Short Telephone InterviewI applied for a position that I felt fit well from the posting. I received a call without any notice. She said that she wanted to do a short 3 min. interview to vet my resume. I don' t think I did badly, but also don' t think I did great. This was the first time that I got a totally unexpected call. She said that she would pass my resume to the hiring manager. Was this the axe? I saw that they renewed the posting three days later. Does that mean I can forget about the job? Is this unusual, calling someone for a phone interview without any notice?
Yes, it is usual for them to call you directly. That is why one of my cardinal rules of job hunting is to not pick up the phone from a new number. You are off guard, you don't know who, what, where, or why... Even if by reflex you pick up, tell them to give you the info and that you will get back. Let them leave a message, do the research, put on your game voice. As for whethere you got the ax or not, it doesn't matter. If you have their contact, follow up. If not, forget it and focus on another lead. Yes, some companies do this, and it's not at all unusual. Did you ask what the next step was going to be? If you didn't ask, don't worry about it, it's not something that can hurt your chances. It's just that when you ask, you have a better idea of where you stand based on the response, and you should always ask this at the end of every interview, even a 3 minute one (just a tip for the future). The fact that they renewed the posting means nothing. Postings are often renewed automatically until the position has been filled. Was the posting edited in any way? If it was edited, do you still fit the requirements? Just because they are keeping the job posted and still receiving applications doesn't mean you are out. Some employers like to have a certain number of candidates to interview before they really get into the interviewing process. The information you provided is not really enough to conclude one way or the other. Stop agonizing over this and concentrate on continuing your job search. Whatever will be, will be. In order to avoid being blindsided in this manner in the future, you should create an "elevator" pitch for yourself, if you haven't done so already. An "elevator" pitch is a brief explanation of what qualifies you for the job, which, if you take the name literally, must be short enough to be delivered to someone during an elevator ride and be done with by the time they reach their floor, and yet detailed enough to "make the sale". This time limit is a bit exaggerated, of course, but you should definitely be able to sell your qualifications in 3 minutes or less. Practice your pitch until it comes out automatically without you having to even think about it. What it does is tell the prospective employer that you are confident in who you are and what you have to offer. Best of luck in your job search! It's funny that you mentioned the rule about not picking up the phone. It makes sense, in theory, but I actually lost an opportunity because of that once. I once received a call from a potential employer at a time when I was unable to answer the phone (I was actually at work talking to my then boss). When I tried calling back, the person who had called me was not picking up and, after a few attempts, I was forced to leave a VM (I guess applicants are not the only ones who like to play this game). Never heard back from her. I guess as she was calling applicants, by the time I called back she had already scheduled enough interviews and didn't think she needed any more candidates (that's the only explanation I could come up with). I still think about it sometimes and what might have happened had I answered the phone right away. Not particularly kicking myself, since there is nothing I could've done differently, but it was an amazing company, very well known, that doesn't have these kinds of openings often (they like to fill positions internally). Oh well... IMHO, you are playing with fire when you don't answer your phone on purpose. First of all, two can play that game. And what if when they call the 2nd time, you are unavailable, then you call them and get the voice mail, and so on, and so forth? How long do you think an employer will be willing to play phone tag with you when there are hundreds of other applicants who want this job? I can understand not answering the phone when you really can't talk, but when you do so for no reason, you are taking a big chance needlessly. Just my 2¢. I think you are right on here.... Anyone who is job hunting runs a big risk by not picking up the phone if he/she is available and can talk at that minute. This happened to my husband a few years ago; a hiring manager called him at home on a Sunday evening. He was here, I "suggested" he pick up the phone as the guy was leaving a message, but he blew it off, saying he' d return the call the next day. Guess what? He returned the call (twice) but the guy never called him back. And that sort of thing happens with recruiting firms all the time. In today' s market, with perhaps 100 or 200 resumes received for every one job opening, companies can well afford to just keep calling candidates until they find enough good ones to interview. In the one case, my husband really didn' t care one way or the other about that particular job, but if it had been one he really wanted, he' d have been SOL. You should never be caught so off guard that you can' t stop for a moment, ask the interviewer if they can wait a minute while you pull the information, then go on with the phone call. Keep your job-hunting info right by the phone, and if you need time to collect yourself, it' s perfectly acceptable to say, "Yes, I have a few minutes to talk, but will you please hold for just a minute while I.... pull your job posting so I can refer to it, refresh my memory, get a pen and paper, pull up a chair...?" Whatever makes sense at that moment in time. Or, if you are not in a position/circumstance to talk, pick up the phone anyway, and make an appointment with the person to call him/her back, or have him/her call you back. Do not count on phone tag working out. Get a definite time/date, then be ready! Really, as wonderful as we all think we are, and as much as we think we are the best candidate for the job--and cannot imagine why the potential employer would not answer the phone at our convenience--there are plenty of qualified candidates who will pick up the phone....
It depends on the person I guess. I do think I'm an awesome candidate. There will be other positions and other offers. I do appreciate and show an immense gratitude for the time of the hiring manager. However, I am no good to them if I have no idea who they are or what they want. It was this phone tactic, that was actually recommended by somebody else on the previous board, that started the metamorphosis for me. It changed my whole perspective of the job seeker and hiring company relationship. I went from a person ignorant of the recruit to a confident candidate who knows what they are looking for. I get a lot of calls from recruiters and have mistaken hiring managers for recruiters. There are also times that big name agencies/companies have contacted me but I was nonchalant about it because I had no idea who they were. The reverse is also true, initially I have wasted a lot of time with recruiters who didn't really know what they were doing and tried to recruit me for underpaid and over demanding positions. They gave misrepresentations/vague descriptions of the job. My work area is right next to my boss so I can't really "be on guard" all the time either. I can't look up the info on my computer as readily. Furthermore, I can live up with being passed up because I did not immediately pick up the phone. It just means that my skill set was not that particularly outstanding for that position. It has never happened though, I always manage to make that initial contact at least. It really comes down on how you approach the job search. Are you at the behest of others, jumping at any opportunity? Or is it an equal partnership that is aware of and accommodates each other? I think it comes down to how desparate you are for a job, how plentiful--or not--jobs are in your field, and how much you want or don't want a particular position. If you're not working and need to work, then you need to pick up the phone. If you don't need to leave your current job and can afford to risk missing opportunities, you don't have to pick up the phone. And, obviously, if you are working and at work, you may be able to pick up the phone, but you won't be able to talk right then & there. Thanks for the advice everyone. I' m relatively new to job hunting because I just fell into my first job without having to really go out and look. Obviously, this time I' ve got to do it the hard way. I haven' t had a phone interview before, and from reading the boards it seems that people set up specific times for all the types ofinterviews. I was just really caught off guard when she called out of the blue, and was not prepared. I' ll know better for next time. | |
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Career Tips
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