A telephone interview is an example of an employer's conversation. Summary: standard job seeker survey patterns. Important points about past employment and experience

Each stage of the job search has its own characteristics. Creating a resume, posting it, searching for vacancies and sending your self-presentation to the employer are the first steps that begin future employment.
Then comes a new phase - the participation of applicants in interviews, and not only personal ones, sitting in the meeting room opposite the recruiter. Often, prior to this meeting, a telephone interview is required. Common mistake candidates - underestimating the importance of telephone contact with the recruiting manager.

Why Conduct a Phone Interview

Telephone interviews are actively used by recruiters not only to invite a candidate to a meeting. Some of the specialists, communicating with applicants, already by phone begin to evaluate applicants for compliance with the requirements of the vacancy.

The most common reasons a recruiter calls a candidate:

The summary is completely satisfied, it is necessary to agree on the date and time of a personal meeting.
To conduct it, it is necessary to discuss the possibility of the candidate's presence and obtain confirmation of his consent to participate in the selection.
The resume is interesting, but the manager needs to clarify certain issues, for example: place of residence, salary expectations, if they were not indicated in the resume, desired work schedule, reasons for dismissal from previous places performing any specific task.

As a result of telephone conversations, an invitation to an interview may not follow if the manager receives answers that do not suit him. And this is for the best: the candidate and the recruiter will save their time.

In addition to the above reasons, the recruiter can offer the applicant to undergo a full-fledged interview by phone, at which not only clarifying questions will be asked, but also an assessment of the applicant's competencies. This format of communication can be chosen by the hiring specialist if he conducts remote selection, and the candidate lives in another city or still continues to work and cannot always plan a trip to the employer's office.

Remote interviews can take place via Skype, both in the format of video communication and regular voice communication.

Pros and cons of phone interviews

Like the face-to-face interview, the telephone interview has its positive sides and cons, knowing which you can minimize your own mistakes when communicating with a recruiter.

Positive sides

Ability to quickly receive Additional information about vacancies or candidates. The applicant, by asking questions, can decide whether he needs to go for an interview, and the recruiter will save time on a personal meeting if he clarifies the details over the phone and understands that the candidate does not meet the requirements of the company.
Less stressful situation of communication on the phone compared to a face-to-face meeting.

Cons of a telephone interview

With insufficient recruiter experience, there is a high probability of error. If a specialist rarely conducts an assessment using telephone interviews, then he may not receive the necessary information and draw erroneous conclusions about the candidate, both positive and negative.
Lack of eye contact, inability to see the candidate's reactions to questions. The ability to capture the nuances of the behavior of applicants by ear is not formed by all hiring specialists.
Inability to conduct written test tasks that require the control of the HR manager at the time of their implementation by the applicant.

Tips for preparing for a phone interview

Having sent out a resume to employers, you must be ready to answer a phone call from the company at any time. This is not always possible, so you need to answer calls correctly, transferring communication to a more comfortable time.

When starting a job search, you need to make sure that the phone is within range and ensure a positive balance on the number. If the recruiter fails to get through 2-3 times, most likely, he will stop his attempts to establish contact with the applicant.

If for some reason the candidate cannot or is not ready to receive calls in the evening, for example, after 6 pm, it is better to indicate this limitation in the resume.

One solution to the problem of not being able to answer calls can be to turn on the answering machine and receive voice messages.

Read about how to respond to and the employer. on the given links.

Print and review your resume

On job search portals, candidates create multiple resumes, following the rule: one desired position = one resume. And they do it right. But when you call a recruiter, you have to sort through in memory which of the resumes he can call in order to get answers on topics of interest to him or invite him for an interview. Even if one self-presentation is created, it is better to print it and have it at hand at the moment when you need to answer the manager's questions.

Explore the employer's website

Before the interview, it will not be superfluous to study the website of the company you plan to get into. Pay attention to the pages that tell about the history of the organization, activities, personalities and contacts. If the candidate in the process of telephone communication demonstrates awareness of the activities of the enterprise, this is always an additional plus and is assessed as an interest in the employer's offer.

How to behave during a telephone interview

Strange as it may sound, but there are basic principles for the behavior of the applicant on the phone.

Be polite.
Speak at a normal pace: not too fast, but not too slow.
Answer the question without prejudice.
Do not answer questions too broadly, trying to retell all your experience.
Ask questions essentially.
If something did not suit you in the vacancy, do not rush to refuse or agree to a personal meeting, take a break.

