Two successful phone interviews, so I thought I'd relay what I did..... [View all]

Hello everyone, A couple days ago I had 2 back to back phone interviews, and they both want to meet next week! One of them, I'm told, is between me and one other candidate. Both of these jobs pay 40% more than my current one, with more room for advancement, although my current one is extraordinarily low, but anyway that's why I'm leaving my job after 7 years.

I just thought I'd list some of the techniques I used, in the event it might help others. Naturally, I'm not an expert, I'm just conveying an experience. I started with the attitude that Phone Interviews are just as important as face to face interviews, so I prepared just as much.

This is in addition to advice you might find elsewhere.

1) People think in 3's. Write a list of ALL the questions you think they might ask, and exactly three answers to each. People might either talk too much or too little in interviews. 3 answers to something like, "what would make you a good fit," is perfect.
2) If there are any skills you don't have, don't give up -- If there comes a time when you lack a skill or experience, give supporting evidence for why you can do it anyway with 3 supporting facts.
3) Use a headset. You will want to have both hands free in order to write notes and flp through your notes.
4) Have a laptop -- I was using a headset and there was one easy question I actually Googled really quick that otherwise I would have got wrong. It was something I knew, but Googling it refreshed my memory.
5) Have questions for them written down. They usually ask if you have questions for them, and they expect you to be prepared with some.
6) Don't drink the night before. You need to be quick thinking and articulate.
7) Take and prepare notes. Write down what they say, so you can come back to what they said later.
8) Search YouTube for more advice. I learn more from video personally, since interviewing involves audio and video, I think it helped. Search Google too.
9) Speak in positives, not negatives. For instance, say "I love flipping hamburgers," not "I hate making tacos so I'll flip hamburgers."

Again, this is not everything, just the things I focused on.