phone interviews

xavier mcdaniel

Has anyone ever had them? Apparently the new buzzword in human resources is "phone screen". I just had a half hour one and would like to think I've advanced to the next step but who really knows?

81

i've had a few.

some lead to real interviews, some don't.

the last one i was on, i parked in a taco bell parking lot and some kid ran into my truck while i was on the interview.

DS1119

You didn't put them on hold and click over to another call at any point during the interview did you? I'm sure that would be bad.

Jason P

The one good thing is that you can have lots of resources at your fingertips while the interview is going on. Do a search for common H.R. interview questions and prep. Good luck!.

xavier mcdaniel

I spent two hours last night doing that and researching the company. I think I included most of those things during the half hour.

The website I used was http://www.bettermondays.com/?p=69

F5AgainstOne

Phone Screens are quite common, especially in the tech industry.
I'm in NH, I interviewed with Google out in Mountain View CA. But first they wanted to get a feel for me over the phone before the flew me out there and put me up in a hotel for the on-site interview.

xavier mcdaniel

this was for a proofreading thing at an advertising company.

intodeep

I work for a staffing firm (engineering focus) and many of our clients want to start with a phone screen. It takes less of the managers time and they get to make sure you have the skills yoru resume says you have before brining you in for a full in depth interview.

Same for you though you get to make sure the position is what it is advertised to be and the in line with your career objectives.

Outside of the engineering world it seems 90% of my friends are marketing execs and when they are shoppingfor jobs and they tend to start with phone screens too. I think it is very common.

good luck. A lot of folks say if you are standing up during the phone screen it keeps you focused better.

hostis

I always do phone interviews as a first step because I manage a technical support desk. Phone work is an essential part of the role and so its incredibly important to me that future team members are comfortable on the phone dealing with dificult, sometimes awkward / challenging questions...

unlost dogs

I chatted informally with my current director on the phone before I ever sent in an application. I wanted to get a preliminary sense of what the work was, and what her expectations were. I made it clear, though, that this was strictly information-gathering for me. (I had been approached by someone at the company, which always switches the power balance in these situations... puts the candidate at the head of the negotiation table.)

When I was a hiring manager, HR would do the initial phone screen based on a list of questions I had. They would generally get a sense if the candidate was possibly acceptable or a raving lunatic. Then we'd consult, and I'd bring them in for an interview.

For my current role, I really wanted to be sure that the person I was working for wasn't someone who (like my two previous directors), regularly dissolves into tears at meetings, or was losing a battle with addiction. (I was really, really tired of consoling/supporting.)

Now I work with cheerful people who seem astonishingly normal.

:shock:

PureandEasy

81 wrote:

i've had a few.

some lead to real interviews, some don't.

the last one i was on, i parked in a taco bell parking lot and some kid ran into my truck while i was on the interview.

that cracked me up

and by the way, we have what is called Talent Aquisition here and they always do phone interviews prior to having someone come in.

81

PureandEasy wrote:

81 wrote:

i've had a few.

some lead to real interviews, some don't.

the last one i was on, i parked in a taco bell parking lot and some kid ran into my truck while i was on the interview.

that cracked me up

and by the way, we have what is called Talent Aquisition here and they always do phone interviews prior to having someone come in.

well, yes, i do believe i am a good canidate. um..can you hold a second, somebody just hit my truck. can i call you back in a few.

i did get an in person interview.

PureandEasy

I was wondering if you interrupted the call for it or not.

I just found that hilarious, I don't know why, but I did.

Poncier

unlost dogs wrote:

They would generally get a sense if the candidate was a raving lunatic. Then we'd bring them in for an interview.

unlost dogs

Poncier wrote:

unlost dogs wrote:

They would generally get a sense if the candidate was a raving lunatic. Then we'd bring them in for an interview.

I was directly responsible for hiring the one who called in sick every Friday night, then called in drunk on Saturday morning to say she was sooooooo soooooorrrrrrry. And the one who'd been fired by his previous manager for punching a colleague in the face (previous manager said, "Oh, we'd defintely rehire him!" in the reference check).

Good times!

xavier mcdaniel

intodeep wrote:

I work for a staffing firm (engineering focus) and many of our clients want to start with a phone screen. It takes less of the managers time and they get to make sure you have the skills yoru resume says you have before brining you in for a full in depth interview.

Same for you though you get to make sure the position is what it is advertised to be and the in line with your career objectives.

Outside of the engineering world it seems 90% of my friends are marketing execs and when they are shoppingfor jobs and they tend to start with phone screens too. I think it is very common.

good luck. A lot of folks say if you are standing up during the phone screen it keeps you focused better.

I did do that and was even wearing dress pants and shirt. I think the only thing that threw me off was that it was 90 minutes late because the recruiter had some personal emergency.

PureandEasy

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

intodeep wrote:

I work for a staffing firm (engineering focus) and many of our clients want to start with a phone screen. It takes less of the managers time and they get to make sure you have the skills yoru resume says you have before brining you in for a full in depth interview.

Same for you though you get to make sure the position is what it is advertised to be and the in line with your career objectives.

Outside of the engineering world it seems 90% of my friends are marketing execs and when they are shoppingfor jobs and they tend to start with phone screens too. I think it is very common.

good luck. A lot of folks say if you are standing up during the phone screen it keeps you focused better.

I did do that and was even wearing dress pants and shirt. I think the only thing that threw me off was that it was 90 minutes late because the recruiter had some personal emergency.

Xavier wears dress pants and a shirt for a phone interview.

81 pulls into a Taco Bell parking lot . . . hmm, who would you hire?

davidtrios

phone interviews usually lead into traditional ones but i was hired at my current company from a phone interview alone...been there ever since.

xavier mcdaniel

PureandEasy wrote:

xavier mcdaniel wrote:

intodeep wrote:

I work for a staffing firm (engineering focus) and many of our clients want to start with a phone screen. It takes less of the managers time and they get to make sure you have the skills yoru resume says you have before brining you in for a full in depth interview.

Same for you though you get to make sure the position is what it is advertised to be and the in line with your career objectives.

Outside of the engineering world it seems 90% of my friends are marketing execs and when they are shoppingfor jobs and they tend to start with phone screens too. I think it is very common.

good luck. A lot of folks say if you are standing up during the phone screen it keeps you focused better.

I did do that and was even wearing dress pants and shirt. I think the only thing that threw me off was that it was 90 minutes late because the recruiter had some personal emergency.

Xavier wears dress pants and a shirt for a phone interview.

81 pulls into a Taco Bell parking lot . . . hmm, who would you hire?

well i figured doing it in shorts and t-shirt probably didn't look good even if the recruiter could not see me.