If you are waiting for telephone contact from a potential employer, remember that you will be evaluating communication skills and skills related to the work during the conversation. Although there are many different types of employment and of different professions and industries you have different levels of formal or informal preferences in communication styles, the following should be of assistance to ensure that they can demonstrate their abilities and skills effectively through the phone.
First Contact
Is the message at home and cell phones reflecting a professional image? Is your message demonstrating your ability to communicate clearly and concisely? Or is your message informal, off-beat and possibly discourage potential employers to undertake further contact with you? This is a very important point. Depending on the type of job you are looking for a message that is too casual can ruin the impression that you are looking for potential employers.
Communicate with Energy and Enthusiasm
When looking for the perfect candidate often organizations make an initial decision on how the candidates answer the phone. If your answer is in a casual and disinterested manner, you will make a poor impression. Energy and enthusiasm in greeting and in the responses to questions demonstrates your interest in the conversation and work. Organizations want motivated employees. Consider your own reaction when you call someone who is happy to hear from you in contrast to those with the feeling you get when you call someone who does not have the pleasure to hear from you or is simply distracted or disinterested. Does the conversation leave you with a positive impression of the person speaking?
Develop Relationship
Build a relationship with the interviewer on the phone is a great way to not only demonstrate your interpersonal skills, but also is likely to increase the amount of information exchanged. You must communicate in a pleasant manner throughout the conversation and remain professional in your language and approach.
Speak Clearly
Focusing on the provision of clear verbal communication, pronouncing the words in full and avoid informal language. Think about your audience and the interviewer is not familiar with technical jargons or acronyms that may be associated with the work. You may be interviewed initially by a consultant who only has less understanding of the technical requirements of the position.
Speak Concisely
While you may be very keen to relate all the experience and skills, it is prudent to wait, listen and respond to relevant questions asked. The interviewer is calling you to assess your suitability. They will have a list of issues and questions to cover. Answer these questions as fully as prompted. To clarify this point if necessary. For example: Do you want a brief summary of my career or further details about the areas in particular? Continue to focus on the needs of the interviewer. They listen carefully to your responses to assess how closely your skills match their requirements, so make it easy for them and gain points by sticking to the points.
Listen Actively
Listen carefully to information they receive and the questions that they are asked. Listen actively to acknowledge that you have heard and understood what was said, the silence leaves the interviewer asking if you're still in line. If a question or issue is unclear, ask for clarification.
Be Prepared
You may be surprised by a call from a prospective employer in the evening or on weekends. Make sure you are familiar with the details of the positions they have applied so you will be able to respond adequately. What work is that again? Not a great start for a telephone interview.
To avoid long silences, while taking time to think, or worse, with a peak in responding poorly chosen, have prepared answers to common interview questions. You can research these on the Internet but some generics are the reasons for seeking this particular job, why you want to leave your current job, what you know about the particular industry and what is your experience in performing the required tasks.
Reflect on how your skills, abilities and interests are aligned with the work you are requesting. This allows you to quickly and concisely verbalize your responses to questions about why you want that particular job and how your current skills and capabilities would lead to job requirements.
Ask questions about work that demonstrates a good level of interest and enthusiasm as long as your questions are not only about what's in it for you. It is also reasonable to ask about the next stage of the interview process and when you can expect to hear more.
Effective use of verbal skills with a job interview by telephone is an excellent way to maximize your chances of landing the job of your dreams. Add your own twist to the points mentioned above and take the right path to achieve it.
