Real World: Job Search #7

My First Phone Interview

Yesterday, I had my first phone interview!

I would have been way more nervous about it if I hadn’t done the whole phone interview thing last year in the quest for a summer internship. I did a lot of interviews last year, but my first one was just—not that fantastic. I was sitting on the couch, on my cell phone, in my PJs and fuzzy slippers. I thought I would be relaxed because I was really comfortable. Unfortunately, comfort doesn’t always translate to “Hire me.”

This year, the stakes are a bit higher. I’m not just looking for a 3-month position. I’m looking for the next 3-5 years. At this level, phone interviews are all about weeding out candidates for on-campus interviews. So I knew I had to bump up my game. After my first phone interview for an internship last year, there were a few lessons I learned.

My Top Five Phone Interview Tips
1. Dress professionally – I know that no one is going to see you, but it helped keep me in the right mindset. Dress for success.
2. Sit in a chair – Sitting up straight helped to keep me focused on the interview and what I was being asked.
3. Gather your tools – Do you need your resume in front of you? I do; and I usually grab the position description (complete with notes and annotations), a list of questions I want to ask, and some answers to common questions (like what are your strengths and weaknesses).
4. Don’t mind the long pauses – Hopefully, they’re just writing down what you are saying, taking notes, etc. So don’t try to fill the awkward silences with rambling thoughts.
5. Keep a bottle of water at your side. This helped me to NOT ramble during the awkward pauses. I resisted the urge to speak by taking a sip of water.

So, yesterday, I decided to follow my own advice. I grabbed a water bottle, a whole bunch of papers, and sat at my desk in my office. And I think it went well. I hope it went well.

The interview lasted about an hour, and my interviewer asked me about my strengths and weaknesses, my supervisory style, experience working with diverse populations, organizational habits, and how I use student development theory in practice. You know, the usual.

There wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary. It was a pretty run-of-the-mill interview. It was a good first interview. It boosted my self-esteem a bit. And it got my feet wet, you know, before jumping into the pool at the conference in March.

We’ll see what happens!