Ace Your Next Phone Interview: Top Tips for Success

Interviews can take several formats, including meeting in person, group interviews, video calls and telephone interviews. While the aim of presenting yourself well is the same, the format is different, so it's necessary to adapt your process. We're looking at how to prepare and succeed in telephone interviews for care and support jobs. 

If a role has many applicants, some employers will want to create their shortlist by conducting telephone interviews - or for others its part of the process every time. Even though you aren't in the room with the interviewers, it can feel just as nerve-wracking being interviewed on the phone. With these top tips you can prepare for a successful call. 

Care and Support Work Telephone Interviews Tips

You can use our interview preparation guides to plan your answers for the call, but it's also worth thinking about how you come across. Our first tip is to remember the qualities required for the job and be sure to demonstrate them in the way you talk and answer. 

For care and support jobs, you'll want to demonstrate your patience, communication and interpersonal skills. We've got some useful dos and don'ts to put into practice when speaking on the phone during your interview. 

Do:

• Use a clear voice

• Maintain a polite and professional tone

• Stick to the point 

• Elaborate when necessary 

Don't:

• Ask someone else to do this for you!

• Speak too quickly 

• Be afraid to leave a short pause to gather your thoughts

Before the Call

Once you know you're going to have a phone interview, you can start your work to ensure the call will go as well as it possibly can. We've got tips for how you can research, practice and prepare. 

Research

It's time to find out more about the company and the role. Make notes you can refer to during the call. You can begin by finding out more about the type of service, who they support, and what their values are. 

Your other two key areas for research are the job description and your application or CV. Remind yourself of what they're looking for as this will help you anticipate the questions you'll be asked. Checking what information you provided can give you opportunities to elaborate and provide examples. 

Practice 

Once you've done your research, it's time to think of some questions and practice answering. You can start by writing them down, then saying them out loud. You don't want to sound like you're reading from script, so remember just to hit the key points. 

To see if you sound clear and confident and aren't speaking too fast, you can record yourself. The next step is to practice with a friend or family member. Ask them to call you and ask the questions so that you can get as close to the experience as possible. 

Prepare

You know what to say and how you'll say it, so it's time for the finishing touches. You'll want to be calm and comfortable during the call, which means you need to prepare for the day of the interview. Making sure your phone is charged and has good signal are two key starting points. 

Think about where you'll take the call, ideally somewhere quiet, where you won't be interrupted. You can also think of some questions that you would like to ask. Keep your notes with you on a laptop screen or on prompt cards and bring a pen. Your notes should include the date and time of the interview, the job title and employer and the person calling you. 

During the Call

Make sure you've settled in the place where you'll take the call with your notes, a glass of water and anything else you will need. Give yourself at least 10 minutes to prepare and be ready for the call. It might help you to wear something that makes you feel good, even if the interviewer can't see you. 

Have your notes to hand but remember that engaging and listening to the interviewer is the most important thing. If you didn't hear or understand a question, politely ask them to repeat it. Taking a deep breath after a question is asked gives you time to process, stops you talking over the interviewer and is useful for relaxing and slowing your pace. 

Ending the Call

The interviewer will signal when the call is wrapping up. It's your opportunity to ask any questions that you have. That could include asking the interviewer what the next steps are and when you are likely to hear back. Remember to thank them for their time. 

You can make some notes after the call to reflect on how you did. You can see if your prompt cards were useful and make adjustments. Our top tip is to quickly list the things that went well and anything you would do differently. These will help you prepare for any other telephone interviews in the future. 

Good luck!