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The #1 Way To Kill A Phone Interview
Also: Get
a Job Offer From Every Interview, Job
Interview Preparation - What Employers Are Looking For,
Ten
Tips to a Job Winning Interview
Typically the topic of verbal crutches is
something that people are coached on when they
are improving their group presentation skills.
Verbal crutches are those little “connector”
words that all of us use from time to time.
These are the ums, ahs, and even in the case of
one candidate I interviewed—fabulous, that we
unconsciously toss in while we’re thinking about
the next sentence.
Let me tell you—this will KILL and I
mean—RUIN your chances for a follow up
interview, especially if your first interview is
a phone interview.
As the interviewer on a phone interview, I
have nothing else to focus on other than the
sound of your voice. If that sound is constantly
interrupted by an umm, or a ya know, I’m really
going to notice it. If the job I’m considering
hiring you for has a lot of phone work involved,
I’m not going to subject the person on the other
end of the phone to your poor verbal abilities.
At this point, I don’t care if you are the most
qualified person on paper—you’re out of the
running because your message is being lost in a
sea of these verbal crutches. It’s a very silly
way to get eliminated.
Here’s how you clean up your act. First, you
need to either ask your friends very seriously
and honestly if you are a verbal crutch
offender. Explain to them how important this is
in your job search, and unless they want to hear
you whine for an additional six months about not
finding a new job—they should help you. Verbal
crutches are bad habits that can become more
apparent when you’re in stressful situations
like job interviews, but are probably apparent
when your guard is down like when you’re hanging
out with friends. They don’t just appear when
you pick up the phone for an interview.
Your other option is to record yourself while
you practice for the interview. This can be
trickier because you will of course know that
you’re taping and will make more of an effort to
clean up your act, but it could work.
Another option is to just make a conscious
effort throughout the day to listen to what you
are really saying. Too many times I find that if
I’m not completely engaged in what I’m saying
and am not truly “in the moment” that I will
start umming and ahhing as my brain searches for
the next coherent thought. When I focus on the
message I’m trying to convey, my speech patterns
clean up immediately and I’m back on track. I
sound more professional and people have a
tendency to not tune me out because they’re
tired of trying to sort out the wheat from the
umm and ahh chaff.
So bottom line, if this could be a problem
for you—fix it NOW! Make an effort every time
you say something during the day to really
listen to what you are saying—don’t tune out! If
you want the interviewer to pay attention to
you—you need to pay attention to you. For some
people, this will be a hard habit to break, but
it is well worth the effort, I guarantee it.
Also: Get
a Job Offer From Every Interview, Job
Interview Preparation - What Employers Are Looking For,
Ten
Tips to a Job Winning Interview
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Job-Interview-Advice.net
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© Red Inc. Melanie Szlucha. You can republish
this information as long as the 3 below
paragraphs are included exactly as they appear.
Melanie Szlucha has been a hiring manager for
over 10 years. She founded Red Inc. to help
people become more relaxed and prepared during
the job interview process. She has developed a
proven method for preparing for job interviews
that focuses on identifying and preparing sound
bites of their experience to discuss with an
interviewer versus studying the “perfect”
answers to questions that interviewees may or
may not be asked.
Combining presentation and communication
skills with her experience in conducting job
interviews, she is able to coach job applicants
through landing their perfect job.
She has published a booklet with the best of
her tips. She is available for classes for
interviewees and interviewers. Also sign up for
individual coaching, teleseminars, and her
weekly email newsletter on her website
http://www.redinc.biz
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Source:
Job-Interview-Advice.net
The job phone interview is
widely used in today's job search market. Read
the article below and learn the phone interview
tips that will get you hired.
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