Going to the company's website is only part of the search. The other parts include searching the hiring managers via LinkedIn or do a Google search on key leaders in the organization along with other business intelligence search about challenges and pain points. One more thing about the phone interview, even if they can't see you, they can read your enthusiasm and passion. Be upbeat and positive.
At the bottom is another post by another job coach,
Neldon
Dear Resume Survis Lady,
I FINALLY got a call from a company I have always wanted to work for. I’m scheduled for a phone interview next week. I’m really nervous and afraid I am going to mess up the interview. How can I make sure that I am prepared for the interview?
Congratulations on your interview! Getting a call from a company you’ve submitted your resume to for a position that you’re excited about is a really big deal. With the current state of the economy, there are a lot of applicants applying to positions and very few that are being hired (unless you’re in the engineering field. If you’re wondering what field is a good field to get in to, ENGINEERING!!!). I can understand why you’d be nervous, excited and a bit scare at the prospect of being able to show how your skills align with what the company is looking for, put your best foot forward and try to convince them why they need to bring you in for a face to face interview. Sound daunting?
Enough said about that, no need to make you any more scared. What should you do to help you be prepared for the phone interview? I like to think of interviews like tests. Remember back in high school or college when you had a big test coming up so you would try to cram everything you could in to your brain to try to remember for the test? Preparing for a college exam is a lot like preparing for an interview. You’re trying to remember all the projects you’ve worked on, the technology you’ve been exposed to, the experience you’ve had. Now the good news in all of this is that you’re first interview is a phone interview, kind of like an open book test. The person who’s conducting the interview could care less if you have “cheat sheets” in front of you or not. And cheat sheets are the way to go!
So, it’s an open book test, you’re allowed to have cheat sheets, but what do you need on the cheat sheets? There are a few different things that you’ll want to research and have available to you at your fingertips for your interview:
1. Make sure you’ve gone to the company’s website and poked around. Know about the company’s history and why you would want to work for the company. Chances are you will be asked a question something similar to “why do you want to work for xyz company?” or “what are you looking for in your next position?” Bingo…you’ll be able to talk about things within the company that align with your goals and it will show you took the time to do some research
2. Read through the job description and take notes. If you’ve read my previous posts, you know how important keywords are. You thought that was just for your resume! Keywords come back for the interview as well. Write down from the job description some of the key things they are looking for. It could be someone with project management experience in excess of $xxx amount or whatever it is. Right down what they’re looking for and also think about what you’ve done and have an example ready to talk about. In the example above using the project management experience, you would want to talk about what the project was, the budget and what your individual role was within the project.
2. Read through the job description and take notes. If you’ve read my previous posts, you know how important keywords are. You thought that was just for your resume! Keywords come back for the interview as well. Write down from the job description some of the key things they are looking for. It could be someone with project management experience in excess of $xxx amount or whatever it is. Right down what they’re looking for and also think about what you’ve done and have an example ready to talk about. In the example above using the project management experience, you would want to talk about what the project was, the budget and what your individual role was within the project.
3. Have examples ready that go over things that you’ve done where you’ve encountered challenges and were able to overcome them, turn what could have been a negative into a positive.
4. Relax. Most importantly, you are going to want to be yourself over the phone. A lot of the time the initial phone interview you have will be with someone from HR (Human Resources) who may not be all that familiar with the position. In that case, it will not be a real “position specific” interview as much as “how do you communicate over the phone” and “do you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.”
Job Search Phone Calls (2nd post by Christine Dennison)
~~What can you do to reduce the stress and increase the effectiveness of phone calls from employers or recruiters?
~~Set the proper serious tone at your house. Check your answering machine message and make sure it's plain and simple. I remember getting some good laughs at the goofy ones I heard when I was a recruiter, but it made me wonder about the professionalism of the candidate. A sense of humor is a wonderful thing, but be careful. Alert the rest of your household to be responsive and helpful in reaching you. It's all a part of that critical first impression.
~~When the employer or recruiter calls, you may be tempted to call the person back so you'll have time to gather your wits, but you don't want to get into a frustrating game of phone tag. You can ask them to hold for a brief moment while you grab your notes, alert the family to be quiet, and shut the door. They’re doing a lot of weeding out at this stage, so be awake and energetic as you focus on the conversation.
~~Your objective is to arrange for a face-to-face meeting, but treat this phone call like a first interview. Be assertive in presenting yourself and responsive to the caller's questions. Some candidates take the attitude of insisting on a meeting before revealing anything, but it usually comes across as being coy or obnoxious. Everyone’s workload is heavy these days and they are trying to get more accomplished by phone.
~~Take notes. Get the name and title (and correct spelling) of the person to whom you're talking, early in the conversation so you won't forget. In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget important facts, so write down any information they give you, such as job details, timetables, company data. You'll want to sort it out later, and follow up with a letter.
~~What if they seem to be weeding you out or the position doesn't seem to match your background or interests? Most candidates bail out at this point and miss an opportunity. Sometimes the employer or recruiter will "back away" just to see how you respond. Don't panic, don't get defensive and don't give up. There is a point at which you may give up gracefully, but be sure you're not closing doors. You'll want to be considered for other positions if this one is not right. Get as much information as you can, and make it easy for them to get back in touch.
~~What can you do to reduce the stress and increase the effectiveness of phone calls from employers or recruiters?
~~Set the proper serious tone at your house. Check your answering machine message and make sure it's plain and simple. I remember getting some good laughs at the goofy ones I heard when I was a recruiter, but it made me wonder about the professionalism of the candidate. A sense of humor is a wonderful thing, but be careful. Alert the rest of your household to be responsive and helpful in reaching you. It's all a part of that critical first impression.
~~When the employer or recruiter calls, you may be tempted to call the person back so you'll have time to gather your wits, but you don't want to get into a frustrating game of phone tag. You can ask them to hold for a brief moment while you grab your notes, alert the family to be quiet, and shut the door. They’re doing a lot of weeding out at this stage, so be awake and energetic as you focus on the conversation.
~~Your objective is to arrange for a face-to-face meeting, but treat this phone call like a first interview. Be assertive in presenting yourself and responsive to the caller's questions. Some candidates take the attitude of insisting on a meeting before revealing anything, but it usually comes across as being coy or obnoxious. Everyone’s workload is heavy these days and they are trying to get more accomplished by phone.
~~Take notes. Get the name and title (and correct spelling) of the person to whom you're talking, early in the conversation so you won't forget. In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget important facts, so write down any information they give you, such as job details, timetables, company data. You'll want to sort it out later, and follow up with a letter.
~~What if they seem to be weeding you out or the position doesn't seem to match your background or interests? Most candidates bail out at this point and miss an opportunity. Sometimes the employer or recruiter will "back away" just to see how you respond. Don't panic, don't get defensive and don't give up. There is a point at which you may give up gracefully, but be sure you're not closing doors. You'll want to be considered for other positions if this one is not right. Get as much information as you can, and make it easy for them to get back in touch.
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