So you’ve been applying to jobs and you finally hear back from one of the jobs you applied to. You are nervous and probably a little excited. In this post I’ll cover some best practices when it comes to preparing for phone interviews for entry to mid-level positions in the tech industry.

Before we dive into best practices for phone interviews, let’s clarify the main difference between a phone screen and phone interview.

Typically, at a large organization a phone screen is a short conversation with a recruiter to confirm the information on your resume and that you could be a good fit for the role you applied to. This conversation should be fairly low stress.

After the phone screen, the hiring manager will conduct a phone interview for the role. This will be a longer conversation that digs into how qualified you are for the role. If all goes well, you will find your way to an onsite interview, and we will walk through preparing for that in another post. For now, let’s focus on helping you crush your phone screen and phone interview for that ‘dream job’.

Prior to your phone screen, you will want to ensure that the recruiter has the most recent version of your resume. Often, a chunk of time can pass between when you applied for a job and when you actually hear back from the recruiter. This is also the perfect opportunity to fix any typos, or draft up a more directed resume for the role you are interviewing for and send it over as your most up-to-date resume.

Now that you’ve set up a date and time for the interview it’s time to start preparing for it. Prior to your interview, you should make sure you have done your research on the organization and the role you applied for. You should be able to comfortably and confidently answer the following questions:

• “Why do you want to work at [COMPANY NAME]?”  

• “Why are you a strong candidate for this position?”

• “Why you are leaving your current role / organization?”

The last question can be a tricky one. Try to make it as positive as you can and while being honest. For example, I could say “I am leaving an organization because I am bored in my current role” or I could phrase it as “I am looking to grow and expand my expertise in the field by pursuing this new role”. It is critical you have thought-through responses to the questions above because it is almost guaranteed that someone will ask you these throughout the interview process.

I also like to prepare a few questions either about the role or the organization, in case there is extra time at the end of the interview. One question I like to specifically ask at this stage is what to expect in terms of next steps. This helps me set realistic expectations for what comes next in this journey.

Just like anything else, practice makes perfect. The more you practice interviewing, the better you will get at it.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, by playing the numbers game and sending out an absurd number of job applications, you set yourself up to have a portion of those applications turn into interviews, most of which can be used for practice.

This will not only ensure you’re well-versed in your story, but will also help calm your nerves when you do have that phone interview for the ‘dream job’.

Now that you are all prepped, let’s dig into what to do during the interview. My personal preference is to sit down at my desk at home when no one is at home or expected, pull up my resume on one screen, and the job description for the role I applied to on the other screen. This sets me up to be able to reference both documents and tie my experiences back to relevant attributes for the role I’m interviewing for. I also like to throw a post-it note on my monitor that just says “BREATHE” in big letters to help calm me down and just remind me to take a breath and intentionally pause when I’m talking. Once the phone interview is over, I always like to send a note out thanking the interviewer for their time. I usually try to get this sent out within 24 hours of interviewing.

Lastly, let’s chat about what not to do.  First, do not take either of these calls at your current employer, no matter how soundproof you think that conference room is. This might lead to an awkward conversation that could have been easily avoided. Next, do not multitask or pace around a room. This can cause you to sound hurried and unfocused.

Last but probably the most important, do not discuss salary at all during a phone screen. Salary should only be discussed once there is a verbal offer. Recruiters will be aggressive and try to either get your desired range out of you or how much you have previously made out of you. For the record, you never, need to disclose these numbers to a potential employer.

Remember, this is the time in your career to get the biggest pay increase, make sure you maximize this opportunity.

In order to do this efficiently, for now, we need to dodge and avoid any questions regarding salary like the plague. Some crafty ways to get out of this are focusing on the team, culture, and best fit for the role. You can say something along the lines of “I am most concerned about finding the best fit within an organization. I am sure that if I am the best fit for the organization based on the role and my experience, I am sure I will be compensated accordingly”. By avoiding phone calls at work, multitasking, and questions regarding salary you give yourself best chance of success.

So there you have it, you are now ready to go crush your phone interviews. Remember, all a phone interview is is someone listening to you talk about how awesome you are at what you do. And I know you can talk about yourself and all the great things you’ve accomplished. You got this, so go out there and crush it!