How to perform well in a telephone interview

What are they?

They are real interviews held over the phone rather than face-to-face. Often they are used to sift out applicants to be invited to a face-to-face interview.

Who uses telephone interviews?

They are especially common for sales-related jobs, especially – surprise! – telesales, where verbal communication skills are paramount. But they are increasingly used by other employers as a preliminary screening for all kinds of jobs. You may also expect a telephone interview if you are applying for jobs abroad – in which case calls may come in at all hours of the day or night!

Companies that have used these interviews include Exxon mobil, TotalFinaElf Nigeria, Sainsbury's, The Caudwell Group, Transco, Corus, BT, Standard Life, HBOS and many law firms. They are often arranged via a recruitment consultant.

Advantages of telephone interviews

"The telephone is such an important invention that one day every town will have one"

Aexander Graham Bell

For the employer:

They are time and cost-effective - most last about 20-25 minutes, although they occasionally last up to an hour.
They test your verbal communication skills and telephone technique.
They test your ability to cope with the unexpected.

For you:

You can refer (quickly!) to your application form and take notes; even hold on to your teddy bear for moral support! Sometimes the interview is based on answers to the application form.
You don’t need to dress up or smarten up.
You don’t need to spend time travelling to interview or wonder if the employer will pay your expenses.
Some organisations tell you the questions they will ask while others indicate which competencies they will be looking for during the interview.

Disadvantages of telephone interviews (for you)

You can't see the interviewer to gauge their response. The non-verbal communication found in a normal interview is stripped out. A phone call is a conversation without body language, eye contact or facial expressions.
Tension – you never know when an employer might call to interview you.
They can seem to go very quickly, without giving you much time to think about your answers - so be well prepared!
"Very distant and cold style of interview: no chitchat. They only want to know if you can fill their criteria. High rate of questions. Not at all easy but a good experience. " Kent graduate commenting on their telephone interview.

The advertisement may ask you to 'phone the company.

This is perhaps best, as you then have control over the time and place of the interview.
Avoid using a public phone; if there really is no alternative, find one in as quiet a location as possible and make sure you have a high-denomination phone card

. . or they may phone you in response to your CV/application form

Always be prepared for this:

Keep a copy of your application and information on the company handy, plus a pen and notepad to take notes. Have your laptop turned on if your application is on this.
Before the call, make a list of your USP's (unique selling points): the things that make you better in some ways than most of the other people who will be applying.
You will normally be advised when the telephone call will be made. If you share a house with other students/graduates, or live in the family home, try and prepare other people in the house for these calls and prevent replies such as: “’Lo. Uh? Who? Oh, right – OI! DAVE! IT’S FOR YOU!”
Try and take the phone to as quiet and private a location as possible.
If for some reason you are not prepared say "Thank you for calling, do you mind waiting for a minute while I close the door/turn off the radio/take the phone to a quieter room?". This will give you a little time to compose yourself. If it really is a bad time, offer to call back, fix a time and stick to it.
Keep a glass of water by the phone (but move the receiver away from your mouth when you swallow …). Strange but it is vital: all you do is talk.
Smile when you dial! It really does make a difference to your tone of voice.
In a face to face interview, you show that you are listening via non-verbal signals such as nodding your head. Over the phone you have to show this by the occasional "OKay", "uh-huh", "I see", "I understand", "yes" or similar interjections.
Listen very carefully to the interviewer and try to answer with a lively tone of voice. Speak clearly and relatively slowly.
Reflect back what the speaker is saying in other words. This shows you're listening carefully and checks you are understanding. It is often the most useful way of giving positive feedback to someone: "I hear what you're saying and take it seriously". You can't keep saying "uh-huh" or "yes" for too long without it sounding false.
Have a glass of water ready.
Immediately after the interview, write down the questions you were asked and any ways in which you could have improved your responses.

How long do they last?

Based on a small sample of 14 Kent students who have had telephone interviews recently, they varied in length from 20 minutes to 1 hour, with the average length being half an hour: see the pie chart on the right for details.

What questions will I be asked?

These will be identical to those asked in a face to face interview!
Here are some questions that Kent students have been asked at telephone interviews.

