ADP

Hi all

I have a phone interview on Tuesday for a job I really want.

Just wondering how many people have had these and what the next step after it was if you were successfull.............I wonder what else there would be to ask you later on in a second interview?

Andy

Mice_Elf

Usually a face-to-face interview follows a phone interview, if you get called back.

Good luck for tomorrow.

milo

funny you should mention this

i had a phone interview last week (my first one ever). i was successful and have been asked for an interview on-site tomorrow. the phone interview lasted around 30-40 mins

basically the process is this:
* check your cv
* technical test
* phone interview
* on-site interview
* job offer (HOPEFULLY!) and reference check

the phone interview was with a technical guy who basically asked a few technical questions about what ive done in past jobs, asked me about my answers to their technical test and asked a few "why do you want to work here" type questions. i took it as a screening process rather than a full-on interview.

i found it was VERY useful, as it meant i could do the interview from my phone instead of having to travel 3 hours to be told "no thanks" or to not want the position anyway in the end (which the latter has happened all too often to me). it allows you to find out more about the company to ensure the suitability of the position for you too.

the next interview (tomorrow) is set to be on-site... but as they've already spoken to me im hoping that it will be a "confirming they're happy with me" type interview and enable me to meet the staff there.. rather than another brutal bunch of questions.

best of luck on your interview. unless of course you're going for the same job as me... and then i hope you choke

milo

oh yeah.. and just to add... the 40 mins of the phone interview... the interviewer was talking at LEAST as much as me, maybe even more than me, telling me about the position and the company etc.

i think companies use phone interviews to ensure they are only getting in candidates that will be likely to accept the job (in other words, they'll be happy with the company, position etc) if the package is right.. as well as screening.

jamin

I had one with a couple of guys for an IT job last year. I started pretty nervously (I feel much more confident talking face to face) and in the end was so relaxed that when they asked me if I could invite anyone from around the world to a party who would it be and why, I thought i would be clever and say Nelson Mandela...no sooner had the words left my mouth that I knew I'd dropped a b0llock as I knew hardly anything about the guy and was simply trying to appear extremely cultured and knowledgeable etc..I still get a red face just thinking about it...
One of the guys doing the phone interview seemed to squeal with delight probably as he seemed to know everything about Mr Mandela...and after a series of questions on Nelson, there was an eery silence, probably as the two guys p1ssed themselves with the phone on mute...I got through to a proper interview surprisingly but luckily got another job first..I'm not sure if I could face them after the phone incident anyway...
On a more serious note, they would also say things like "We would like you to talk about yourself for 5 minutes..go" And this really threw me as I was only really prepared to answer the usual questions, the aim was to see how good my telephone manor was...

ADP

looks like Ill have to wait and see..........Im not a bad talker and can think on my feet pretty well, more worried about being asked some ultra techie questions

milo

depends what the job is. if you're going for a technical job, expect technical questions for sure. if you can't answer them, then it's the wrong job for you. if they don't ask them (or dont have some kind of test), then they probably are willing to hire pretty much anyone regardless of how good they are technically (in which case do you really want to work for such a company?)

what line of work is it (skills-wise)?

you can probably download some practice tests and/or get some sample common technical interview questions for the skills area you might get tested on.

midget1500

i did one of these for an IT job about a year ago. nervous at first but they talk loads and it flies in. much better than a face-to-face if you get nervous about these things (which i don't in particular but we all get a little apprehensive!)

got through to the next stage...

Jerome

Don't do what I did during a telephone interview.

At the time I had a toaster than didn't automatically pop the toast up, so you had to watch it and pop it manually. I'd just put some bread in the toaster when the phone rang for the interview. I completely forgot about the toast until I saw smoke billowing out of the kitchen. Having to break off the call momentarily to put out some burning toast didn't exactly impress them for some reason. It also took weeks for the smell of smoke to disappear.

eClaire

I had one for Abbey National a while back. They phoned me at 9.15PM . I had fallen asleep and they woke me, I wasn't too impressed but continued with it anyway. After lots of 'team work' 'going the extra mile' 'I feel I communicate well' etc I passed it and was invited for a second interview, but didn't go. Tossers woke me up!

2000TLondon

phone interviews are great, I think, as you can much more prepared and confident. I would suggest standing up, if possible, as your voice genuinely comes across better than sitting down, and I'd make a few bits of paper up with important notes on, to rescue you if you hit a brick wall.

The best piece of advice I ever had regarding interviews was not to keep talking when I had answered a question. You know, you say what you want, and they're just looking at you, so you keep going, trying to make the point but just waffling. Well, it may have just been me. But my old boss told me to cut it out and now I am to the point and am happy to sit through a silence with a smile.

Saying that, I'm still in a pretty krap job!!!!

Good luck...