5 Tips to Tackle a Recruiter Telephone Interview
It’s very easy to just focus on the interview with your employer and the application stage but a really important part of your job search is at the start when you get a phone call off your recruiter – they’re just as important as an employer at the start because they decide whether the employer gets to look at your CV or not. So you need to make sure you impress your recruiter to bag that dream job.
To make sure you wow your recruiter, we’ve come up with some tips on how to tackle a recruiter telephone interview.
1) Treat it like an Interview with the Employer
Your recruiter has the power to get you the job – so this is your time to shine. If you’re on the phone and you seem disinterested and answer the questions half-heartedly then you’re probably going to find yourself jobless – or you’ll find that your CV never gets put forward for any job. Your recruiter will probably be talking to loads of different candidates – so if you’re not taking it seriously then you’ll probably find yourself on the rejection pile.
2) Analyze The Job Spec
When you applied for the job you should’ve had a good look through the job advert to check that it’s perfect for you. It probably had the key skills that the employer was looking for – so make your recruiter’s life easy and make some notes on your CV about how you match those skills.
This way when your recruiter asks you about your capabilities – you’re ready to answer straight away. If you can tick the majority of the boxes then your recruiter will be a lot more likely to send your CV through to the employer. Your recruiter will love you for making the process straight forward and you may even get an interview – so everyone’s a winner!
3) Don’t Feel Forced To Talk Straight Away
If you’ve applied for quite a few jobs then it’s pretty likely that you’ll get a few phone calls off recruiters. Now when you get that phone call they’ll probably say something along the lines of: “I’m ringing to have a quick chat about a potential role – are you free to talk?”
If you don’t feel prepared or you’re in a noisy environment – arrange a time to ring back. Whether you like it or not, they’re doing a mini interview when they ring you like that because they want to check that you’re the right fit – so remember, if it’s not the right time – rearrange the phone call. They’re not going to put you on the rejection pile just because you’re not available at that moment in time.
4) Get Yourself Prepared
Preparation is key – if you’ve arranged a recruiter telephone interview then make sure you’re in a nice quiet place with your notes and CV in front of you. This way you’ll avoid freezing when you get asked a question about your previous experience.
Get yourself in a nice quiet environment because they don’t want to hear your friend screeching in the background. Also, keep a glass of water to hand – you don’t want to find yourself with a frog in your throat mid-sentence. All of these little preparation tips will make your telephone interview that little bit easier.
5) Swot Up On the Generic Interview Questions
Your recruiter will most likely ask you some generic interview questions like: “What attracted you to this job?”, “Tell me about yourself” and “Why are you thinking of leaving your current job?”.
All these questions can be a little tricky to answer – so before your phone call – have a look through these posts we’ve done – this way you’ll feel nice and prepared because you’ve already thought of potential answers to give.
