| More and more employers are using telephone | | | | percent of the time to education; for an experienced |
| interviews for their initial screening of candidates. Job | | | | candidate, perhaps 20-25 percent. Start with college, |
| candidates should be prepared for such interviews just | | | | including how the candidate selected his or her |
| as they would for an interview in person. In other | | | | institution and major. Explore areas of academic |
| words, they should: | | | | achievement, interest, and challenge. Include |
| - Be ready to interpret and sell every achievement | | | | extra-curricular activities. If the candidate is a new Ph.D. |
| noted on their resumes. | | | | or a postdoctoral scientist, request a fifteen-minute |
| - Have available a clear, appealing outline of their | | | | review of graduate (and postdoctoral) research. This is |
| research, if they are graduate students or practicing | | | | a challenge but can go smoothly if the candidate truly |
| scientists. | | | | owns the research. Be politely firm about limiting the |
| - Offer a well-rehearsed presentation of their work | | | | presentation's time. This is an opportunity to measure |
| and academic achievements. | | | | the candidate's output, creativity, independence, drive, |
| - Understand their goals, abilities, skills, and | | | | maturity, and, sometimes, the direct applicability of the |
| developmental needs, and their expectations of an | | | | work to a current job opening. |
| employer. | | | | 3. Outside activities. Productive people have scant free |
| A telephone interview can be a relaxed and effective | | | | time. How they spend it can reveal their deep-seated |
| experience. In some ways, it can be more comfortable | | | | values. These may include desire for advancement, |
| and natural than a face-to-face interview, especially if | | | | autonomy, balanced life, challenge, security, and service |
| you have access to a speaker telephone to free your | | | | to some important goal. An interviewer who devotes |
| hands for note taking. | | | | 10 percent of the time to explore outside activities and |
| Telephone interviews have other advantages. | | | | their meaning to the candidate can often gauge how |
| Interviewers and candidates can schedule the | | | | the candidate's values are aligned with the employer's. |
| interview based on their mutual convenience - | | | | 4. Self-assessment. Now test your impressions of the |
| conducting only morning interviews, for example, if that | | | | candidate. Ask the candidate to state three leading |
| is their best time. They can also avoid back-to-back | | | | strengths and, for each, give an example of how that |
| interviews, and concentrate more closely on each | | | | strength led to a success. As you listen, check what |
| interview, increasing likelihood of success. | | | | you hear against your impressions. Next, ask what |
| A telephone-screening interview operates as follows: | | | | specifically the candidate is doing for self-improvement, |
| Set the stage. Contact the candidate by e-mail or | | | | to advance to a higher level of performance. Investing |
| telephone to explain the job opening, elicit the | | | | 8-10 percent of the interview this way can reveal |
| candidate's interest, and schedule a screening interview | | | | much about the candidate's maturity and ambition. |
| to occur within the next three business days. | | | | Conclude your part of the interview by asking if the |
| Conduct the interview. A good interviewer starts on | | | | candidate wants to bring up anything else. If so, cover |
| time, stays on time, and ends on time. Since you and | | | | it quickly. Then ask, as your last question, what the |
| the candidate have already met once by telephone, | | | | candidate wants to do next in a job and what he or |
| the usual small talk to get an interview rolling may be | | | | she wants from it. Now invite the candidate to present |
| kept brief. | | | | questions to you. |
| The outline of the interview. Use the candidate's | | | | 5. Candidate's questions. Candidates want jobs where |
| resume to formulate specific lines of questions, and | | | | they can succeed and employers where they can be |
| take notes during the interview to document key | | | | happy and fulfill their goals. Their questions are |
| information. Research by the National Association of | | | | important to them. Allot 10-15 percent of the time to |
| Colleges and Employers and by Dr. William Swan, a | | | | address them. If, at this point, you are trying to attract |
| leader in interviewer training, advises probing a | | | | the candidate, give truthful and enthusiastic answers to |
| candidate's background in the following order: | | | | persuade him or her to come for a site interview. |
| | | | Otherwise, give truthful but matter-of-fact answers. |
| 1. Work experience. For a new graduate, spend about | | | | Every candidate deserves respect and should feel |
| 25 percent of the time on this topic; for an | | | | treated fairly. If they don't work for you, they will likely |
| experienced candidate, up to 50 percent. The work | | | | work for a supplier, customer, or competitor. You want |
| history may consist of summer and part-time jobs | | | | their good will, no matter what. |
| dating back to high school. Start at the beginning but | | | | 6. Conclusion. Briefly explain what comes next in the |
| spend most of the time exploring recent experience. | | | | review process and when to expect a reply. Thank |
| Try to learn what the candidate actually accomplished, | | | | them for investing their time with you, then hang up. |
| liked or disliked, and learned in each job. If teamwork | | | | Finally, complete your interview report while the |
| was involved, determine the candidate's role. How | | | | information and impressions are fresh. |
| were obstacles overcome? Your goal is to grasp the | | | | The telephone interview is an invaluable tool to the |
| candidate's various talents, growth in experience, | | | | recruitment process. The primary advantage of |
| productivity, interests, and transferable skills. Since | | | | telephone interviewing is cost-effectiveness: you can |
| undergraduate and graduate research, as well as | | | | screen a wide pool of candidates and select the right |
| cooperative assignments, are part of education, many | | | | few to invite back for a site interview. Another |
| recruiters include those topics as part of the discussion | | | | advantage is timeliness, when you are trying to fill |
| about education. | | | | immediate openings. |
| 2. Education. For a new graduate, devote 30-35 | | | | |