Phone Interview 101

Photo by Nathan Borror

Okay, listen up everyone (recording artists too)!  Below is a post that one of my recruiter friends put as her status update on Facebook recently. 

Phone Interview 101 -
1- Be friendly and sound interested when the recruiter calls you (you accepted the invitation)!
2- Research the company you are interviewing for - it does make a difference!
3- The phone interview is very important --- it will determine if you are invited in for the next interview.

Now this is coming from someone who works in HR and conducts interviews on a regular basis.  My guess is more than one person has violated her 3 rules of Phone Interview 101 for her to feel the need to post this on her personal Facebook page.

What's interesting about this recruiter's frustration is that it is also probably the same frustration a radio DJ has when interviewing a new recording artist.  As I've previously shared in a past blog ("5 Things To Remember When Doing a Phoner") which evidently bears repeating, these rules apply to both telephone job interviews and radio phoners.  A DJ's Phoner 101 list would read very much like the one above:

Phoners 101 -
1- Be friendly and sound interested when on the phone with the DJ (you accepted the invitation)!
2- Research the radio station you are interviewing with - it does make a difference!
3- The phoner is very important --- it will determine if you are invited in for an in-studio interview or another phoner for your next single.

These are just the top three mistakes interviewees are making.  There are other common interview faux pas that I coach clients on to help them put their best foot forward in a variety of interviews.  Whether you are a job seeker or a recording artist trying to promote your latest single, this advice coming straight from the person actually doing the interview is advice you need to follow.  I promise, if you help make their job easier, they will love you for it, which will pay off with a possible job offer or increased spins of your song!