There's a lot to keep organized if you're searching for jobs. Phone interviews are typically the first step of the company recruiting process, and they can be brief and check the credentials for the position on the phone. But for some interesting job openings, it's good to look at the phone interview as your foot in the door, even if the phone interview seems a little underwhelming. So, for telephone interviews, there is value in creating some go-to habits, which starts with organizing them on your calendar. In these interviews, we have some cheat sheet tips that will help you do well so you can move on to the longer and more critical face-to-face encounter.

Cheat sheet for a phone interview

The best part of telephone interviews is that during the call, the interviewer can't see what you are doing. They can certainly hear what you do, though, so make sure you don't wash dishes or do something else that creates disturbances in the background. However, close to your phone, you can have a cheat sheet that will allow you to answer questions in the best possible way. While a cheat sheet isn't a script, when you're nervous, it can step up to help you out and draw a blank during a phone call. To help you do well on the call, use the phone interview cheat sheet to prepare a few essential points in advance.

When you’d be able to start

You might be asked in a preliminary phone interview when you'd be able to start. Companies sometimes seek to fill a position as soon as possible, and sometimes they just try to plan ahead. Here, be honest. If you can start immediately, say so. If not, figure out what would be a viable start date based on the amount of notice you would need to give to your current employer and any other variables you need to consider.

Key Stories

You'll get a few behavioral questions in most interviews, such as, Tell me about a time you showed leadership abilities, or, Tell me about a time you made a mistake. These are questions where you have to tell a story about what you have done in the past to show how you have handled various situations in the future and how you are likely to handle them.

You can't predict exactly which behavioral problems you're going to have, but you should be able to adapt them to multiple situations if you have a few polished stories. So you could come up with examples of a time when you overcame a challenge, a time when you worked on an interesting or important thing, and a time when you made a mistake. Other stories, however, could be more useful depending on your field. For example, if you're in a customer-or customer-facing position, you may want to think about a time when you're dealing with an unhappy customer or customer.

Salary Requirements

Questions about money can always be tricky especially, especially if you try to come up with an answer on the spot. This is not a topic that you want to discuss first, but you'll want to take a little time before your phone interview to study the average pay range for similar positions in your geographic area and figure out where you fall in that range based on your experience and skills. In the hiring process, you can always try to defer the conversation to a later stage, but it helps to be prepared in the event that this strategy does not work.

Why is this job exciting you?

Focus on the specific role and fill in two or three reasons why you particularly want this job. For instance, you might be looking for a job with more customer interaction, or you might be passionate about the industry in which this company is. Articulating your reasoning here will also help you discuss why, if asked, you are leaving your current role because it is best to keep your response positive and emphasize what you are looking for in the future rather than what you didn't like about the past.

Regardless, stay clear of saying that you're excited about a salary position. It's unspoken that you'd get the money to get the job done. But each job pays off. Your interviewer wants to know why this one is the one you want. If you have a logistical reason to apply, such as having to move with a partner to a different city, it's okay to bring that up, but make sure it's not the first or only thing you mention.

Conclusion

Finally, give some thought to why you want this job, when you can start, and what salary standards you have for the role. It will help you to nail the phone interview and move on to the next round with all of this preparation and your cheat sheet.