After Phone Interview

Unlike the screening phone interviews of years past, the current economy almost mandates that full interviews be conducted via telephone (or even web cam). This allows companies and hiring managers to save both time and money.

However, job applicants haven’t quite got the full grasp that these interviews are indeed “the interview”. They are not being screened for further follow up. They are, during a phone call, being assessed and pre-qualified in order to determine their viability as a candidate for the job at hand.

Even though the candidate may be at home in jeans and drinking a latte, with the Rolling Stones playing in the backyard, make no mistake about it…this is nothing casual. This time is to be taken very seriously. This interview is no different than a personal face to face interview held at the recruiter’s office in downtown or even out of town.

At the end of the phone interview, do exactly as you would during a face to face interview. Make sure you understand what the next step is, and who is expected to do what. Is there a second interview that needs to be scheduled? When would that happen? Should you call to confirm? Who has the final hiring decision? How long have they been interviewing and how many candidates do they plan on speaking with?

These are all questions that should be addressed after the interview is over but before the call is terminated, and before any type of follow up is expected. Once all these questions have been answered, the post interview follow up is just as important and certain rules are still expected to be followed.

A formal thank you is still in order. You are indeed expected to send a thank you note (albeit by email rather than snail mail) for the time the hiring manager spent with you on the phone. Even though you most probably will be sending this note via email, that doesn’t mean you can be super casual about its content or appearance. You are writing to a hiring manager, not your friend or relative. Forget the smiley faces, the texting shorthand, and the informal lingo.

Start off with “Dear Ms. Jones”, not “Hi Brenda”. Formality, proper spelling and proper grammar are as vital here as they are in an embossed note you would send via regular mail. Reiterate how well your background matches what they are looking for, and let them know if an offer was made, you would indeed consider the offer. (Never promise to accept an offer unless you know what it will be, and it’s acceptable.)

Once you send off your thank you, the next step depends on the feedback you got at the end of your interview. If you got the feeling that they were very interested in talking to you again, this is the time to do a little more research on the company and take this opportunity to send an email with a question. “I see that you will be expanding into Spain next year. Will you be staffing on site there, or will you be hiring in the US and transferring?” Anything that would require a short answer is fine.

Getting a response is half the battle. Companies who have no interest in you won’t want to engage you in follow up conversations via email.

If you get an answer, the longer it is the better. Read between the lines. How does it sound? How does it make you feel? No matter what the email says, you know better than anyone if it’s positive.

If you haven’t heard about a follow up interview after a week or so, it’s fine to send an email or call to what’s happening on their end. The response to this last inquiry is very important. If they say, “We are still looking”, that’s not what you want to hear. If they say, “Oh, Mr. Smith has been away on business but when he returns next week, his secretary will schedule something for you.” this is better.

Read between the lines. If it doesn’t feel right, keep looking.

Thank you to Marie Duffoo for this "After Phone Interview" article.

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