Phone Interviews

Dear Import/Export Compliance Manager,

I have had several phone interviews for import/export compliance positions recently but have not had any success getting to the next round.  Do you have any advice on how to do a great phone interview?

Talked in Tallahassee

Dear Talked, 

It’s good to hear that phone interviews are still a thing.  Having been through an interview or three in his career, the Import/Export Compliance Manager prefers the initial anonymity a phone interview has, for both parties (and hopefully it’s just two, as a multi-interviewer phone interview sounds nightmarish).

To start, we can agree that phone interviews can be difficult.  You can’t see the interviewer’s face, you can’t read their body language and it’s harder to make a good impression by doing little things like chatting with the receptionist while you wait.  It’s just you, your voice and your preparation.  Still, with a smaller toolkit to work with, you can still make yourself stand out.

First, for the mother of all that is holy, prepare, prepare and prepare some more.  Act like you will be having an in-person interview, being grilled for an hour by a sour-looking manager who is angry that his tie is on too tight and that the interview will make him late to pick up his kid from school.  Be prepared for all of the regular interview questions (find some online if you need a list) and have a friend, spouse, child or whoever grill you on them.  It’s fine to have to think up to five seconds before answering an interview question.  It’s not fine to take five seconds to think and then make it obvious you are not prepared to answer the question.

Why is preparedness so important?  Simple; it shows that you take the interview seriously.  Think about it: how much can someone really learn from you over the phone?  Not a ton.  If you are not prepared, however, there is a message that is sent loud and clear: “I don’t care enough about getting this job to have taken the time to prepare for this phone interview.”  This is especially galling for an interviewer who has scheduled the interview in the evening to be more accommodating to privacy and/or scheduling needs.  Being prepared is a sign that you are taking the interview seriously.  And, therefore, it’s not unreasonable for the interviewer to infer that you will also take the job seriously.

As someone once explained to the Import/Export Compliance Manager, in a phone interview, you can cheat!  Well, not cheat, necessarily, but you can and should have your resumé in front of you, at the very least.  You can also have notecards with reminders for how to answer certain questions.  If you want to be an expert-level interviewer, have note cards with certain characteristics about yourself that you want to shoehorn into the interview, whether the interviewer asks you about them or not.  For example, if you want to emphasize that you can learn quickly, make a note to yourself to sneak that in somewhere. 

The rest of the Import/Export Compliance Manager’s advice is in the list below:

• Be sure you take the interview in a quiet location.  When the interviewer hears other voices in the background, it is reasonable for her to wonder why you didn’t try to find a quiet spot where you could be uninterrupted and devote your full attention to her and her questions.

• Stand up.  A long time ago, when the Import/Export Compliance Manager was the Inside Sales Representative, he was told that you sound more confident if you stand up.  There is research to confirm this, so stand up.

• Dress professionally for the interview.  Maybe not go the whole nine yards with a pantsuit or suit and tie, but definitely don’t interview in your pajamas.  You want to feel like a professional and have it show through the phone.

• As part of your preparation, be familiar with the entity you are interviewing with.  Study their website.  Understand anything they write about their mission or objectives.  Look at the LinkedIn profiles of some of the people who are in the import/export compliance department, if they have any.  And try to slip in during the questions that you checked the website.

• Be ready to just, oh, talk about yourself for a few minutes, including your history and why you think you are a good fit for the position.  If you’re caught flat-footed by the chance to talk about yourself, the subject which you should know the best, how well will you talk to the CFO about tariffs?

• Be very, very careful about joking in an interview.  Without seeing the body language of the interviewer, you have no idea whether a joke will fall flat or not.  You want the interviewer to know the real you, but err on the side of being too professional.  They’ll get to know you better during the next round of interviews.

• When asked a technical question, don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.”  Then follow it with what you would do to find the answer.  This is better than trying to fake your way through it.  9 times out of 10 the interviewer will see through you, especially if she is an import/export compliance person.

• Come prepared with three questions to ask the interviewer.  That way, if they ask at the end, “Do you have any questions for me?” you can show you are prepared.  This also allows you to learn more about whether you really want the position.  Simple questions like “Is this a new position or an existing position that needs filling?” “What will a typical day look like for the successful candidate for this position?” and “What are the biggest import/export compliance challenges your organization faces right now?” work nicely.

• At the end, thank the interviewer for their time, even if you feel you bombed the interview.  First of all, it’s the courteous thing to do and second, you never know when you will be talking to this person again.

• After the interview is over, send a thank you e-mail or, better yet, a physical thank you card.  This small gesture will set you apart from most other applicants and is also another message to the interviewer that you care about getting the job.  It is also an opportunity for you to show your writing skills (or at least your ability to at least put together a good-sounding note).  Something simple is fine, such as ‘Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview for ____.  I look forward to discussing this opportunity with you in the future.”

Remember that the phone interview’s purpose is to allow the hiring manager and/or human resources to easily determine who should be given an additional interview, but without having to expend much effort.  Taking the above simple steps will help set you apart and give the interviewer more confidence that, if you were least moved to the next round, you would be viewed as a solid candidate for the position. 

Phew.  Phone interviews have a lot going on with them, don’t they?  All the more reason to take it seriously and not wing it.  Hopefully some of this advice is helpful to you, Talked.  Best of luck!