Candidate Telephone Interview Preparation

Know your CV and experience

You have obviously written your CV, however, make sure you can answer any questions the
interviewer may have about your experience in enough detail.

What do you know about the company?

Have you looked at Websites/ Linked in/ who would you be working for?

Overview of the role and company

What do the company want? Type of person they employ? Why has this role come about?

During the Interview

Introduction:
First impressions: You need to make a good impact on who you meet EVEN OVER THE PHONE!!!
• Make sure you are prepared for the call.
• Know who you are talking to. Carry out some research on that person/people before hand
(look at LinkedIn profile, Facebook etc)
• Make sure you are in a quiet area and you will not be disturbed.
• Be presentable, make your appearance business like. This is vitally important if they conduct
the call over Skype and can see you over the webcam. It also puts you in a more formal,
business frame of mind.
• Prepare notes in front of you on a desk
• Make sure you have a good list of initial questions
o Why does this role exist? Is it expansion or has someone left the business or retired
etc?
o If the role has been vacated by someone else, why did they leave?
o How long has the role been open?
o What specifically made you interested in me?
o What is the working environment like?
o Is this part f a team and if so how many sit in that team?
• Use any notes or documents you have prepared. But don’t rustle too many pieces of paper
on the phone…..never sounds good.
 • Always good to say early on that you have written some questions down it shows that you
have prepared for this interview in a professional manner and that you take it seriously
• Take a job spec and write notes around your strengths and highlight what you can bring to
the company and how it relates to past achievements and future goals.

That first impression is of great importance! It will make the lasting impression!

Main body of the interview

• Try and get them talking about the role/ company/ team. As with every business meeting
you need to qualify the details first prior to offering a product or service, it is exactly the
same with an interview. How can you sell yourself effectively without knowing what they
are looking for?
• Treat the interview as a business meeting with stipulated agendas and structured approach.
• History about the company? Why the role is of importance now? Benefits of bringing
someone into the team? Ask the questions to get them talking
• Sell yourself back to them with statements geared around their answers
• Show what you have done to physically prepare for this meeting- Show your interest!
• Remember, you are working out what it is that THEY want and then selling back what YOU
can offer.

If there is a question you don’t understand- ask them to clarify and elaborate further
• Only answer questions you understand, when you do answer, just ask and double check that
you have answered what they asked- It’s always good to clarify!

Always play to your strengths!

• Never reveal your limitations- “I’m ok at that” “I haven’t used that very often”
• You don’t know what level they are looking for- always be confident about your experiences
and show what you have done/ learned/ gained and how
• It’s vital that you get all your questions answered so make sure you take your time and
review what you have written down and tick off everything that has been answered!
• What is of interest to you? What person would they benefit from? Ask about the company/
the role/ size of the team/ who is involved with marketing at the moment/ who leads on
specific campaigns/ what makes a good recruit/ what would their vision of success be in 12
months time?

Ask as many questions that you feel make it easier for you to decide if this role is for you
• AVOID questions about Salary/ Holiday/ Benefits for only you
• IF they do ask what your current salary is or what you are expecting, answer truthfully but
always make it about the opportunity and how the company/ culture/ role is of importance.

Highlight and express your interest in the role- illustrate the positive strengths and experience you
can bring
THE CLOSE
Reconfirm why you are interested in the role- is it the technology or products/ the size of the
company/ the independence of the role
Make sure you ask what concerns they have- what reservations they may have about you?
• If you tackle this head on, you can underline the reservations there and then for them.
• You don’t want to leave reservations in their mind as you may not get the chance to
confront them again (positively) you’re leaving your interviewer with a clearer picture in
their head about you.
• By asking for any reservations it gives the candidate the chance to overcome the possibility
of the interviewer saying “No”

Ask what the next stage is?

• Will there be another interview- what will it entail? Meeting the team/ tour?
• A candidate that asks questions is much more memorable than one that doesn’t- shows
genuine interest!

End your interview the way you started it! confident/ leave a positive and long lasting impression.

Follow up with an email thanking them for the opportunity and name a small number of interesting
topics covered during the meeting which were of specific interest.

Good Luck!