Top 10 phone interview questions and answers

Top 10 phone interview questions and
answers
Useful materials: • interviewquestions360.com/free-ebook-145-interview-questions-and-answers
• interviewquestions360.com/free-ebook-top-18-secrets-to-win-every-job-interviews

In this pdf file, you can ref phone interview tips, phone interview questions and answers
materials related such as:
• types of interview questions
• interview thank you letters
• interview secrets
• job interview mistakes
• interview dress tips…

Useful free ebooks for phone interview:
• interviewquestions360.com/free-ebook-145-interview-questions-and-answers
• interviewquestions360.com/13-types-of-interview-questions-and-how-to-face-them
• interviewquestions360.com/job-interview-checklist-40-points
• interviewquestions360.com/top-8-interview-thank-you-letter-samples
• interviewquestions360.com/free-42-cover-letter-samples
• interviewquestions360.com/free-48-resume-samples
• interviewquestions360.com/top-15-ways-to-search-new-jobs

1. What is phone interview?
A telephone interview is a pre-scheduled
interview that takes place between a
recruiter and a candidate who has
applied for a job role that takes place
over the telephone. Telephone
interviews are usually fairly
straightforward and are mainly used to
screen poor candidates out of an
interview process, rather than to test
high quality ones. Often, all recruiters will
be looking for from candidates during a
telephone interview will be a calm,
confident telephone manner and an
intelligent set of responses to interview
questions.

Top 9 phone interview tips

1. Know whether you can take the call when it comes.
Hopefully, you'll be able to schedule the
call for a time when you can focus
completely. Be in a quiet place where you
are comfortable and unlikely to be
interrupted (or overheard, if you are not
at home).
Sometimes you can't schedule the call.
So, if you are driving the kids to school or
dripping outside the shower, ask if you
could schedule a later time. Of course,
you need to feel the interviewer out; if
he hesitates to schedule another time,
you might want to plunge forward and do
the best you can, considering you might
not be getting another opportunity to
present yourself.

2. Have the documentation you need at your fingertips.
Having easy access to the company and
job information will allow you to
confidently respond to questions without
fumbling regarding which job you are
talking about. So have a copy of both the
job description and a copy of the resume
or application you submitted in front of
you before the interview starts.

3. Know your answers to the common questions.
Brief "yes" and "no" responses will not
move a telephone interview forward,
but will end it quickly. So, start by
practicing your answers to the common
interview questions now so that you are
ready when the unplanned telephone
interview occurs. (See the list in the
column on the right or at the bottom of
this article.)
Paint visual pictures with your words by
telling stories that demonstrate results
you achieved or contributed to. Answers
that express the who, what, when,
where, how, and why. Those answers will
make you stand out.

4. Be happy and confident:
While talking on the phone might not
come naturally to you, you can take some
comfort by having an interview without
the pressures of sitting in front of three
or four members of the company all
staring at you. If you relax and smile as
much as possible while speaking, it will
allow you to give positive answers and
sound confident which is much more
likely to impress your employer as it
emphasizes your enthusiasm.

5. If you have a web portfolio or a complete LinkedIn profile,
direct the interviewer to it, if possible.
Imagine this: The interviewer asks you to
describe a challenge you have faced. Ask
if the interviewer has access to the
Internet. If the answer is yes, suggest the
interviewer visit your web portfolio or
LinkedIn profile (URL's hopefully on your
resume), and have her click on your
project highlights page. There, the
interviewer will see what you have made
public, perhaps an outline of key projects
and a terrific graph that expresses your
results.

6. Avoid selfish questions during the interview.
Now is not the time to ask about benefits
or salary. Initial interviews, until you have
an offer, are about selling yourself to the
employer until you are the key applicant
they want to hire. You do not have any
power until that time and will just show
that your emphasis is not on being a
good fit but just on what is in it for you.

7. Don’t hang up without asking for the next
step plus contact information.
The interviewer is bringing the call to an
end but there has been no talk of a next
step. Speak up! Express your enthusiasm
for moving forward and ask about the
next step.
If an in-person interview is not scheduled
at the end of the call, find out when you
can follow up with the employer. Be sure
to ask for contact information (name,
phone number, and email address) of the
person who will be your contact.

8. Stand up and take note!
Believe it or not, standing up and walking
around can help your voice to come
across more effectively. A clear voice is
key down the phone as it allows your
potential employer to hear you easily and
shows that you have good
communication skills. If at all possible,
attempt to avoid words like “erm” and
“umm” as it can imply that nerves affect
you.

