Telephone Interview

In the telephone interview, body language is taken out of the equation but this can often hurt you more than it helps. However, there are some advantages to a phone interview and you should make use of each of them. One important thing to remember is that, despite how trivial the telephone interview may feel, it is still a critical step towards obtaining the position and it requires adequate preparation and effort.

Since the interviewer cannot see you, keep your resume, cover letter, job description, any communications you have had with the company, bullet lists of words that will prompt your answers to specific interview questions, and a computer with internet access. During the interview consult these resources as necessary but do not go too long without saying something when going through them because you will not have non-verbal communication to fill the gap when no one is speaking. Also, avoid distractions. Let others in the house know that you have an interview and that you should not be disturbed. Silence other phones in the room and stay in a place that is quiet during the interview.

Here are some other tips:

• Stand when talking on the phone in the interview as it will give you more energy and keep you more alert. "Thinking well on your feet" really applies here.
• Use a land line instead of a cell phone because cell phones do drop calls or produce line static sometimes.
• Use the restroom before the scheduled call.
• Smile. Smiling will make a big improvement on the way you sound on the phone even though the interviewer cannot see you.
• Keep a glass of water nearby.