Phone interviews are often the first step of the interview process for many employers. They are also an extremely important part of the interview process. It gives you a chance to find out about the candidate without leaving your desk. You can make sure the candidate is the right fit for your company culture and has the right skills for the job.
While they are often short, they can give you, the employer, a lot of information about the candidate. However, this is only the case if you know how to go about conducting a successful phone interview. That’s what we help you do in this blog post.
- Good Time Management
You need to make sure you manage your time effectively. If you have phone interviews scheduled back-to-back, make sure you keep an eye on the clock. Being on time will help keep you on track, but it will create the right first impression for your candidates too. Here at City Group Recruitment, we will confirm the time, date and call length in advance so both you and the candidate are aware.
Remember: Candidates may be planning their lunch break around your call, so good time management is essential.
- Prepare For The Interview
Prepare for your phone interviews. Get the CVs of candidates in order and have a piece of paper with each so you can make notes. Have a list of questions to hand that you need to ask. The goal of a phone interview is to get to know the candidate better. This way you will know if they will fit in your business. You also need to know the skills they have and if they can manage the vacancy.
Remember: Tell the candidate what will happen next and when they can expect to hear back from you. It’s important that you stick to the dates of feedback you promise too.
- Keep Detailed Notes
When you are interviewing face to face, you can remember a candidate by their clothes or how they look, for example. However, with phone interviews it can be hard to separate candidates. Each interview is completed looking at the same 4 walls. This is why you need to make clear and detailed notes for each candidate. Include anything that stands out as well as their answer. Even things like ‘dog barking in the background’ will help you remember that candidate.
Remember: Leave yourself time in between each interview to write up your notes. This way you will be able to understand them when you go back to review the phone interviews.
These are just three top tips for conducting a successful phone interview. If you would like help managing your next vacancy or improving your phone interview style, speak to our team.
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Bakewell Road,
Orton Southgate,
Peterborough,
PE2 6XU