Today’s tip is pretty simple and straightforward. It deals with one small but important detail related to telephonic interviews. It’s very relevant for us at Alliance because we do thousands of telephonic interviews (both real and practice) with our candidates. You may have never thought of it, but telephonic interviews are actually the most common type of job interview. It makes sense because recruiters see the telephone as a cheap and easy way to ‘cull the herd’ so to speak. Or in other words, whittle a very large population of job applicants into a more manageable amount that is worth the time and effort to meet in person. Some recruiters will claim that they conduct 20 or more telephonic interviews just to find one person who is worth scheduling an in person interview.
There are lots of telephonic tips, but for now, here I am going to focus on your body control. There have been many situations where I have noticed that the interviewee is walking around while I am conducting the interview. I suspect it may be a way for them to calm their nerves a little bit. The problem is that doing so is pretty noticeable to the person on the other end of the phone. Telltale signs include things like heavier breathing, a change in acoustics, and vocal rhythm. Consequently, the interviewer may conclude that the job applicant is not focused on the interview itself. In fact, I remember a time several years ago when it was pretty obvious to me that the person on the other end of the phone was doing the dishes while speaking with me. That act alone spoke volumes to me as to what was most important to him at the time.
Instead of pacing, here’s something else you might want to do instead: Stand up. during the interview The idea here is that standing may give you more confidence. The higher-to-lower positioning can psychologically translate into having authority over the other person. It’s similar to standing on a stage while speaking to a seated audience. The caution here is that you don’t want that authority to be interpreted as superiority. If you are someone that is uncomfortable speaking while standing, this technique may take some practice ahead of time. If it never feels quite right, then you are better off sitting like you normally would during an in-person interview.