Last week, in my never-ending internship quest, I had my first-ever phone interview. I was a little nervous, but overall I think
it went pretty well, and I’m optimistic about the next step in the application process,
an in-person interview. Although it may sound pretty easy – who can’t talk about
themselves for 20 minutes, especially over the phone? – there were some pretty significant
differences from my previous in-person interviews, both good and bad. Here are some of the observations I made:
Pro: Nobody is in the room with you, so you can break the
rules.
To say the least, in-person interviews can be stressful. You have to
dress up (one of my least favorite things - #teamsweatpants), remember to make
eye contact and smile, work on your handshake, and talk in front of one or
several strangers about yourself. Interviews over the phone are a completely
different story – since you never actually meet the person, the pressure to “make
a good first impression” is off. You can wear your PJs, sit in the comfort of
your own room, and just focus on selling yourself to the interviewer without worrying about your appearance. I also
found it incredibly convenient to keep cheat sheets in front of me, like
my resume, the job description, and answers to common interview questions, for
easy reference. That way, I could make sure to get all of my important points
across without worrying about forgetting something - one of my greatest woes after any interview I've ever had.
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| Similar things happen to me when I try to talk on the phone while doing something else. |
Con: Nobody is in the room with you, so you can break the
rules.
As much as I love my sweatpants, there’s a major drawback to speaking
with someone via phone for the first time – how are you supposed to make a good
first impression if the person never actually sees you? Eye contact, smiling, and handshakes may be extraneous variables to worry
about, but if you practice and deliver them well, they can go a long way. In a
phone interview, all you have is your voice. This Forbes article, and many others,
recommend sitting in front of a mirror during your phone interview, because it
will force you to act as though you were talking to someone face-to-face,
remembering to smile and stay engaged. It’s hard to sound bored or uninterested
if you’re smiling. The article also recommends dressing up
even though you’re not meeting your interviewer face-to-face – looking the part
might give you the extra confidence you need.
Overall, it’s a trade-off, and you’ll have to decide for
yourself what will work best for you. Like I said earlier, I hate dressing up,
so if that results in added stress or discomfort rather than confidence, I’m not exactly going
to gussy myself up for a phone call. I did try the mirror strategy,
though, and I found that it really helped to keep my focus on the interview. At the end of the day, you're the one being interviewed, so you should prepare yourself as you see fit.
Pro: You have the power.
In saying this, I don't mean that you are the person in control of the interview - while you can certainly steer the conversation in a manner that presents the best possible version of you, it's important to show deference and respect to the interviewer. However, you do have the power to change your surroundings and mindset according to your preferences. If you hate being hot, you can speak on the phone near a window. If you want to imagine that you are talking to your mom or your best friend or Jennifer Aniston (who just so happens to be my best friend), that's fine too. Interviewing via phone gives you the gift of flexibility. Phone interviews can be much more casual, and therefore predictable; usually an employer will interview all or most of their candidates via phone first, and bring the ones they like on site for an in-person interview. This means that you'll face the common questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "Why are you interested in this position?", so you can practice your responses to these well in advance. Don't forget to speak with a career counselor if you need help answering these questions in a creative way, or have any additional questions about interviews.
In saying this, I don't mean that you are the person in control of the interview - while you can certainly steer the conversation in a manner that presents the best possible version of you, it's important to show deference and respect to the interviewer. However, you do have the power to change your surroundings and mindset according to your preferences. If you hate being hot, you can speak on the phone near a window. If you want to imagine that you are talking to your mom or your best friend or Jennifer Aniston (who just so happens to be my best friend), that's fine too. Interviewing via phone gives you the gift of flexibility. Phone interviews can be much more casual, and therefore predictable; usually an employer will interview all or most of their candidates via phone first, and bring the ones they like on site for an in-person interview. This means that you'll face the common questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "Why are you interested in this position?", so you can practice your responses to these well in advance. Don't forget to speak with a career counselor if you need help answering these questions in a creative way, or have any additional questions about interviews.
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| My preferred atmosphere for taking a phone call. |
Con: Technology may fail you - or your image.
In Nicole's recent post on Skype interviewing, she discussed the possible complications that come with adding a computer to the interview process. Similar problems plague phone interviews - it's a good idea to make sure your phone is fully charged and reliable on the day of the interview. A failed interview as a result of technological problems is the last thing any of us need right now. More importantly, though, phone interviewing means that you need to be much more self-aware during your conversation with an employer. As I mentioned above, all you have is your voice in a phone interview. During my interview, I was really self-conscious about how I sounded on the other line - was I too loud or too quiet? Did I sound interested enough? Did I make the interviewer feel rushed or come across as overbearing? Just like an in-person interview, preparation is the key to success. Consider practicing beforehand by calling a friend or parent and asking them to evaluate your speech for pace and clarity. Ask them how you sound, and what you could do to sound better. By interview day, you'll have Morgan Freeman-level speaking skills. (Just kidding, that's a completely unattainable goal.)
To update you since the beginning of this post, I found out a few days after my phone interview that I made it to the second, in-person round of interviews! I'm really excited, but also pretty nervous that I'll have to leave my sweatpants behind. But, now that I've compared phone interviews to in-person interviews somewhat extensively, I can approach this with more knowledge, self-awareness, and confidence - and hopefully you'll be able to do the same. So good luck to you all on any interviews you have in the coming weeks, be they via phone, Skype, or in person (even though it's SO last-century).
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
In Nicole's recent post on Skype interviewing, she discussed the possible complications that come with adding a computer to the interview process. Similar problems plague phone interviews - it's a good idea to make sure your phone is fully charged and reliable on the day of the interview. A failed interview as a result of technological problems is the last thing any of us need right now. More importantly, though, phone interviewing means that you need to be much more self-aware during your conversation with an employer. As I mentioned above, all you have is your voice in a phone interview. During my interview, I was really self-conscious about how I sounded on the other line - was I too loud or too quiet? Did I sound interested enough? Did I make the interviewer feel rushed or come across as overbearing? Just like an in-person interview, preparation is the key to success. Consider practicing beforehand by calling a friend or parent and asking them to evaluate your speech for pace and clarity. Ask them how you sound, and what you could do to sound better. By interview day, you'll have Morgan Freeman-level speaking skills. (Just kidding, that's a completely unattainable goal.)
To update you since the beginning of this post, I found out a few days after my phone interview that I made it to the second, in-person round of interviews! I'm really excited, but also pretty nervous that I'll have to leave my sweatpants behind. But, now that I've compared phone interviews to in-person interviews somewhat extensively, I can approach this with more knowledge, self-awareness, and confidence - and hopefully you'll be able to do the same. So good luck to you all on any interviews you have in the coming weeks, be they via phone, Skype, or in person (even though it's SO last-century).
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
