Interviewing for a job can be one of life’s most difficult experiences, especially when you really want the job. Job seekers most rock stage one of the assessment process after the online job application – the phone interview.
First of all…congratulations! You made it to the phone interview.
Interviewing has changed dramatically. There’s far more upfront screening, and onsite interviews are really just for finalists. Don’t get annoyed about how you have to phone interview with 17 people before you ever get to meet with anyone in person. Remember, your goal is to build rapport with your Recruiter and go along with the company process, however crazy it seems to you as a candidate.
Every Recruiter has a phone screen horror story. I called a CFO for a phone interview and he answered, on his motorcycle, driving in Napa Valley. I don’t know what disturbed me more- that he was talking on the phone driving a motorcycle or that he thought it was an appropriate environment for a phone interview.
You’ll notice that employers will typically reserve on site, in person interviews only for finalists. In the old days, employers would bring candidates in for exploratory meetings all the time. They don’t do that nearly as much now. So don’t be insulted. As a candidate it’s really essential that you nail the phone interview because you’ll never make it to the actual interview if you don’t. On site interviews are like the Final 4. The NBA playoffs. So the fact that you are even being scheduled for a phone interview means you are getting closer to the big time. You’re not just going in to chat and make friends. You’re going in with a mission. To establish that you more than meet the criteria for the job and that you would be a low risk hire for your manager
CareerRx ProTips Phone Interview Guidelines
Be Ready To Discuss Compensation
Part of a Recruiter’s core responsibilities is to confirm current compensation and desired compensation. Don’t try to talk around any requirements, including salary. The Recruiter is paid to confirm your current salary and most recent compensation package. You should provide current base salary or annualized gross comp based on your hourly rate if you are contracting.
If your current salary is below market, but you were at a higher salary in a prior role, definitely provide that data point to the Recruiter in the phone interview
If the Recruiter doesn’t ask you about compensation, that’s not good. If you’re an Executive doing a very exploratory call and there’s no job description, it’s ok to say, “You know what? I’m really not comfortable talking about compensation yet.” However, give them some data points if you can. If the job is budgeted, approved and posted, you need to discuss compensation.
Don’t get emotional about the salary discussion. We don’t want to hear your backstory. You should say, “Here are my data points around compensation. My current compensation is a base of $k, an incentive of % and on target earnings of $. Here’s my last 5 years of salary history.” Done. No long story. To survive after losing a good paying job, you had to take a pay cut to get the next job. I absolutely recommend saying to the Recruiter, “Listen, I’m going give you multiple data points. My compensation now is a little bit lower than what it used to be. For that reason, let’s look at several factors.”
Be aware that if you’re mean to the Recruiter, you have just lost your best advocate. Work with them.
Danger Zone – Hiring Manager Phone Screen
Many times Hiring Managers want to schedule a phone screen to confirm that you have the required skills. And that you aren’t crazy. All of the same rules apply but the stakes are higher. It’s difficult to build rapport over the phone and Hiring Managers are seriously risk averse. So even more planning and coordination is required before this interview.
If there are certain requirements you’re a little bit weak on when it comes to the job description, it’s essential that you have talking points ready to explicitly address with the Hiring Manager. Review the most relevant experience you have from your past, or what you’d do to gain those skills. They will absolutely take note if you are flippant about requirements, saying, “Oh yeah, I can do that.” You have to go with evidence as opposed to opinions and claims.
Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. Anything you don’t know how to do, they’re going to either have to teach you or manage through your incompetence. My recommendation is that if there’s a skill area that you don’t have, what you’re going to do is identify what you have that IS transferable.