Phone interviews during your job search:

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Some of this information is from the notes I took there is a training at an employment center mixed in with some my own observations and recommendations.

One way to let companies know that you exist is to conduct interview phone conversations with employees of that company. A good way to establish a dialogue with your target is to have someone that you both know. The next goal of the phone conversation is to get past the gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are those individuals or technologies that have the job to filter out any calls that can interrupt a managers, work. Samples of gatekeepers are usually of the following:

1. HR department who filters most of the applicants for the hiring manager.

2. The HR computer. If a resume does not have matching words Identical to the desired skills in the job description than the computer may boot those applications out. So it would be important for us to include specific skill sets that you have that match the description in the job description.

3. Receptions and secretaries.

4. Phone trees are looking up. someone by the spelling of the name.

5.  Voicemail. People may not be motivated to answer the voicemail if not given adequate reason to do so. The tickly for someone they don’t know.

The larger the company, the more gatekeepers will exist between you and the person you want to talk to. One way to get around gatekeepers is by directing your job search to smaller and midsize companies or to be able to ask for specific individuals by name. Specific names are usually obtained to the networking with your friends and other contacts.

For those times when you don’t have a name, you may want to find out a person’s name by looking up the possible job titles that he or she may possess. With the appropriate title, you can ask the receptionist for the manager of such and such. Some examples of titles may be the marketing manager or QA assurance manager, etc.

Usually smaller to midsize companies don’t have to advertise for job openings because they are small enough to not be required follow the government controls of having to advertise for positions. Many positions are usually filled by people the employees know or recommend.

When the time comes that you talk to someone in your target company who your friend referred you to, drop the name of the person you know, in the early part of the conversation. That way, the person can associate you with the person they know. Remember, if you have to leave a voice mail, your message needs to motivate them to call back. Don’t be vague when leaving a message. They may have a stronger inclination to call you back when they know that you associated with a friend of theirs. Another thing that may motivate them is by something that you say in your 30 second power introduction.

In phone conversations, remember the following:

  1. Even your tone of voice and how you express yourself will be judged by the listener.
  2. Interestingly the purpose of your call.
  3. Having a predefined script of what you’ll say helps you express yourself clearly.
  4. At the end of the call, make sure you leave contact information.
  5. Make sure that you speak precisely, especially when it comes to numbers. It’s amazing the amount of times I have heard someone’s name and phone number left on my voicemail and I could not understand part of it
  6. Be warned, if you sound like a salesman, the secretary or the admin assistant has been assigned to filter out sales calls. I know that was my responsibility when I was admin assistant for the VP of IT. I had a responsibility to ask for the purpose of the call before I would afford any call to my boss.

If you have any additional suggestions on phone interviews, please feel free to share them in the comment section of this blog.

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