Telephone interviewing

I had a telephone conference interview on Friday with 5 other people on the conference call.  The hiring manager was on the line as well as different individuals that she reports to around the country.  It's hard not to feel a little intimidated in such a situation.  How do you prepare for this type of interview?  How do you keep yourself from panicking.

I believe the first thing to do is what they say you should always do before you pick up the phone, smile.  A smile puts you in a better frame of mind and somehow the other persons can here it.  I don't know exactly how it works but it does.  I am reminded of a candid camera skit from the late Seventy's (showing my age a little there) where they rigged up a special phone booth and would call it to attract random people.  The person on the other end of the line would speak as if he had a bad cold.  As he was speaking he would sneeze and water would spray out of the phone as if the person sneezed through the phone.  That is how I think of a smile transferring through the phone.  It's like sneezing on people, just not gross.

Just be yourself and treat the phone interview as you would a regular interview.  Let your personality show through.  The questions are going to be similar.  If you have adequately prepared for it, you should be able to adequately answer the questions.

If you ever get a question that you feel you flubbed regardless of the type of interview, write it down after the interview.  You can then formulate a proper answer for it for any future interviews.

In a nutshell, smile - be yourself - be prepared.  You will do fine.

The waiting game

One of the hardest things to do after an interview is wait.  The bigger the company and the more important the position, the longer it seems to take.  If you are interviewing at McDonald's or for a low end entry level position you may have an offer after the interview.  If you are interviewing for a senior level position, it could take weeks and sometimes months before you know if you have the position.  For the most part, firms nowadays will let you know within the first week whether you are still being considered for the position.

Is it a good or bad sign that they have not made a selection yet?  There is no right answer to that.  You could speculate and come up with all sorts of scenarios.  "They did not like me enough and want to look at some other candidates."  "They are waiting on upper management approval."  "A decision maker went on vacation."  You never know what could be causing the delay.  The main thing to realize is that you are still in the running for the position.  Outside of that, the rest is just worry.  Get back to job hunting.  Whether they offer you the position or not, you never know what else is out there unless you look.  Who knows, there might be a better position that you will interview for this week.

Life's joys

I saw a video yesterday that touched me and made me think about my worries and frustrations and how trivial they compare to others.  This video shows a man with no arms or legs enjoying life.  He is a motivational speaker teaching others that you have to deal with what life throws your way.  If you let frustration, guilt, lack of direction get you down you have to get back up.  If you fail, try again.

It's touching and so true.  Here I am feeling uncertain about direction and meaning in life.  How would I handle every day without limbs.  How would I handle an hour, a minute.  You have a choice.  Will you be bitter or strive to be better.