Before the interview: Do your homework. Research the company and the person that you will be speaking with–if you know who that is! Create a comfortable environment for yourself with limited distractions.
During the interview: Listen first…then talk.
Here are some questions that you will likely encounter if you have a phone interview. Brainstorming and practicing potential answers will help you feel confident in your preparation!
- Tell me about yourself?
- Be brief. Talk about your key accomplishments to make yourself memorable.
- How did you find out about this opportunity?
- This one is pretty simple. Be straight forward and clear about how you learned about the opportunity (posting online, through a particular person, recruiter, etc.).
- What are your strengths?
- This is where to speak to your experiences and how those experiences make you a great candidate for the position.
- What are your weaknesses?
- Be honest and speak to some challenges that you have faced in the past. But, also highlight how you grew from them and how you will use that experience moving forward.
- Why are you interested in working at _____ company?
- This is where your research comes into play. Talk about what they do at the company that intrigues you–while also being able to speak to how you could contribute.
- What about this position interested you?
- Think about what you are looking for overall in your search and how their company fits that mold.
- Why do you think that you will do well in this job?
- They are asking this to make sure that you can come in and contribute from day one. This is the opportunity to show how confident you are in your abilities, skill set, etc., to be able to come in and make an impact immediately for the company/organization.
- They are also asking this to make sure that you understand what the job entails. This is your opportunity to show your knowledge of the company (do your research!) and also the job responsibilities.
- What questions do you have for us?
- Companies are looking or employees who are interested in job, their company, and the potential of how they can contribute to the company as a whole. This is your opportunity to ask about the job duties/responsibilities, their team/culture of the company in general; training that you would receive for the job; how will your performance be measured; what happens next in the job interview process.
- During this time, you’ll want to avoid questions about: salary, working hours, benefits, etc.