If you were busy when the call came from HR.

The recruiter may call unexpectedly. However, the candidate cannot always communicate for various reasons:

nearby is an employee of the company in which the applicant is still working;
being in transport or other public place;
noisy home environment
being at the wheel of a car.

In these cases, it is better to reschedule the interview, for example, like this: "Thank you for calling, this moment I'm busy. When can I call you back? .

Literacy and simplicity of speech

- a reflection of the level of upbringing and education of the candidate. Speak in a telephone interview correctly and competently - required condition successful completion of this stage of selection.

It is better to remove ornate and long sentences, jargon and vernacular from speech. You should also not pour terminology in which the recruiter is not required to understand.

For those candidates who do not remember where the stress is placed in the word “ringing”, it is better to print and hang, for example, the correct pronunciation above the desktop, at least in this form: ringing.

Positivity and goodwill even at a distance

On the phone - this is not only the ability to speak correctly, but also the ability to convey positive messages. The voice is the same communication tool as the look or. Listening to the interlocutor and not seeing him, however, you can get an idea of his emotional state or attitude to what he says.

Therefore, it is very important, when answering a manager, to maintain composure, even if his questions are not very pleasant.

Do not show fatigue or pain on the phone. It is better to smile, because a smile can be heard from a distance and always helps to create a friendly atmosphere of communication.

And, of course, you need to remember the words of politeness: "hello", "Sorry, I didn't hear you", "could you clarify", "thank you", "all the best".

When listening to a recruiting manager, it is necessary to record the most important points of the conversation. Therefore, it is good to have a pen and paper nearby. The main thing to fix:

Company name;
manager's name;
responsibilities for the vacant position;
requirements for candidates;
working conditions: schedule, size wages, availability of compensation, location of the organization;
recruiter contacts;
data that needs to be sent to him additionally, for example, by e-mail;
the date and time of the interview with the company.

This data will help you prepare for a personal meeting with a recruiter, look for additional information about the employer in open sources and, of course, do not be late for the meeting.

Answer questions to the recruiter

Do you need a recruiter? Certainly yes. Your questions during a telephone interview should be more about the responsibilities and requirements of the company, the features of the organization of work.

Less emphasis on wages. Specify general figures, and the details can always be found at a personal meeting. Too much emphasis on the benefits that the employer provides will lead to the fact that the manager will regard you as a specialist who is interested in money, and not the content of the work.

If you pay due attention to the telephone interview, evaluating it as an important part of communication with the employer, you can get an offer for a personal meeting. And most importantly, the right behavior in a telephone interview will create good impression about a candidate that the recruiter will definitely remember.

telephone interview

Punctuality comes first

Your chances of being among those “lucky ones” who have overcome the first barrier in the form of a telephone interview will increase significantly if you take this type of interview as seriously as you would an in-person meeting with an HR. Before calling back to the employer, prepare a brief introduction about yourself, including a description of your professional achievements and the reasons for your interest in the job offered.

Before calling back to the employer, prepare a brief introduction about yourself.

PR, marketing, advertising consultant Penny Lane Alina Kotovich believes that a telephone interview helps to verify the truth of the information indicated in the resume. “Very often, a CV incorrectly reflects the skills and competencies of the applicant, and even more so cannot reliably testify to his motivation and personal qualities. In addition, it is not uncommon for candidates to slightly "correct" information. So, "free" English sometimes turns out to be colloquial, and even basic. Without talking to a person, you will not find out this information, - the expert notes. “While an experienced recruiter, already at the stage of a telephone conversation, can determine how interesting a candidate will be to a potential employer.”

The average length of a telephone interview is usually 10-20 minutes. With regional selection of personnel - from 40 minutes to one hour. If the employer indicated in the ad a time interval for calls, then, accordingly, the call time of the applicant will allow you to assess the organization and punctuality of the latter. If the period is not indicated, then it is better to call about work from 10.30 to 13.00 and from 15.00 to 17.30.

Invisible interlocutor

Penny Lane Personnel consultants attach great importance to how the applicant builds the conversation during the telephone interview. “If a recruiter has a psychological education, then psycholinguistic analysis is connected, which makes it possible to find out a lot of information about a person without seeing him,” says Alina Kotovich. - For example, then how the applicant is fluent, how builds proposals and how makes accents, allows you to determine the type of personality, preferences, basic motivational factors and much more.

