15 tips for a phone interview

1. Fix a time This is important as you can clear your schedule and focus on the task at hand

2. Clear every one from the room, you dont need distractions. period. family, or friends or kids can be moved to another location in the house if needed. You need to be in a place of sanctuary when conducting the interview.

3. Prefer to use land line, given how there are issues with cell phone reception, use a land line if you can. You can also use VoIP (Voice over IP protocol like vonage) or google talk to take calls, remember to use headset or earphones when doing calls from computer

4. Keep notes This will be important because you will realize that in your anxiety and excitement, you have forgotten half the conversation as you hang up the phone

5. Keep CV close so you can refer to it, Interviewees will often have applicants CV with them, thus if they refer to a point you can quickly see what they are talking about.

6. Answer to the point, This is a drawback of phone interview, the interviewee cannot see your face or emotions so will rely on the tone of your voice and content to gauge the worthiness of the applicant. Intelligent answers and to the point replies are refreshing.

7. Work on correcting thick accent, if you cannot be understood by another person on the phone because you have an accent, then make sure you work on it. After all you want to put your best foot forward and ensure that the faculty or interviewer understands what you are talking about. 

8. Practice phone interview with someone else, if you can. This will help you analyze your mannerisms, tics, enunciation and cadence of speech.

9. Elaborate on your personal statement, this becomes important if, you have a point that is not understood by the examiner or interviewer, use this as an opportunity to expand on the same

10. Clarify any doubts, make sure to ask if they have any questions about your application and take this opportunity to clarify. There will not be another golden opportunity like this to explain yourself (unless they are going to call you in for a real interview)

11. Be assertive and clear, the content of your conversation will dictate you chances for a real interview, so be clear.

12. Avoid low voice and speak up, this is where practice and self analysis comes in.

13. Don't forget time zones,  there are 4 time zones in continental US. Most east coast and florida program follow the eastern standard time (EST), programs in Missouri, Illinois, Texas have Central time (CST) which is 1 hour behind EST. Arizona, Nevada etc follow Mountain standard time (MST) which is 2 hours behind EST and California and west coast programs follow Pacific time (PST) which is three hours behind EST. Don't set up a time which is inconvenient for you or for interviewer.

14. Ask full name before interview and address them properly, this way you can document in your notes, who you spoke with and reference them if needed at a later date.

15. Ask for contact information (email) and/or phone so you can get in touch with them if needed and so you can write post interview feedback and thanks!

Summary of Phone Interview Etiquette

Good luck!

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