I'm completely divided on the idea of telephone interviews. When I have advanced warning or when I'm properly motivated [usually by my rage] I am quite excellent on the phone. I've had numerous people compliment me on my telephone skills and manners - in fact, that is how I got my promotion @ my corporate job [well, that and my abilities as a raconteur]. But at the same time any type of social communication via telephone really freaks me out [making me the happiest person ever @ the dawn of the internets and instant messaging and the like]. The telephone is a big scary intrusion...the loud ring...the mysteriousness of who is on the other end [I'm too cheap to pay for call display]...it's so awful. To me, the telephone represents some stranger sitting right there in your living room, totally uninvited. Terrifying.
As a result, I rarely answer the telephone when it rings. But yesterday - after 6pm -I was expecting a call and I was fully prepared to answer the phone in some jokey way...but I didn't...and it was a potential employer. Eeeep! The organization is environmentally related, the position is fundraising related [this seems to be my niche lately...somehow?]. They wanted to conduct a brief phone interview right away so of course I agreed [as an unemployed person I am very agreeable]. Things went...okay...thought probably would have gone better if I had been a bit prepared. Mostly it was just a review of my experience in fundraising [which I don't misrepresent in my resume, but I do have a lot of related experience, not necessarily direct experience and it takes a bit of explaining]. The job seems vaguely interesting [moreso than the previous one] as the organization is something I could really get behind...but the job is in another city so I would have to really want it to warrant a move.
But yes, I think that telephone interviews can be really good tools if used properly. I think that they do need to be arranged ahead of time if it is to be a formal type of interview [which this one wasn't so I'm not really complaining] and they need to be treated as seriously. Malcolm Gladwell [I think] made a point in his book Blink that people will hire or prefer a less attractive candidate if they don't see the person. But, when face to face, attractive people always have the edge. Over the phone it is just all you - no dodgy eye contact with three interviewers, no bad hair, no nervous tics. I find that I can become quite confident on the phone, strolling briskly through the house, surrounded by all of my familiar things. But what about everyone else...telephone interviews - yay or nay?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ive never had a telephone interview
ReplyDeletebut the idea freaks me out
Im far better in person
i feel the same way about the telephone - i never answer it and seldom make phone calls
i even have a cell phone presumably so people can get a hold of me - i rarely answer it either
I've had quite a few. Most jobs I've gone on actual interviews have done a pre-screen interview on the phone, sometimes even a 30 minute interview. I find I can be quite easy, breezy...
ReplyDeleteI don't have a mobile phone. We have only one phone in the house and the batteries are frakked on it...it only allows me to talk for about 20 minutes maximum per day. It's a sign.
I didn't have caller id for the longest time, but I finally got it a couple of years ago. Now I only answer the phone if a) I know who's calling, or b) I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteBack in university, I had a couple of phone interviews for co-op jobs. I also tend to do well on the phone, but I've never ended up with one of those jobs.
We actually had caller ID for a few months because the phone company gave it to us for free for screwing up our account. Our phone rarely rings so it wasn't really worth it...we answered it even less...
ReplyDelete