If you forgot or did not have time to ask something, then it is not recommended to immediately call back and clarify.

The specificity of the telephone interview is the lack of eye contact with an interlocutor. On the one hand, there is no need to take care of the external presentation, on the other hand, you are deprived of the opportunity to shift the opponent’s attention to abstract topics, moreover, for many it is a business suit and other details. appearance give self-confidence. Telephone communications can distort the timbre of the voice, but cannot affect the intonation and manner of negotiating, so pay attention to the following important details.

Try to avoid two extremes on your first telephone contact with the employer: do not speak too fast, trying to keep within one minute in the process of conducting mini presentations, but at the same time, do not exaggerate your modesty, do not be shy when communicating with representatives of the personnel service. Do not interrupt the interlocutor at the other end of the wire when he, in turn, begins to represent the company and talk about working conditions. you didn’t understand or didn’t hear, do not be afraid to clarify, ask again. This behavior is much better than blushing at the re-interview, justifying that you listened to this part, and referring to the poor quality of the connection. Career development consultants advise standing on the phone interview. Such psychological reception helps you speak louder and more confidently.

The main thing - do not get distracted!

As in any other interview, be prepared not only to answer, but to ask questions yourself, which will help convince the employer of your interest in getting a job in his company. If the applicant is aimed at a specific vacancy, then his questions will mainly relate to functional duties and criteria for evaluating its performance. “Do not hesitate to ask if you want to impress a strong candidate,” advises the president of the personnel association "Metropolis" Valery Polyakov. - First of all, these should be questions about the content of the work, tasks, resources. It is better to ask about wages and other compensations not at the beginning, but at the end of the conversation.

If you forgot or did not have time to ask something, then it is not recommended to immediately call back and clarify. Such behavior can lead the HR to think about your disorganization, absent-mindedness. The formation of an opinion about a candidate can also be influenced by various sounds associated with the living environment (a working TV, a barking dog, the voices of relatives, children), street noises (when you call from a car or from cell phone). Based on the current situation, the recruiter, firstly, will assess how seriously the applicant takes this type of negotiation, and secondly, will draw up a psychological portrait of the applicant with a greater degree of accuracy. So, one employee of the personnel service cites as an example the case when a girl was interviewed by phone, and it was heard that a third person was taking part in the negotiations. It was her mother, actively prompting her daughter for answers to questions.

After the conversation is over, be sure to ask what your further actions.

The HR interest in you as a potential employee of his company may fade if you are distracted by other things during the interview. For example, one of the applicants talks about a mistake he made: in parallel with a telephone interview, he checked email. When the interlocutor asked about the reasons for the delay in his answers, he honestly admitted that he was simultaneously looking through the letters. There was no proposal for a personal meeting from this company.

If refusal, then polite

If the initiative of the call comes not from you, but from the employer, and at this moment it is inconvenient for you to talk (it does not matter for what reasons: you feel unwell, a tense working atmosphere, business negotiations), or you are simply not mentally prepared for the interview, it is best to reschedule the phone interview. The answer can be formulated as follows: “Thank you for paying attention to my candidacy, thank you for the call. Your proposal interested me very much, but, unfortunately, I cannot talk now - I have to leave in five minutes. Will this be enough time to talk, or can I call you back at another time? In this way, you will clearly enough express your interest in the vacancy, honestly warn about the time you have left, and agree on the date for the next call.

After the end of the conversation, be sure to ask what your next steps are: when you can wait for the result of the interview, and, in case of a positive decision, what Additional materials and documents you may need at a personal meeting. If you know the email address of the employee who communicated with you, after the conversation, you can send him a short reminder letter in which, in addition to thanking you for the conversation, once again list your strengths like a professional.

If, as a result of a telephone conversation, you immediately receive a refusal or realize that you yourself are not interested in this position, then be sure to thank your interlocutor for a pleasant conversation and express hope for the possibility of cooperation in the future. The experience of conducting telephone conversations with the employer, like any other skill, is not acquired immediately. The more phone calls you make, the more confident you will feel from time to time and, therefore, make fewer mistakes. This is the same case when quantity inevitably turns into quality.

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Not all required professions equally popular in society, especially among young people. Among the mass professions, there are many that require an employee of an average skill level - a cashier, a sales assistant, a call center operator, workers social services etc. How to attract people to non-prestigious work?

