If you’re hunting for a job, chances are you’re going to be asked to do a preliminary phone interview at some point. “More employers are using this method to help them whittle down their choice of candidates to invite to an in-person interview,” says Marci Alboher, career expert for the Yahoo.com blog Working the New Economy. But it’s not just your job skills they’re interested in learning about. “They also want to get a sense of your personality, communication skills and ability to focus on a task.” Luckily, showing them over the phone is easy, says Alboher. Start by…
* Revealing your warm side by smiling. Friendliness is a key trait virtually all interviewers look for since it means you’re likely to get along well with other employees. And British researchers at the University of Portsmouth say that expressing your friendly side is easy: just smile. In their recent study, people who could hear but not see someone who was talking knew when the talker was smiling. They could even tell how big their grin was.
* Impressing interviewers by dressing up. Even though they can’t see you, your professionalism will shine through loud and clear. That’s because decades of research shows that the tone of your voice and attitude changes according to the outfit you wear: dressing in PJs and slippers makes you sound more casual; donning business attire and dressy shoes makes you instantly sound more business-like.
* Keeping your focus by dialing this! If you’re asked to call in for the interview, first dial *70. This disables call waiting on most phones and prevents the call waiting signal from losing your train of thought and blocking out something important that was being said. Once you hang up, your call waiting service is automatically re-activated. (Is the prospective employee calling you? Then ask frequent callers—like your Mom, sister or best friend—to avoid ringing you during your phone interview.)
[photo: tandemracer]
