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Recently I have made an effort to call the candidates who have applied for an ever increasing number of job openings (maybe the recession is ending!) in the evening or weekend. That way they can speak to me without having to worry about bosses or coworkers listening in to their phone screen.
After being burned by candidates who did not turn out to be at all like their resume, we have decided to give all candidates for employment a ten minute phone interview before inviting them to our offices.
So many candidates I call on the phone are not prepared for the phone screen or appear distracted. Many have dogs barking, kids screaming and an angry husband or wife yelling at them wondering who they are talking to. Many did not remember applying for the job in the first place. Others can not validate their resume or do not have a memory of past jobs or responsibilities. Others have no talking points or information on their talents, skills and accomplishments. In other words, they did not come off that well. If they were prepared for their phone call, it might have changed their life.
Here is what Human Resources is looking for when they do a phone screen with a candidate for employment:
o Is the candidate still interested in the job?
o What type of personality does the candidate has in comparison to the other people he or she will be working with?
o How is the diction, grammar, energy, enthusiasm and general communication style of the applicant?
o Is the candidate looking for pay and benefits that matches what the company can offer?
o Are they able to validate their Resume and actually convince the recruiter that they did what was stated?
o What knowledge does the candidate have about the advertised job opening and the organization?
o Finally, what is the gut feeling of the recruiter about the candidate who is being interviewed by phone?
Only about half the people who are called are brought in for an actual face to face interview. Many "blow it" during the phone screen.
"Ooh, look at me, I can control your destiny because I'm in HR! I can sit and hide behind my phone and enjoy calling people at 8 am and because MOST have normal lives (not waiting for YOU to call) I can catch them off guard then go on about how 'they suck' at phone interviews."
Most phone interviews I have had or my husband has had (you see, I do not claim to know 100 experts, just normal people) have been scheduled. The only ones who 'pop called' at 8 am or 7 am (seriously) have been from CRAPPY companies and part time jobs. The crappy jobs do not care about pragmatic people who plan their answers. They just want to fill a void.
The first words from them were "Can you work for $10 an hour?" All they cared about was finding someone cheap. Professional companies care more about hiring the right person, not 'surprise interviewing' or 'being cheap.' Hope you enjoy 'cold calling' folks then saying 'they blew it!' Must make your day as an HR professional!!
Last edited by GypsySoul22; 05-19-2009 at 05:05 AM..
Well DUH! You call people at home at night or on the weekend without warning and expect them to be prepared for an interview that very moment, and on top of it you're upset about a barking dog or kids in teh background?
You are the one being EXTREMELY unprofessional. Even for a phone interview you should make an apointment so the candidate has time to prepare. Obviously teh company you work for doesn't believe in work-life balance, so I'm glad I'm not working with you.
I ask the person if this is a good time to talk or do they want to schedule a time in the next few days. In almost all cases they tell me that they want to go ahead with the phone interview (screen) right then, as their dog is barking and kids are screaming. Maybe they had been burned by other companies who said they would call back and never did.
Another thing I notice is a large number of potential job applicants have very unprofessional, even very offensive messages on their home answering machines. If they list their home number on the resume this can be a big negative.
Very offensive messages on answering machines? Like what, "You have reached the Jones family - go to hell" or "This is Jack Smith - go *********rself you doddering jackass" - stuff like that?
I ask the person if this is a good time to talk or do they want to schedule a time in the next few days. In almost all cases they tell me that they want to go ahead with the phone interview (screen) right then, as their dog is barking and kids are screaming. Maybe they had been burned by other companies who said they would call back and never did.
Another thing I notice is a large number of potential job applicants have very unprofessional, even very offensive messages on their home answering machines. If they list their home number on the resume this can be a big negative.
I've got my hip waders on and I'm stuill getting stuck. Love the way you backtrack.
Well DUH! You call people at home at night or on the weekend without warning and expect them to be prepared for an interview that very moment, and on top of it you're upset about a barking dog or kids in teh background?
