13 vital phone screen interview tips

• What is a phone screen?
• Phone screen interview tips
• Common NZ phone screen interview questions

Phone screens exist to help employers narrow the applicant field and save time interviewing candidates who clearly aren’t suitable.

Getting a phone interview is a positive sign – you've made the first shortlist, and the employer wants to know more.

This is the final hurdle before the highly prized in-person interview, and one you should take seriously. Getting this far doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to reach the next stage.

It might sound obvious, but you definitely don’t want to get caught out by a dying phone half way through your interview.

On a similar note, make sure you’re somewhere where you get consistent signal on your phone.

Research the company and role you’re applying for, then make notes on how you’ll answer commonly asked phone interview questions (see below).

It’s important you practice speaking your responses out loud. This is how you’ll discover where you stumble, meaning you can give a more professional impression when the phone rings.

Check and double check the time your phone screen interview is scheduled for, and make sure that you’re somewhere you can take this phone call comfortably, and without interruption. It’s not a good idea, for example, to take this call while out for a walk, even if you think this might help you get rid of the nerves. You never know when it’s going to start raining, or when your normally quiet walking route is going to be subjected to roadworks, and besides, if you’re walking around, you won’t be able to refer to your cheat sheet.

Note, it’s more than okay to ask to reschedule your phone interview if the time they suggest doesn’t work. However, you want to do this early, as asking to reschedule a couple of hours before the interview is due to take place isn’t a good look.

Treat your phone screen like an in person interview – i.e. take it seriously.

Turn the TV off, close your laptop and get rid of pens or other desk items you’re likely to fiddle with.

While you don’t need to suit up for a phone interview, getting out of your PJs, and making sure you’re mentally awake will improve your performance

Even if you’ve removed all diversions, most people find it harder to focus in a phone interview than when face to face.

It’s vital you listen carefully to the questions, and wait for the interviewer to finish before jumping in with a response. Not only is this polite, it prevents you looking daft by answering the wrong query.

On this, it’s perfectly acceptable to take a second to think before you answer. This is far better than starting to talk without knowing where you’re going, and then trailing off without giving a convincing response.

There’s nothing more frustrating from an interviewer’s perspective than having to constantly ask you to repeat yourself because you're mumbling or talking too quietly. Obviously, you don’t want to be screaming into their ear, but it’s important that you speak clearly, at a reasonable pace and enunciate well.

As a general rule, keep things on the shorter side.

The interviewer will ask for more detail if they need it, and you don’t want them falling asleep on the other end of the line. 

Even though your interviewer can’t see you, body language is still important in a phone interview. This is because it impacts how you speak. We recommend:

• Standing, or even walking: your voice will have more energy if you’re standing up, and moving around can burn nervous energy. If you have to sit, avoid slouching as this negatively impacts your breathing.
• Relaxing: whether you’re sitting or standing, avoid tensing. This will make you sound defensive and unconfident.
• Smile: smiling naturally makes your voice more friendly and open for conversation.

You don’t want a hoarse or cracking voice, so keep a glass of water close by. Just remember to take the phone away from your mouth when drinking!

The goal here is to get an in person interview. As the conversation comes to an end, thank the interviewer for their time and ask if it would be possible to set up a face to face meeting.

They might not be able to say yes or no on the spot, but this reinforces your enthusiasm for the role and should prompt them to tell you the format for next steps.

Just as with a face-to-face interview, it’s a good idea to follow up after a phone screen. We recommend sending an email thanking the interviewer and reiterating your enthusiasm for the role within 24 hours of the call. You can also use this email as a way to reinforce any messages you might have felt you didn’t get across strongly enough during the initial conversation.

If you have any thoughts or questions that arise from your phone screen interview, make a note of them down as soon as you hang up. These can be great things to enquire about during the next round of in-person interviews.

Also, if you pick up anything else you think might be useful, for example, ideas on how the company likes to present itself, make a note of these too. These can help you prepare for the next round, and might give you an idea of what to expect in the future.

If you’ve read our article on standard job interview questions, you’ll be in a good position already – there’s a good deal of crossover here.

Favourite questions include:

The interviewer isn’t looking for a list of everything you’ve ever done. They want to know how your education, qualifications and past experience set you up for their role.

Our advice? Read the job description thoroughly and only mention stuff that directly links to their list of desired skills. Keeping a copy of the listing, your CV and Trade Me Job Profile to hand is helpful for answering this one.

Careful – this isn’t asking for a dramatic speech on why this role would be a dream come true. In reality, the interviewer is looking to discover if you’ve fully understood what you’d be doing in the position.

Employers want to get an idea of your desired salary early on. It’s vital you do your research to avoid giving a wildly unrealistic answer, as this can damage your chances.

Use comparisons with similar job listings, online salary tools and trusted contacts to gauge what’s reasonable.

In addition, we recommend giving a range, rather than a specific figure, and mentioning you’re open to negotiations. This way, if your calculations were a little off, the interviewer knows this isn’t a line in the sand for you.

Don’t, we repeat, don’t, rip into your former employer.

Even if your old boss made Monty Burns look good, now is not the time to get any emotions off your chest. 

Other than this, be honest here. Common reasons for moving on include:

• Looking for a new challenge or a chance to learn different skills.
• A change in personal circumstances – e.g. relocating or the arrival of kids.
• Being made redundant – this happens, and good employers will understand it’s not your fault. Better you tell them than lie and they find out another way.

This is purely practical. If you’re currently working, know the terms of your contract so you can give an answer on the spot.

Behavioural job interview questions like this are best answered using the STAR method:

• Situation: what was challenging?
• Task: how was this impacting you specifically?
• Action: how did you solve the issue?
• Result: how did this improve things?