A Few Do Not’s of Phone Interviews

By Megan Weyrauch on July 25, 2013

Phone interviews still exist. Does this surprise you? I know that it surprised me, and so when I had a phone interview recently, I made some mistakes in my execution. This inspired me to create a small list of tips so that if you ever have a phone interview, you will do better than I did.

So, when preparing for and going through a phone interview …

1. Do not over-prepare.

Preparation is a great way to feel ready for any interview. Preparing answers to a list of common questions allows you to feel ready and strong in your responses. However, do not let yourself think that the questions you prepared are the only kinds that will be asked. I felt extremely ready for my phone interview because I created specific questions that I assumed my interviewer would ask—I even kept the list near me for reference during my interview. However, if you do this, you may not be ready for broader questions, which leads me to tip number two.

2. Do not count out broad questions.

Have your elevator pitch ready in case your interviewer asks a broad question such as “tell me about yourself.” This way you have a confident, complete answer instead of a weak answer full of “ums” and awkward silence. Broad questions are some of the toughest ones to answer if you are not ready for them. The “tell me about yourself” question threw me off, as I was ready to answer specific questions such as, “tell me your responsibilities for your current internship” or “what is your favorite thing to write about?” These questions came up, but not until after I embarrassed myself over my broader question responses.

3. Do not fear silence.

Sometimes phone interviews feel more stressful than face-to-face interviews because silence over the phone feels more awkward. However, there is a difference in silence resulting from not knowing what to say and silence from thinking up your response. The bouts of silence in my interview were awkward because I filled that silence with “uh’s” and chatter as I thought up my responses. I feared silence and did not want my interviewer to think I was an unworthy candidate because I took a while to respond. Had I merely thought up my response, the silence would have been fine.

Keep these tips in mind as you prepare for and go through your interview!

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