forget to keep these points in mind, and if you do forget, you always have time to come back to read this article. A good interview will have all the subheaders mentioned above. There is no need to fret when you are a positive person. I hope you did your interview well!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What to do when the interviewer is not very expressive through his voice tone? The only answer to this question is to wait until you are confirmed about the job. There is no other way to judge a conversation through a phone call apart from the interviewer’s tone.
- Does a happy interviewer mean that I got the job? A happy interviewer doesn’t always mean that you have the job in your pocket. It turns out that many interviewers are naturally very social and like to keep the candidate comfortable and calm. So if your interviewer appears to be a happy person, you need to keep that to your advantage and deliver your stance as confidently as possible.
- Should I ask the interviewer if I got the job before I hang up? Most phone interviews are the first stages of interviews followed up by personal interviews later. Asking the interviewer if you got the job is not a very smart move in such a case. However, if you are confirmed that the phone interview is your final stage of selection, you might go ahead and have a casual question about your selection (preferably off the record).
- What can I expect if I panicked while answering the questions? This kind of situation happens on a daily. Everybody panics out of the blue. If your employer is kind enough to keep your episode aside and focus on your strengths, you might get the job. Most companies will not select you if you have panicked during the interview. This applies mostly to higher posts. But to stay composed is the best way to tackle any interview.
- Is it acceptable to answer ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’ during a phone interview? Negative responses are not always acceptable. These responses are apt when you are genuinely unaware of any topic related to your asked question. Otherwise, it is best to fill in with something you know which is relevant to your question. This might make you seem like a knowledgeable person who is ready at all times of jeopardy. This doesn’t mean that you can give out random replies to every question. Make sure to keep your mind clean and reply with a sense of the subject matter. Do not stray away from the actual question. Construct your answer in a way that leads up to the beginning of your statement.
How to tell if a phone interview went well?