The problem is that employers are interested in keeping responsible employees in these positions, but cannot offer them high salaries or especially creative tasks. From the point of view of employees, such vacancies can be classified as unpopular. And from the point of view of a recruiter - to difficult ones, because you have to select only those candidates who meet:

position profile;
certain corporate requirements.

I have been working at Global Bilgi for more than four years. The team grew and developed before my eyes. Three years ago, when I was recruiting, everything was much simpler: there were fewer competitors, the projects were quite simple, hardworking and active applicants came to us. Over the past year, projects have become more complex and technologically advanced, and the selection has become three times tougher, although the flow of candidates has hardly grown. But the number of competitors has increased, and candidates in the labor market have the opinion that there is nothing worse and more difficult than an operator.

The company had to change its HR strategy:

more efforts were made to retain and develop employees;
in order to attract new candidates, they gradually began to form an employer brand;
reviewed the assessment center - made it more practical and understandable for applicants.

Efforts began to bear fruit: the proportion of people coming to the introductory training (from the number of invitees) slightly increased. When it turned out that this was not enough, I had to reconsider other stages of recruiting ...

This is where we got to the phone interview. In fact, our recruiters have always done it well, rigidly following the script: “question - answer; question - answer ... ”But something was wrong.

After analyzing the problem, we came to the conclusion: we position ourselves as an outsourcing call center that knows how to sell, for our operators "the ability to sell" is the main competence. But our recruiters - researchers (researchers) do not know how to sell, and do not even try!

Having identified the problem, we began to look for ways to solve it. How was the phone interview with candidates in the past? We spent five to ten minutes on the call - we asked standard questions, not always thinking about the fact that a person’s decision largely depends on these questions: will he choose our company among identical offers?

A telephone interview is a rather effective tool and, despite its simplicity, is very useful at the initial stage of selecting suitable candidates. Personal communication helps to find out the missing information, or, conversely, to communicate what we are not ready to publish in the vacancy announcement.

In general, the interview should be considered as a two-way tool, because it can be used to:

Primary selection of candidates who responded to the vacancy. In this case, selection means cutting off obviously unsuitable applicants - according to parameters that obviously do not correspond to the profile of the vacancy. For example, the criteria "general literacy" and "absence of speech defects" are defining for the position of "operator", but they are not amenable to remote research (by resume or questionnaire).
Attracting "passive" candidates - those who did not show interest in the vacancy (outgoing calls on resumes).

Speaking of an unpopular vacancy, we know in advance what the motivational profile of most candidates will be - the criteria for choosing a job and their priorities are predictable. The order (in order of importance of motives will be something like this:

1) wages;
2) work schedule;
3) office location;
4) type of employment.

There are others, of course, but in most cases the decision is made on the basis of this information.

Of course, if during the day a candidate receives five calls with identical offers from different employers, he also begins to pay attention to reviews about the company in open sources, recalls a conversation with a researcher. This is where an additional factor comes into play - “attitude towards a person in the course of a conversation”. This becomes important, because “ceteris paribus” it is the first phone call that demonstrates to the candidate the corporate culture of the company, its values and standards. Yes, it is very easy to demonstrate a respectful attitude and a pleasant atmosphere in the office, giving a person the opportunity to observe employees or ask them questions for at least five minutes ... But whether he comes to the office depends on the call.

A well-conducted telephone interview influences a number of factors ( table).

Important Points conducting telephone interviews

Factor	Explanation	Example
The number of candidates who came for an interview	People also choose, and the more mass the profession, the more the final decision depends on them.	What if I'm going with a friend? I told him, and he liked the conditions very much. He also wants to work for you. Can?
Involvement candidates	Did the person feel that he would be welcome? Did he want to learn more about the company after talking with the recruiter?
Brand employer	Reviews about the company influence the perception of the recruiter's arguments during the interview Emotions from communication affect the perception of the employer	A friend advised me, you called him. But he won’t be able to combine it with his studies ... Can I come to you for an interview?

What needs to be done to conduct a quality interview?

BUT. Find out the name of the interlocutor and do not forget to repeat it several times throughout the conversation. This will demonstrate your respect and help to dispose him to frankness, because a personal appeal is pleasant to everyone ☺.

B. Start simple. It is very important to concentrate during the call, and better - half a minute before it. It has long been tested and proven: it is the greeting phrase, or rather, its intonation and content that directly determine the style of the upcoming dialogue and its results.

