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Q: I have a phone interview scheduled next week?  What do I say?  How do I prepare for it?

A: The phone can be a tricky venue, and there are a number of aspects to it you need to consider.

The first aspects are with regard to your execution of a phone discussion. Consider:

• How does your voice sound over the phone?
• Is your pitch and tone reassuring to the listener?
• Do you sound sincere?
• What about your word choices?  Are they professional?  Do they command respect?  Do they leave the listener feeling confident that you know what you are talking about?
• Overall, do you present as poised, confident and truthful?

Have a trusted colleague hold a non-interview conversation with you, and let him or her give you feedback on your tone, pauses and vocabulary. This is the kind of input you need in order to best pace yourself and to modify your usual way of speaking just enough to make you appear even more self-assured, confident and knowledgeable than you do in casual conversation.

Second, take care of logistics and details long before the call:

• Know what time you should call and the names and roles of those with whom you will speak.
• Confirm the phone number and dial-up procedures long before the appointed date and time.
• Email your contact ahead of time confirming date, time and anticipated content.
• Confirm dial-up procedures to ensure full compliance on your part.

Also, just as with a face-to-face interview, your preparation should include using the Web to the max to know the organization and personalities you will meet on the phone.  Leave no stone unturned.  The organization’s annual report, Web and FaceBook pages, recent press releases and biographies of key leaders can all give you clues about the organization’s culture and leadership needs.

Once you have done your research and feel prepared for your interview, do a number of trial runs with a couple of colleagues so you get comfortable with the format and with expressing yourself clearly and concisely over the phone.  The more familiar and comfortable you are with speaking to your interviewers over the phone, the more you will be able to focus on the real content of the discussion.

Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.

ExecSearches.com is a job board for nonprofit job seekers interested in fundraising, management and executive nonprofit jobs.

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Last updated on September 19th, 2012 at 11:43 am

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