PRDV103: Interviewing Skills

The Phone Interview

In the past, the phone interview was often the first-round screening interview that would determine whether the candidate would be selected for an in-person interview. It was generally shorter than an in-person interview, often 30 minutes. Under present day social isolation circumstances, the whole interview process might be conducted by phone.

It is important to know how long the interview is scheduled for because you will need to gauge the length of your answers to fit the available time. Seek a private place with no distractions. Use a land line if possible, but if that is not feasible, make sure you're in a spot with good service and decide in advance with your interviewer who will call back if the call is dropped.

One of the advantages of the phone interview is that you can have your resume and notes in front of you as long as it doesn't sound like you're reading. You might have your computer open to the company website. Listen carefully to each question, and if you didn't hear or didn't understand, it's better to ask the interviewer to repeat or clarify the question than to try to guess. Try to sound enthusiastic and avoid long pauses because the interviewer may think that you've finished your answer.

The Webcam Interview

There are several things you can do to prepare for your webcam interview. Test your audio and visual equipment and the platform that you will be using. Decide if you will be using headphones and check those as well. Make sure that you have all of the links to join the interview. Check your lighting and that your background is not cluttered or distracting. Make sure that you are eye-level with the camera so that you will not be looking up or down, and position yourself so that the camera focuses on your head and the upper part of your torso. And, crucially, tell everyone whom you share a space with that a webcam interview is going to be taking place.

Prepare to get on the platform 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time. Turn off all automatic notifications (such as those for email and social media). Dress appropriately - the way you would dress for an in-person interview. When the interviewer is talking, it's fine to look at the screen, but when you are speaking, look into the webcam, which will simulate eye contact. Be mindful of your posture and body language; sit up straight and don't fold your arms. Be sure to smile when appropriate and sound enthusiastic and energetic.

The questions you will be getting are the same ones that are asked in a phone or in-person interview:

• Tell me about yourself
• Why are you interested in this position?
• What are your greatest strengths?
• What is your weakness or an area that you need to improve?
• What are your long and short term professional goals?
• Tell me about a time that you hit a roadblock in your work and how you got past it
• How do you organize your day?
• How do you handle pressure?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your salary expectations?
• Questions that are specific to the job you are being interviewed for

Source: Emily Seamone and Don Goldstein, https://careerplan.commons.gc.cuny.edu/blog/job-interview-from-home-part-1
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License.