AT. The candidate should feel that the recruiter is happy with his call.

G. We call not just to offer a vacancy or answer the candidate's questions (if the call is incoming), we try to "sell" it.

D. Separately, I would like to note the need to develop the correct structure of the conversation for the first call to the candidate. It is very important! Even the best "salespeople" always keep a script in front of their eyes (a typical conversation scenario, a step-by-step recording of all its stages, including a list sample questions and answers to frequently asked questions). They also have a couple important phrases which should always be taken into account. Special attention. Explanatory "tips" help the seller feel confident, speak consistently, meaningfully and concisely.

Here is a typical script structure:

1. Greeting and establishing contact. The greeting should be concise. You need to speak legibly and slowly, because it is important for us that the candidate correctly understands who is calling him and why. It is also very important at the stage of greeting to clarify whether a person has the opportunity to pay attention to a full discussion of the vacancy, since we take away his personal time.

Sample conversation pattern:

Good afternoon, (name of candidate)! My name is ______, I am a Human Resources Specialist at _______. I want to offer you a job in our company. Can you talk now?

2. Identification of need. You can, of course, do without this item, immediately informing the candidate of all the advantages of the vacancy. But as often happens: what is good for one is not suitable for another. Therefore, if you start with a few simple questions, you can present your vacancy in the most attractive way for a particular job seeker. For example:

What vacancies are you willing to consider?
What is the first thing you pay attention to when choosing a job?
"How will you choose?"
“Have you heard about our company before?”

In addition, at this stage, the recruiter may decide to end the conversation - if the needs and interests of the applicant are completely at odds with the company's offer.

3. Presentation of working conditions and official duties . It will be much easier to communicate the benefits and tasks that will have to be solved in this position, knowing what is important for this particular person. For example:

"Global Bilgi is international company, which occupies a leading position among the world's contact centers. We work with companies such as _________________________.

We currently have a job opening for _______. This vacancy is fully consistent with your wishes for ________ (we list what we found out at the beginning of the conversation).

The duty is only one: to help the client in solving problems. Most of your time will be occupied by:

phone consultations;

search for answers on the company's website;

fixing appeals;

drawing up applications for connection / diagnostics.

Most often, customers contact the contact center when they need:

assistance in choosing services / tariffs;

technical advice on setting up the Internet;

consideration of complaints and disputes”.

It is also important to say that:

where is the office located;
what conditions of employment are offered;
that the company provides introductory training.

4. Discussion. You need to go to this stage even in the process of presenting the conditions. It is important to find out from the candidate his salary expectations, how convenient the location of the office is for him, etc., and also to give him guarantees that introductory training will be provided. The task of the recruiter here is to interest the candidate so much that he wants to come and see everything with his own eyes. We usually say at the end:

I told and asked about everything that was important to me, now it's your turn.

If the needs of the applicant are not identified at the very beginning of the conversation or are not fully defined, then the discussion may develop into a fight with objections. In this case, you need to return to the stage of identifying needs - to find out:

what is important for the candidate in work;
what he would like to avoid.

5. Completion. By the end of the conversation, the recruiter should give himself the answer: is he ready to invite this candidate for an interview?

It is important to immediately inform the candidate about decision and his reasons. The worst option is to tell a person “on the forehead” that he is not suitable and why exactly he is bad. It is best to report unpleasant information using the "sandwich" method: "wrap" the refusal in a positive - not only objectively analyze why the identified shortcomings are incompatible with the position, but also emphasize the merits of the candidate.

For example:

“You have demonstrated good communication skills and understanding of Internet technologies. This is very important for this position. At the same time, competent Russian speech is also important for us, and you use a lot of Ukrainianisms.”

If a positive decision is made, the recruiter must:

tell the candidate how to get to the office, suggest how to find it easier;
give a contact phone number and offer to call if you have additional questions;
recall your name.

Thanks to a good attitude towards candidates at all stages of selection, employees who are already loyal to it will come to the company, and those who for some reason did not come up will advise interested applicants. In our practice, there was a case: three people were invited, and seven came. Sometimes we say to the most deserving candidates: “Your skills and knowledge will be very useful in this position. And if you have friends with the same level of training, then come together.” This works very well - as a rule, candidates choose smart friends, so most interviews are successful. In the worst case, only one candidate will pass, but it will be the strongest!