How you choose your university degree?
Why do you want to work for our organisation?
Why do you want to work in the job you have applied for?
What qualities are important to work in the role you are applying for?
What evidence can you give to show you possess these qualities?
What do we do?
Are you willing to be mobile on the job?
Tell me a time you have demonstrated teamwork/communication.
Tell me about a time when you have had to cope with pressure
Tell me about a challenge you have faced. How did you conduct the challenge? What were the advantages and disadvantages of your method? The steps you took? The results?
Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer?
When have you used your initiative to achieve a goal?

Can you mention a time when you have used your leadership skills?
When have you set yourself a goal? What challenges did you face?
Describe a time when you have exceeded a customer's expectations
Describe when you had to motivate others?
What do you think is important when communicating with people?
What skills do you have to offer to a team?
What is your greatest strength?
Why shouldn't we hire you?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
What do you think your job would involve doing?
Commercial awareness – what has been in news recently that would affect our organisation?
Do you have any questions for us?

For help with these see our answers to 150 interview questions

Will I be given any tests?

Perhaps – tests can quite easily be administered over the phone. The interviewer may read out a series of statements and you will be asked to say if you agree or disagree. Sometimes this can be done by pressing the telephone keys. The tests involved are more likely to be personality-type questions than reasoning tests. For example, you may be asked to rate the extent to which you felt the following activities reflect your personal style, from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a lot):

Meeting new people
Setting yourself targets to achieve
Working on your own
Repairing mechanical equipment

Tips from Kent students who have had telephone interviews

Shut yourself away in a quiet place. Have a glass of water by the phone.
Be positive and articulate. Initial presentation is vital: you phoning them means first impressions really count. It's actually good fun though, provided you're prepared. (graduate sales interview)
Supply good examples. Talk slowly! (Smith and Williamson Accountants)
Relax, speak confidently (Accenture)
Interviewer was very nice and didn't mind if you took a few minutes to think. Their call centre is very noisy so you have to speak quite loud for them to hear you properly (HP)
The structure of the interview was explained well and the interviewer seemed friendly. (Logica)
If you do your research and follow the advice on the careers website you should have no problems with the telephone interview. I was notified of passing the interview after five days. When first contacted to arrange time for interview, the HR person made a point of stating that no knowledge would be needed of SAS for the telephone interview. I ignored this and read their website, their Wikipedia page and any other information that Google produced. Unsurprisingly, the first question asked was about my knowledge of SAS! After about five minutes the interviewer moved on to other questions, so always do your research on the company. The rest of the interview questions were the standard; tell me a time when… style of question, although one I was not expecting was “tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone to change their mind and how did you achieve this? (SAS)
Read your application and give strong examples. They seemed friendly: treat it as a chat and relax as they are quite people-focused and pride themselves on their open approach. (Grant Thornton Accountants)
Calm down and be prepared. Think of examples when you demonstrated the competencies that they are looking for. (Mercer Investment Consulting)
Prior to the telephone interview there were online numerical and verbal tests. Take your time. Keep your answers to a reasonable length. Each competency question was covering a key area. Make sure you read through your application answers beforehand. (3M )
When on the phone, make sure you have a copy of your application form in front of you - and notes! (Cable & Wireless)
Prior to the telephone interview there was verbal tests. Make sure you read through your application answers beforehand. Interview is entirely on soft skills. No need to worry about time limit , you'll even be asked if you wish to add to an earlier statement. (Orange)
Prepare for interviews by researching the company (including recent press releases) and re-reading your original application. Personality test took about 10 minutes. Questions were describing a situation and asking which course of action you would take (multiple choice answers) (Barratt Homes)
Just be yourself, try to relax and don’t panic when they fire the questions at you. The questions seem to be based on your application and your knowledge of BT. They are checking if you fit in with their business. Asked a lot of questions, and they kept asking similar questions again to check you were telling the truth. They appeared to be checking what you had written on your application form and CV, and were trying to ensure it was true. This was certainly a verbal reasoning test and a test to see if you could think on the spot. It was hard not to repeat yourself. (BT)
It was a telephone based interview consists of a role play and competency questions. Just prepare answers for all the common questions and you should ace the interview. The telephone interview can be tricky and the interviewer will be difficult during the role, so just stay calm and think practically. (Centrica)

For details of telephone interviews with a range of companies see our Interview Reports
See also the "Methods of Approach" section of our Creative Jobhunting page
We now have an online video on telephone interview skills (campus only: lasts 13 minutes)

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