10 Phone Interview Tips to Get You to the Next Round

Here are some of the best phone interview tips that will ensure you are well prepared to ace that phone interview and help you land your dream job.

Congratulations! Your resume passed the test and so you’ve made it to your first phone interview for the job you want. Sure, nerves may be settling as the anticipation of the phone call gets closer, but with these phone interview tips you’ll be ready to knock the interview out of the park to take you to the next round!

Like a traditional in-person meeting, phone interviews hold as much weight, have similar preparation techniques, and can tell just as much about a person as a first meeting does.

Before the call, be sure to confirm the date, time and location. Find out whether you need to call the interviewer or if they will be calling you. Also, find out if it will be a video call interview or simply a phone call. If you have the option, offer a landline so that poor reception cannot drop a cell phone call. Schedule a calendar event with a reminder a few hours before so that you can be in a quiet location with all your necessary materials ready to go.

A phone interview is, in fact, your first impression, so here’s how to make a lasting one.

1. Research the Company

Like you would do for your in-person meeting, you want to be well prepared for the phone call. This means that you should start by researching the company. Of course, you must know something about them to have applied in the first place, but dig a little deeper.

Beyond reading through the company’s website, be sure to check out LinkedIn, other employees on LinkedIn and third-party sites (like Glassdoor and Yelp) to read client and employee reviews. You can also leverage social media to get a taste of the company culture and marketing methods. Importantly, be sure to specifically research the person who will be calling you in advance so that you have an understanding of who they are, how long they’ve been with the company, the role they play, their duties and their background.

2. Ask Questions

While it seems like an interview is all about the employer finding the right candidate to fill the position, they are actually meant to be conversational and include a natural back and forth. The best kinds of interviews allow a potential employee to also see if the company is a good fit for their needs and personality. In order to do this, you should prepare questions in advance and don’t be afraid to ask them!

For the most part, people do enjoy talking about themselves, so if you’ve completed step one above, you’ll know a little something about your interviewer to ask personal questions like what brought them to this company, what they enjoy about their job or any challenges they may have faced in the role. This allows the interview to become more relaxed as each participant is speaking as they would with someone they know. Undoubtedly, it’s still important to remain formal and respectful as the interviewer is not your friend. Some other useful questions may include:

• How does the company measure success?
• How would you describe your ideal employee in this position?
• What’s the company culture like?

3. Be Energetic

Your voice and tone matter a lot during a phone call. The person on the other side of the line can infer your attitude through how your voice sounds, so it’s important to be energetic and not monotone. Monotone voices typically signify boredom, so be sure to match the cadence of your voice with the conversation.

Additionally, don’t schedule an interview first thing in the morning if you can avoid it because you don’t want to sound half asleep or uninterested. Before the schedule call, drink some water and get ready to talk!

4. Be Prepared

Like a traditional interview, you can prepare in advance by running through your own resume, answering some common interview questions, and having the necessary documentation handy.

Here are some common interview questions:

• “Tell me a little about yourself.”
• “What are your biggest weaknesses and strengths?”
• “Why do you want to leave your current job?”
• “Tell me about a time you faced a challenge in the workplace and how you overcame it.”
• “Why do you want this job?”
• “What do you find interesting about this company?”

By having these questions answered in advance, you won’t be thrown off guard when they are asked and can provide detailed and specific examples for each.

Additionally, you’ll want to walk through your own resume and pull examples from each work experience that can be discussed with the interviewer to highlight how you will positively contribute to the company.

Some interviewers may ask for a list of references on the spot to check in with after your call. Be sure to have a list handy and reach out to the people on that list in advance to ask for their permission to be contacted. Share the role and company you’re applying for with them so that they are ready prepared if they do receive a call from your interviewer.

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5. Prepare These Materials

During your phone interview, you’ll want to have some documents and notes ready to help you through the call. Here’s what you should have prepared:

Resume:

Your interviewer will likely ask you to run through your resume as they’ll be looking at it on their end. Rather than stating everything it says, paint the picture of what you did in each role and how the experiences have brought you to where you are and what you’re prepared to contribute. If instead, they’ve requested a CV, have that ready!

Paper and a Pen:

Take notes during the call. Write down answers to questions, as well as other questions that may come up during the call to ask when the time is right.

Job Description:

Have the job description either printed or in front of you digitally. You can reference keywords and skills that they are looking for when answering questions.

Helpful Hint:

If you get stuck on a question, either have access to a computer or device to search for the answer or write it down and search for the answer to come back to later. It’s ok not to know everything. Another good way to stall is to ask for a moment to think about it.

6. Location is Key

Unlike a traditional interview, a phone interview gives you an added bonus of the freedom to choose where you want to take the call. For optimal results, choose a quiet and comfortable place. But don’t be too comfortable, like in bed. You still want to take it as seriously as a regular interview. If you choose to take the call in your home, be sure that no one interrupts you and be focused on the call itself.

If your home isn’t the right environment, perhaps a car can serve as a good quiet place, unless you have access to a co-working space in which you can reserve a room. Regardless of where you are, if you can’t find a perfectly quiet space, use headphones so that outside noise isn’t a distraction.

7. Minimize Distractions

In today’s connected world, distractions are everywhere. Be sure to silence your cell phone and electronic devices before the call so that notifications don’t interrupt. Turn off notifications on your laptop or anything else that can make a sound and interrupt your flow, such as alarms or calendar events.

And digital noises aren’t the only kinds of distractions. Be sure not to smoke, eat or chew gum during the call. These will not only be annoying to hear for the interviewer, but they also will take your mind off the call.

8. Slow Down

Just as the tone of your voice is important, it also matters how you speak. Talk slowly and enunciate rather than mumbling. Don’t interrupt the interviewer. It’s ok if they interrupt you, but you don’t want it the other way around. Of course, on a phone call, sometimes interruptions happen because you aren’t always sure who is ready to talk next, so if you do accidentally speak at the same time, apologize and insist that they go ahead.

9. Send a Thank You

What happens after the phone call is as relevant to what happens during the conversation. Be sure to send a thank you email or handwritten note to the interviewer for their time. Address them formally and try to draw something personal from the conversation to leave a lasting imprint in their memory of what you talked about and who you are.

Furthermore, if you had written down any last-minute and unanswered questions, feel free to include them in this email as a follow up. This is so that during the final phase when they are deciding who to move to the next round of interviews you will be top of mind and memorable. It also opens the door for them to respond to you.

10. Smiling Matters

Although it may seem silly because the interviewer cannot see you, still be sure to smile! Even on the phone, you can hear when someone is smiling and it will positively affect your tone of voice and translate through your responses.

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Wrapping Up

You’ve made it this far, so be confident and be yourself during the phone interview! By following these tips, you’ll be on the right path to getting to the next step of the interview process, whether it be a second phone call or in-person meeting.