Basic mistakes. A recruiter can also make the mistake of missing out on a worthy candidate. And because of some blunders, the entire company can lose the trust of the labor market. What mistakes are made most often? Recruiter:

Corresponds by mail during a conversation with the candidate. But, being distracted, he may miss important points, and the candidate will come to the conclusion that he is not interesting to the interlocutor.
Doesn't record/memorize responses. As a result, he asks for the same information over and over, giving the impression of an inattentive and indifferent listener (and will not be able to add “you said that ...” in a personal meeting).
Doesn't ask questions key points positions, therefore invites those who clearly do not meet the requirements. As a result, the company will not acquire an employee, and the candidate will remain dissatisfied, because he wasted time and money on the road.

For example: already at the interview, the applicant learns that the company has a “floating” work schedule, with priority given to morning shifts, and the opportunity to work in the evening hours is important for him (he didn’t say on the phone, but we forgot to ask). The person is indignant, and most importantly, he is ready to tell the whole world about his negative emotions.

Scornful of those who are unsuitable or "unworthy". This is a direct threat to the employer brand! Everyone knows that the negative is remembered better. If there is nothing unusual in the interview, then the candidate will not remember about it ... But if he did not like the tone or words of the recruiter, then, believe me, he will not be silent! All friends, relatives, neighbors and just random people will find out about the insult. Of course, how violent the reaction will be largely depends on the temperament and sociability of the interlocutor, but it’s better to part with people “in a good way”.

If the company consistently builds an HR brand, maintains a positive corporate culture, and generally cares about employees, then recruiting should also be professional and positive. If the phone interview works to strengthen the employer brand, both the candidate and the recruiter will benefit from it. And the business will definitely not lose!

Article provided to our portal
the editors of the journal

This is the initial selection stage before an interview in the office and a position. Can you make it successful? In this article, we will consider an example of a telephone interview.

general information

The hiring manager prefers the phone interview to a face-to-face meeting because he thus can communicate with a much larger number of people than when meeting.

It can be concluded that start preparing for the interview in advance, preferably immediately after sending the resume.

An approximate algorithm for passing a telephone interview, questions and answers:

Before the phone interview, write down the questions (and the answers to them). What does the company do? What will you be doing directly? What will be your working hours? What is your future salary? Is she white? And so on.
Ask people close to you to evaluate your speech and your voice while you are talking on the phone. The phone may be distorting sound or there is interference. Perhaps the voice sounds slurred or the speed of speech is fast from excitement.
If you get a call from a recruiter and you feel uncomfortable talking, apologize. Confirm that you are interested in the position and ask when you can call back. Specify the phone number and name of the person to be contacted.
Talk in a room where no one can disturb you during the interview.
Eliminate loud noises so as not to annoy the interlocutor. If possible turn off the internet to exclude the sounds of instant messaging services.
Vocal experts recommend that you talk on the phone while sitting at a table or standing, so you will speak more confidently.
Answer the manager clearly, to the point of the question asked.
Listen to the question until the end. Correctly specify the question if necessary.
Ask your questions about the proposed work when you are offered to do it. Keep a list of questions in front of you.
Speak to the manager in a cheerful voice, even if it's already 101 interviews.
Rehearse your conversation by phone. Ask people close to you to help you with this.
If it is possible to provide for contacts landline phone, take advantage of this to avoid interference from your network operator.
At the end of the conversation find out when to expect interview results. If you were refused or the vacancy did not fit, politely thank the manager.
If you are invited to a meeting, please write down the address, date and hour of the meeting, how to get there, and a telephone number for questions. Specify how the interview will take place, what documents you need to bring with you.
Do not hang up first at the end of the interview.
Do not immediately call the recruiter back to clarify something.

Pros and cons

The phone interview is a pre-selection.

For the recruiting manager, these are numerous benefits: no need to go around the whole region in search of the right applicant, economic benefits, efficiency of recruitment, wide geography of search.

For an experienced manager, the picture will be formed in a few seconds: first impression, level of interest in the vacancy, relevance.

They can refuse you just because you were not ready for a conversation: you were confused, lethargic, insecure, spoke inappropriately or unfriendly. And for you, the same few minutes will allow you to find out how this vacancy suits you personally.

If something does not suit you, do not show it with your voice. Suddenly you won't find anything better? It is better to write down the phone number, position, duties, work schedule, contact person, dates of a possible meeting, etc.

