The objective of the telephone interview is to get invited to an in-person interview. Gear the interview with ‘teasers’; short quick statements that creates the impression that they should take a closer look at you. Sales professionals use teasers to get their foot into the front-door.

A teaser should be related to the company or its industry so that it makes you look interesting and credible. The teaser makes you look interested in the issues affecting the company or industry, which will set you apart from the other candidates. Ideally a teaser arises from industry insight, team building or a problem solving approach gained from first hand experience.

Telephone interviews can occur at any time. Be scripted with teasers and a resume story line before the phone call. We can’t overemphasize the importance of not being surprised by the phone call. Some hiring managers will call early in the morning, others will wait until dinner or later. Have a copy of your resume by the phone, along with your script of teasers and answers to commonly asked interview questions.

A telephone interview can last a few minutes or over an hour. When you feel that you’ve scored enough points with the interviewer, ask for a face to face interview! After you have successfully scheduled the next interview, write down the highlights of your interview. Write down then information that way relayed to you, include any skills or qualities that they said that they were looking for. Also include any strengths or weaknesses you may have projected. Be honest and objective. When you get to the in-person interview, build upon those strengths and minimize the interviewer’s perception of your weaknesses with rehearsed examples of past accomplishments.

Instead of adopting a risk-averse interview style, be assertive. Since the objective of the telephone interview is to get invited to an in-person interview, plan on scripting out those ‘teasers.’ Then give it your best!

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