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Last week Mr. Jain wrote about why some organisations use telephone
interviews,this week he continues on how the most likely question you will be asked
and how to answer them.... |
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Some of the questions that you can anticipate are: |
| 1. |
Summary of your career/previous work experience
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| 2. |
Short and long term career goals
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Where do you see yourself 5/10/15 years from now?
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4. |
Why do you want to quit your current job? |
5. |
Why have you applied to this organisation? |
6. |
Why do you want to work for this organisation? |
7. |
How are your skills, qualifications, and experience suitable for this job? |
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8. |
What do you know about the job that you have applied for? |
9. |
Tell us something about yourself |
10. |
Find a solution to a problem situation at work |
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For any questions relating to how you would handle a problem or crisis
situation at work, remember to use an analytical and structured format
for your answer i.e. problem definition-solution-implications
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Keep Your Answers Short And To The Point |
Avoid verbosity and lengthy detailed explanations in your answers. Stick
to what you have been asked. Do not get into a long preamble before you
get to the actual answer. This will show clarity of thought and can be
achieved by your preparation.
For example, to answer the question-"Tell us about yourself"- you may
have a lot of information to give but you will need to prioritise. You
could either describe yourself in a few adjectives to cover your strengths
and weaknesses, or you could give a brief outline of your current employment
and your career objectives etc. What you say should be prepared before
hand so that it ensures that your answer is short and to the point.
Your telephone interview could vary from a duration of 5-10 minutes to
half an hour or longer. Prepare answers to as many questions that you
can think of because there is no fixed duration for the telephone call.
The longer the interview takes does not necessarily mean a good interview,
similarly a short interview does not necessarily mean a bad interview
over the phone. It depends on what your answers were and how you delivered
them over the phone. Just remember to keep your answers crisp, concise
and focussed. |
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Speak Clearly And Slowly |
Regarding your style of delivering your answers, try and speak clearly
and slowly. Be articulate. You have to rely on the interviewer's listening
skills to evaluate what you say, so do not take any chances in messing
up at your end. You have to be sure that the interviewer has heard and
understood what you say, so initially you may need to be careful about
the pace at which you speak. However, do not concentrate on it so much
that you forget what you were talking about! |
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Your Voice Should Sound Pleasant, Friendly And Enthusiastic |
Since the interviewer cannot see you, your tone of voice is important
in making an impression on him. Try to sound enthusiastic. Smile even
though you cannot be seen, because you will be surprised how smiling can
improve the way you sound on the telephone! It will automatically give
your voice a friendly tone!
In most interviews on the telephone, there may be only one interviewer
at the other end. However, in some cases, the interview may be a conference
call where a number of interviewers fire questions one after the other.
Sounds unnerving, but don't lose heart! Just follow the basics- Speak
to each person in the same pleasant way, as you are not aware of the hierarchy
at this stage! Answer the person who asks the question and follow this
for each further question. If you can catch the names of the interviewers
if they introduce themselves, try and remember them or quickly jot them
down so you can address the individuals personally. This is not absolutely
necessary- if you do it right it will work for you, but if you mix up
the names and voices of the interviewers, it can be extremely embarrassing!
Use this tactic only if you are good with matching names to voices over
the phone! |
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Be positive in what you say |
You should approach your answers in a positive way i.e. do not criticise
your former employer or give a negative picture of why you want to leave
your current job. You are obviously looking for a change because you are
unhappy with your existing job, but you can still be diplomatic about
the reasons why!
Give the real reasons, but put it across in a positive way e.g. why you
feel the need to move on in your career etc. And if you are looking for
a change because you cannot get along with your present boss, there is
no guarantee that you will get a better boss in your new job! Be sure
why you are changing jobs- delving deeper into your career plans will
give you more convincing reasons for why you want to quit your existing
job. |
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