9. Say thank you, in writing.
Sure, it was a telephone interview but
that is no reason for not taking the time
to exercise simple but powerful
courtesies. Write a thank you letter and
mail it, unless your main communication
has been through email with the
interviewer. Don’t just say thank you but
make a point of reiterating strengths and
value for the position.

1. Could you tell me a little about yourself?
Most interviewers use this question not
only to gather information, but also to
assess your poise, style of delivery and
communication ability. Don't launch into
a mini-speech about your childhood,
schooling, hobbies, early career and
personal likes and dislikes. Instead,
briefly cite recent personal and
professional work experiences that relate
to the position you're seeking and that
support your credentials. Better yet,
prepare a personal branding statement
that quickly describes who you are and
what you can bring to the company.

2. What are your greatest strengths?
Briefly summarize your work experience
and your strongest qualities and
achievements that are directly related to
the responsibilities of the job you are
applying for. One proven approach is to
include four specific skills that employers
value highly: self-motivation, initiative,
the ability to work in a team and a
willingness to work long hours.

3. .What are your weaknesses?
Realize that most interviewers don't expect you
to be perfect or reveal your true weaknesses.
Turn this question around and present a personal
weakness as a professional strength. Let's assume
that you're detail-oriented, a workaholic and that
you neglect friends and family when working on
important projects. You can turn these
weaknesses around by saying that you're very
meticulous and remain involved in projects until
you've ironed out all the problems, even if it
means working after hours or on the weekend.
Another tactic is to discuss an area where you're
seeking improvement, and then highlight the
steps you're taking to meet that goal. Perhaps
you're an accountant, and are working to improve
your knowledge of payroll procedures by taking
courses at a local college, or maybe you're an IT
professional earning additional certifications.

4. Why did you apply for this job?
The interviewer wants to gauge your
level of interest. Here’s a good way to
answer the question: “This job is a great
fit for me. My skills and background in
XYZ mean that I’d be successful in this
role, which would benefit us both.” Talk
about how you meet their qualifications
and exceed them in some way. (By the
way: Make sure you listen carefully to the
name of the company when you receive
a call, especially if you’ve applied for
several jobs. You don’t want to
accidentally refer to the wrong company
or job position.)

5. Why are you leaving your current position?
Usually asked at the start of an interview, this
is an opportunity to find out straight away
how good you are at thinking on your feet.
The easiest way to think on your feet in this
situation is simply to think ahead. It may
sound obvious, but if you know the question
is likely to come up, a little time rehearsing a
potential answer will help you remain calm
and collected.
It’s also advisable to avoid being overly
critical of your current employer, or going
into too much detail about the reason you’re
looking to move on. It may seem satisfying at
the time to vent about your frustrations, but
you’ll only send alarm bells ringing to your
perspective employer.

6. What do you know about the company?
Many employers ask this question at some
point in the process to find out what your
preparation skills are like. In other words, it’s
research time…
Take some time to look at what the company
do, what the role entails, and any other
information you can get to help paint a
picture of the business. The company
website is the best place to start, but feel
free to look at as many sources as possible.
Showing a range of different research will
really start demonstrating to the employer
how much you want the job.
Having all the notes you need to hand will
also really help even the most cotton-
mouthed candidates relax into the interview.

7. What are your greatest achievements?
Similar in intention to the previous question,
a recruiter may ask this as a way of vetting
which candidates are telling the truth on
their CV.
So if it’s written down for a recruiter to see,
make sure you can actually quantify each
individual accomplishment listed, and answer
a few questions around them. And by
questions, we mean more than reading the
exact same sentence they’ve already read.
Remember, it may sound impressive to tell
people all about your achievements as
Assistant Regional Manager, but if you can’t
expand on them when asked, you’ll not be
able to keep the pretence up for long…

8. What salary are you looking for?
Speaking about salary can be awkward
for some applicants, and during a
telephone interview is no exception.
Honesty is the best policy here. Give a
broad salary range which you feel is
realistic to the role, its responsibilities
and your previous experience. Any
further negotiations can be brought up
later in the interview stage.
Finally, always ensure that you don’t aim
too low with what you’re asking.
Otherwise you might just come out with
less than what you’re worth. To find out
your true market rate, take a look at
our average salary checker.