You are the one being EXTREMELY unprofessional. Even for a phone interview you should make an apointment so the candidate has time to prepare. Obviously teh company you work for doesn't believe in work-life balance, so I'm glad I'm not working with you.
Recently I have made an effort to call the candidates who have applied for an ever increasing number of job openings (maybe the recession is ending!) in the evening or weekend. That way they can speak to me without having to worry about bosses or coworkers listening in to their phone screen.
After being burned by candidates who did not turn out to be at all like their resume, we have decided to give all candidates for employment a ten minute phone interview before inviting them to our offices.
So many candidates I call on the phone are not prepared for the phone screen or appear distracted. Many have dogs barking, kids screaming and an angry husband or wife yelling at them wondering who they are talking to. Many did not remember applying for the job in the first place. Others can not validate their resume or do not have a memory of past jobs or responsibilities. Others have no talking points or information on their talents, skills and accomplishments. In other words, they did not come off that well. If they were prepared for their phone call, it might have changed their life.
Here is what Human Resources is looking for when they do a phone screen with a candidate for employment:
o Is the candidate still interested in the job?
o What type of personality does the candidate has in comparison to the other people he or she will be working with?
o How is the diction, grammar, energy, enthusiasm and general communication style of the applicant?
o Is the candidate looking for pay and benefits that matches what the company can offer?
o Are they able to validate their Resume and actually convince the recruiter that they did what was stated?
o What knowledge does the candidate have about the advertised job opening and the organization?
o Finally, what is the gut feeling of the recruiter about the candidate who is being interviewed by phone?
Only about half the people who are called are brought in for an actual face to face interview. Many "blow it" during the phone screen.
I hear you and your advice and I am very diligent when it comes to interviewing..But you know what I am sitting home with 10 months old looking for a job. I will always pick up the phone no matter what even if she is screeming..but lucky me she does not do it often. Honestly, I do not care if she will screem or I will have TV as a background. If this phone call is not scheduled, I will pick it up and if I cannot talk at that point, i will ask to reschedule - there is nothing wrong with that.
Yes, I am looking for a job..yes I am looking for a job 8 hours per day. But it does not mean that I have to be ready to talk about my skills / expereience 24/7. Yes, I will pick up the phone but i will just reschedule it. We are all human beings, have kids and sometimes screeming husband/wife. Cos should understand that as well. If they do not, I do not want to work for that company.
Nobody is perfect even when it comes to interviews..
You give good advice here, but sometimes you are too much..sorry..
There are so many stressed people on this forum. Yes we need to know the truth about interviewing etc, but sometimes this truth is rediculous.
Because so many of us HR Recruiting types will not call back when the applicant tries to reschedule, many applicants attempt to wing it and say lets start the interview now. If that is their plan hopefully they have a quiet room that they can go to that has the following in an easy to find folder:
A copy of their resume
A list of the jobs they applied for
A list of "talking points"
Prepared questions
Some of the people who respond want to get mad at me for all the sins of the people who work in HR/Recruiting and hiring managers. I can not be held responsible for the craziness of the process. I am just passing on how the game is played!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulpan78
I hear you and your advice and I am very diligent when it comes to interviewing..But you know what I am sitting home with 10 months old looking for a job. I will always pick up the phone no matter what even if she is screeming..but lucky me she does not do it often. Honestly, I do not care if she will screem or I will have TV as a background. If this phone call is not scheduled, I will pick it up and if I cannot talk at that point, i will ask to reschedule - there is nothing wrong with that.
Yes, I am looking for a job..yes I am looking for a job 8 hours per day. But it does not mean that I have to be ready to talk about my skills / expereience 24/7. Yes, I will pick up the phone but i will just reschedule it. We are all human beings, have kids and sometimes screeming husband/wife. Cos should understand that as well. If they do not, I do not want to work for that company.
Nobody is perfect even when it comes to interviews..
You give good advice here, but sometimes you are too much..sorry..
There are so many stressed people on this forum. Yes we need to know the truth about interviewing etc, but sometimes this truth is rediculous.
Last edited by Weekend Traveler; 05-19-2009 at 03:13 PM..
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