A Phone Interview is an Open-Book Test

The following is an excerpt, reprinted with permission of the publisher from The Essential Phone Interview Handbook. © 2011 Paul J. Bailo. Published by Career Press, Pompton Plains, NJ. All rights reserved.

A phone interview is like taking an open-book test. You don’t need to memorize facts and details or stay up until 2 a.m. making flash cards.

However, you do need to be organized. If your professor told you your next exam was going to be open-book, you wouldn’t show up with just a pencil. Instead, you’d try to take advantage of the ability to have everything out in front of you:

• Your resume. It’s much easier to recall and relate to your past achievements when you have a list of them right in front of you.


• Any letters of correspondence. It’s a good idea to reference any materials you have from the company with which you are interviewing.


• Information about the company/position, such as pamphlets and website printouts. These could be useful in referencing specific job responsibilities, as well as the overall workings of the company.


• Questions. Write out a list of questions you want to ask the interviewer before your phone interview. It will be much easier to present your questions in a professional manner when they’re on paper.


• A pen and paper. You’ll want to take notes throughout the interview. Scrambling to find writing materials once the phone interview has begun is distracting and sounds unprofessional to the interviewer.

Lay out all your information on your desk before the interview begins. This way, you can reference all your documents easily in a calm, collected, and professional manner. Remember: Organization is the key to success.

Something to Think About...

I am a business professor at a local university. On the rare occasion that I give my students an open-book test, how do you think they perform? As long as they are prepared with their book tabbed and highlighted, everyone earns an A, because it’s all right in front of them. Students who do not earn an A on an open-book test fail to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them. They were unprepared, had not read the text, and did not know how to use their materials to the best of their advantage.

A phone interview is the same as an open-book test. You can have all your materials, all your answers laid out right in front of you. As long as you are not rustling papers, your interviewer will never know you have written out all your outstanding qualities and your world-class questions, or that you have them neatly organized in front of you.

Be prepared! Set up your command station with all your information neatly laid out. Why panic over memorizing your company research when you can read it from a piece of paper? Take advantage of the open-book test—ace your phone interview.

Comments

[MasterPo]

MasterPo agrees. Have all your resources at your finger tips.

Besides, it's reality. Whatever work you do your employer can't expect you to work in a sealed box all day anyway.

[Walden]

I think phone interviews are great opportunities for job seekers. They are a great time to learn more about the potential position/company without the nerves that can accompany a face-to-face interview. Typically they are a first round, "screening" process to weed out the less qualified candidates. So the person conducting the interview is usually equipped with some specific questions designed to focus on the hiring manager's priorities, in addition to the usual "getting to know you" questions. This means, for the candidate who is paying attention, that you have a distinct advantage should you progress to the next step. If they asked lots of questions about your experience with the ABC computer program, it's a fair bet that they really want someone who can use the ABC computer program. If you can, talk that up in the next interview!

I also always remind my candidates (I'm a recruiter) to stand or sit up straight during a phone interview (I like to walk around) and make sure to SMILE, just like you would in a face-to-face interview. It comes through in your voice.