9. What is the most important thing you’re looking for in a
company/job?
And no, the answer should never be
more money!!! Even if that is the real
answer!! The correct answer should be; a
new challenge with an opportunity for
growth and development. Employers
truly want candidates that can offer an
immediate impact on their business,
including applicable skills, education and
experience, but also candidates that are
interested in new challenges and want to
continue to develop and grow within new
work environments!

10. Do you have any questions?
As with all interviews, this one is pretty
much a no brainer. The advantages of
being asked this in a telephone interview,
however, is that you can think of them
beforehand (standard) and actually write
them down to have in front of you
without the recruiter even knowing
(covert).
That way you can avoid the dreaded
awkward silence at the end of the
interview, something especially painful
on the phone.

Useful materials for phone interview:
• interviewquestions360.com/top-36-situational-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/440-behavioral-interview-questions-ebook-pdf-
download
• interviewquestions360.com/top-40-second-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/95-management-interview-questions-and-
answers-ebook-pdf-download
• interviewquestions360.com/top-30-phone-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/290-competency-based-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/45-internship-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/15-tips-for-job-interview-attire (dress code,
clothes, what to wear)
• interviewquestions360.com/top-15-written-test-examples
• interviewquestions360.com/top-15-closing-statements
• interviewquestions360.com/20-case- study-examples for job interview

• interviewquestions360.com/top-25-scenarios-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/top-25-tips-for-interview-preparation
• interviewquestions360.com/top-10-tips-to-answer-biggest-weakness-and-
strengths-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/tips-to-answer-question-tell-me-about-yourself
• interviewquestions360.com/16-job-application-tips
• interviewquestions360.com/top-14-job-interview-advices
• interviewquestions360.com/top-18-best-interview-practices
• interviewquestions360.com/25-career-goals-examples
• interviewquestions360.com/top-36-technical-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/18-job-interview-exam-samples
• interviewquestions360.com/Q-A-25-questions-with-answers
• interview questions and answers free pdf download

• interviewquestions360.com/12-followup-email-thank-you-letter-samples
• interviewquestions360.com/15-tips-for-job-interview-withour-no-experience
• interviewquestions360.com/15-presentation-ideas-for-job-interview
• interviewquestions360.com/12-job-interview-role-play-examples
• interviewquestions360.com/10-job-interview-techniques
• interviewquestions360.com/11-job-interview-skills
• interviewquestions360.com/tips-to-answer-question-why-should-I-hire-you
• interviewquestions360.com/25-interview-questions-to-ask-employer
• interviewquestions360.com/25-job-interview-assessment-test-examples
• interviewquestions360.com/15-tips-to-answer-experience-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/12-tips-to-answer-education-knowledge-questions
You can download this free pdf file: interview questions and answers by
registering an account from slideshare.net

• interviewquestions360.com/15-screening-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/22-group-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/22-panel-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/22-case-interview-questions
• interviewquestions360.com/top-12-tips-for-career-development
• interviewquestions360.com/top-9-career-path-tips
• interviewquestions360.com/top-14-career-objectives
• interviewquestions360.com/top-12-career-promotion-tips
• interviewquestions360.com/11-performance-appraisal-methods
(includes appraisal templates and forms)
• interviewquestions360.com/top-28-performance-appraisal-forms
• interviewquestions360.com/top-12-salary-negotiation-tips
• interviewquestions360.com/top-9-tips-to-get-high-salary

Fields related:
The above interview questions can be used for fields as:
Construction, manufacturing, healthcare, non profit, advertising, agile, architecture, automotive,
agency, budget, building, business development, consulting, communication, clinical research,
design, software development, product development, interior design, web development,
engineering, education, events, electrical, exhibition, energy, ngo, finance, fashion, green card, oil
gas, hospital, it, marketing, media, mining, nhs, non technical, oil and gas, offshore,
pharmaceutical, real estate, retail, research, human resources, telecommunications, technology,
technical, senior, digital, software, web, clinical, hr, infrastructure, business, erp, creative, ict,
hvac, sales, quality management, uk, implementation, network, operations, architectural,
environmental, crm, website, interactive, security, supply chain, logistics, training, project
management, administrative management…
The above interview questions also can be used for job title levels: entry level, junior, senior,
assistant, associate, administrator, clerk, coordinator, consultant, controller, director, engineer,
executive, leader, manager, officer, specialist, supervisor, VP …

Top 10 phone interview questions and answers

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