For employers, the disadvantages of telephone interviews are:

the inability to visually verify the sincerity of the candidate;
the inability to check the compliance of the candidate's appearance with the requirements of the vacancy.

One of the forms of a telephone interview is. The specialist will evaluate not only your speech, but also your external data. In this case it is better to appear in front of a person not in home clothes, but in an office suit.

Main steps

Standard phone interview with a candidate consists of 2 blocks:

The telephone interview with the applicant begins with a greeting, introduction of the manager and a brief message about the vacancy:

assessment of the candidate to the relevant requirements;
clarification and addition according to the candidate's work experience;
preliminary conclusion on compliance.

If the candidate is not suitable for this vacancy, you should correctly, painlessly and honestly refuse, thanking for the attention.

Arrangement for a future meeting:

detailed presentation of the vacancy;
answers to the applicant's questions;
appointment of the place and date of the interview.

Selection of candidates by telephone interview is applicable to all categories of candidates.

For selection of individual vacancies. For mass vacancies in any industry. For remote vacancies so as not to pay for travel to the office of all applicants.

The telephone interview is a recruitment method that has been around for a long time. more than a decade. Knowing the basics of preparing for it, you can be sure that having a quality base in the form vocational training and work experience, you can safely apply for the selected vacancy.

Useful video

This video provides useful tips to help you successfully pass the interview:

Phone interview- This is the most common interview method; spends it personnel specialist after reviewing written resumes from applicants. Many specialists do not see the importance of this method, giving these duties to an assistant. But in vain! During a short telephone interview, you can concretize and expand the information provided in the resume, as well as assess whether the applicant is ready to work in your company. This method is good for almost any vacancies, it takes little time and effort, so you should not refuse it.

So, how to conduct a telephone interview correctly and competently, while finding out the basic necessary facts in order to make a decision on inviting a potential candidate to a meeting already?

To begin with, as soon as we heard that we were greeted at the other end of the tube (sometimes not so), you need to introduce yourself: introduce yourself, your company and clarify what issue you are calling about. We conclude the presentation with the phrase: “Are you comfortable talking now?” (“answer some clarifying questions on the resume?”) and so on.

After making sure that the candidate is ready to talk with you, we will proceed to the telephone interview.

First of all, listen to the voice. How does a person speak? Do you feel tension, excitement or uncertainty in your voice? How competently does a person communicate? Does he put stress on words correctly? Throughout the conversation, you must be vigilant and not lose sight of these particular points. Such “little things” will already show whether it is worth continuing to communicate with this candidate.

The right questions for a phone interview with a candidate

A telephone interview is important because even now you can ask the main "screening" questions that are usually not indicated in the resume. They should be asked in the first place, so that you can immediately make a decision without wasting time talking. So, questions for a telephone interview with a candidate may be as follows:

Citizenship/Residence.
Religion (if this issue is fundamentally important to the Employer).
Place of residence (nearest metro station), in order to understand how convenient it will be for the candidate to get to your office.
Experience with a PC, and more specifically, with the program necessary for an open position (for example, 1C for an accountant, E-Staff for a recruiter, AutoCad for designers, etc.) and what is this experience.
Knowledge of the language (it is advisable to check the pronunciation, that is, ask the candidate to pronounce a pre-prepared phrase over the phone).
Marital status, children (if it is important for the employer).

And other key points important for the employer.

Next, we proceed to the main telephone interview. To do this, you should first check with the candidate whether he is currently working. If so, why is he planning to leave or why has he already left? Ask them to tell you, point by point, the functionality that our potential candidate performed at the previous job and what achievements can he be proud of?

It is interesting to ask a candidate a question about comparing 2 previous jobs: the advantages and disadvantages of each. This question will immediately show: what is a priority for the applicant in work, real reason his departure, as well as his attitude towards past employers and the prospect of our cooperation with him, how intelligent and educated a person is.

Depending on the vacancy for which our candidate is applying, it is advisable to prepare a special case, which will also show the skills of the person, his competence in the position he has chosen.

Perhaps these questions are quite enough to determine whether it is worth inviting a person to a face-to-face meeting with the employer. These 10 minutes of communication are really fundamental when choosing a candidate. Gentlemen, recruiters, do not neglect the telephone interview: it will show in the future your professionalism in the selection, the ability to competently prioritize and save not only your time, but also the applicant's "on the wire".

Yulia Korshakova, Project Manager, Member of the National Guild of Professional Consultants

Consulting group "TRIUMPH.