I'm hoping all you people on here can shed a little bit of light as to what to expect from a phone interview, since this will be the first i've had i'm a little bit unsure what there likely to ask, want to know etc etc. any and all forms of light on this subject would be much appriciated. thanks in advance for any replies!!
It depends really but generally you'll want to know as much about the company as possible. Depending on the job they'll talk about your experience, give us an example of when you x/y/z (Had to seek help, when you've perfomed good *whatever the jobs is* etc), why are you qualified for the job/what could you bring to the company. What's the job? It will very much depend on what it is you're actually applying for.
Is it for a graduate job? If so they will probably ask you about your degree and why you chose it, then questions relating to the job and your work experience. They are very distant and get straight into the questions, like one after another after another.
To add to this, my own (fairly limited) experience of "phone interviews." Don't be put off by their disinterested tone of voice. I think of phone interviews as "semi-focussed data mining"
Normally when I'm asked to conduct phone interviews, it's essentially to make sure the candidate can string a sentence together, that they are semi-competent in their knowledge, and that their CV doesn't have any obvious holes.
In my experience with phone interviews (my current job gave me 2!) part of the problem is you aren't talking face to face with someone. While that can be a blessing I found it somewhat frustrating at the same time. Without body language and that personal contact, I found it difficult to gauge how it was going. Just stick to your guns, stay calm and roll with it. I guess the questions they ask are going to be related to the employer, your credentials, what you can bring to the role and so forth. Go armed with information just like you would for any other interview. One thing I would recommend is to make sure of the line quality before you take the call. Check it isn't breaking up with a lot of noise on the line. Communication without body language is tough enough without the actual hardware making it worse. Another minor thing and it's pretty damn obvious. Make sure no one walks in on you or otherwsie disturbs you. It happened to me and although wasn't catastrophic it was a distraction i could have done without. Just my thoughts.
Have a pen and paper ready!!! I find in an interview you have so many 'visual' clues that you don't have during a phone interview, or where you might stammer and miss something with a face to face the interviewer's face will change and you'll pick up on it and correct without them having to tell you. They'll normally go for the competency based ones, imagine it's a call centre, they have no real knowledge just reading out the questions and summarising your answers (kinda true) to be reviewed later. They're easy to pass as said above ^^ it's a first line of defence really. Ask if you've answered the question properly (they like this STAR format junk) and they'll say 'another example please' or just 'yes', better to have the info down than not. Use lots of expression in your voice, as said ^^^ you can't do body language but if you can get a general 'happy' vibe across it helps.
this is the only problem since i'm not the best on the phone, find things much easier face to face! have to wait and see on thursday!
They're totally unemotional about telling you, it can really go either way haha! Wish you luck I have one next week for my dream job eek!
A bit late now, but something I was going to suggest is to stand up whilst on the phone, it makes you project your voice more thus seeming more confident and authoritative. Also smile while you talk, sound silly but it does come across (anyone that's worked in a call centre will know the phrase 'Smile while you dial'..). General thing would be to not slag off your current/previous employers, I've made that mistake before, best thing is to say you feel the opportunity for growth is very limited at [place] but you've thoroughly enjoyed your time there nonetheless you're still looking for a company that can let you grow professionally. Or some other bs that interviewers love hearing
