Telephonic interviews are vitally important and are often a first hurdle a job seeker must overcome in order to progress to the next phase of a recruitment drive.

This leads me directly to my first tip:

1. Don’t underestimate the importance of a Telephonic Interview
Many people have a nonchalant approach to telephonic interviews, viewing it more as a formality and not feeling that it is worth preparing for, such as one would do for a face to face interview.
This is a BIG mistake. Telephonics are the ‘gatekeeper’ of a recruitment drive and recruiters will quickly weed out time wasters and people that they feel will not be suitable so its vitally important you prepare and answer as if you were in a face to face interview. This means researching and understanding the role and giving good clear answers.

2. Remember to SMILE
It’s not a face to face interview so I don’t have to smile. WRONG! The fact is that your body expressions and feeling is transmitted telephonically. When you smile, the person can feel it on the other side of the line. Do you want to come across a grumpy, lethargic and boring or do you want to sound bubbly, energetic and alive? SMILE and wake up!

3. Prepare a quiet room
There is absolutely nothing worse from a recruiters point of view than calling someone that has had sufficient notice of the telephonic and they did not prepare at all to be in a quiet room or area that they can conduct the telephonic.
You need to be heard and you need to come across clearly and concisely so loud or public areas with lots of noise and movement are not a good idea.

4. Be prepared to talk through your CV
Recruiters are very likely to talk through your CV with you so its important you either have a copy next to you or on the screen in front of you so that you can refer to it and ensure you are clear in reasons for certain moves, dates employed etc.

Remember, this part of the interview is a good opportunity for a recruiter to test how you communicate, your pitch and tone come into play so having your CV at hand will assist you immensely in maintaining a good flow.