Tomorrow I have a phone interview for my dream job

Status
Not open for further replies.
If they ask behavioral based questions, be prepared to go through the STAR method. List the Situation you were in, the Task either assigned to you or others, the Actions that took place, and be able to discuss the Results good or bad.

For example, if they ask you about a difficult decision you had to make, walk them through it from beginning to end, focusing on the actions you took and the ultimate results. Do not refer to people they don't know by name. Don't keep on talking about your current manager, Jim. Refer to him as your manager.

Never bad mouth anything or anybody. Be upbeat with zero negativity. Show your passion for your work and what it means to you.

Review your resume. Be able to speak back to it chronologically. Make sure that you can list major accomplishments for any position worked.

If you have any gaps in your resume either due to a lay off or life situation, be able to explain it well.
 
I just got off the phone interview! I dressed up in a suit and tie and sat down at my desk at home, with some prepared anecdotes on hand in MS Word. I didn't need any of them though, as it turned out, and was able to rattle off my answers from memory.

I feel like it went really, really well. She asked me about 5 behavioral questions; on 4 of them I think I gave a stellar answer and on one of them I think I gave a pretty good answer (of course I wish I could go back and fix it, but what's done is done).

Then on the "Do you have any questions for me" portion I made sure to show her my excitement and enthusiasm about the job and I think I even managed to get her excited. I made her laugh too which I hope is a good sign.

I'm not sure how much say the girl will have in whether I move on or not; she was writing down everything, which could mean that she's going to hand over her notes to someone else.

Fingers are crossed! I will hear back one way or the other by March 10. If I passed, they're going to fly me out to New York for a "Career Exploration Day" and the final, in-person interview. I'm psyched!

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone!
 
I'm an expert said:
should have already sent it
Click to expand...


It's only been an hour so I think I'm still in the safety window :) I just sent it.

To reply to your earlier response in this thread... I'm applying to everything I can and seeing what sticks. This is the best possible job I can get with the qualifications I currently have, though. If I get it then I will be in VERY good shape. My annual salary will literally triple.

If it doesn't work out, I'm going to continue my trek toward grad school and CPA-Ville, struggling financially along the way until I find some kind of full time job that doesn't pay garbage.
 
I figured. I didn't take your dream job comment literally, just assumed you wanted a foot in the door. Government will be cushy hours but your salary will be capped. I'm guessing you'll start around 50k which is pretty low for entry level but you'll appreciate the benefits. Be careful though as your eventual transition to public or private may be rough. I'd still get the cpa or even cfa/cma in your time there. Good luck!
 
foxtrot3d said:
Meh, I often wait until the day is over before I send my thank you letter.

Anywho, good job OP I hope to hear some good news so, also don't forget to thank your job coach.

I'm sorry couldn't resist.
Click to expand...

E-mail is same day, physical you can throw in the mail the next.
 
TIL people send out thank you letters after interviews.

If I received a thank you letter from someone I'd just interviewed, I'd feel like they were being needy and weird. It would not be a positive thing.

Is this common in the US?
 
SPE said:
TIL people send out thank you letters after interviews.

If I received a thank you letter from someone I'd just interviewed, I'd feel like they were being needy and weird. It would not be a positive thing.

Is this common in the US?
Click to expand...
A thank you nite should never hurt your chance at a job
 
I've been on both sides of the table. As well as all the interviews I've done as an applicant, I've been the interviewer on ~20 interviews.

I have never received a thank you letter / e-mail from any applicant. Nor did I ever expect too. Just Googled it, and it seems a very US-centric thing.
 
SPE said:
I've been on both sides of the table. As well as all the interviews I've done as an applicant, I've been the interviewer on ~20 interviews.

I have never received a thank you letter / e-mail from any applicant. Nor did I ever expect too. Just Googled it, and it seems a very US-centric thing.
Click to expand...

Just wondering what country are you from?
 
Good luck, Luny.

I sent a thank you email after my interview at my last job and although the interview went really well I think it was instrumental to me landing the job. I had an interview last week for another job but I didn't get the email address of the woman that interviewed me so I didn't send a thank you letter. Thankfully today I got a call back offering a position.
 
SPE said:
TIL people send out thank you letters after interviews.

If I received a thank you letter from someone I'd just interviewed, I'd feel like they were being needy and weird. It would not be a positive thing.

Is this common in the US?
Click to expand...

"What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been advising people to send thank you notes for over 20 years.
 
t26 said:
Just wondering what country are you from?
Click to expand...

Originally from the UK, now live in Australia. Worked in both countries. Had a bunch of job application advice while in high school and final year at uni, and from recruitment professionals since. When I became a manager, had internal training around the recruitment and interview process. Post-interview thank you notes have never, ever been mentioned.

It's just a cultural difference. No biggie.
 
bro1 said:
Always send a thank you note. Thank them for their time and interest and express you interest as well.
Click to expand...

You should be thanking them for the their time at the end of the interview. It does not require an additional followup, it comes off as disingenuous.
 
SummitAve said:
You should be thanking them for the their time at the end of the interview. It does not require an additional followup, it comes off as disingenuous.
Click to expand...

I had to double check this wasn't another thread.. Just had this same topic.. In some industries in some countries it's pretty much handicapping yourself for no reason to not send a thank you letter. Op is in one of those countries and industries. He knows what to do.
 
RagnarokX said:
I sent a thank you email after my interview at my last job and although the interview went really well I think it was instrumental to me landing the job. I had an interview last week for another job but I didn't get the email address of the woman that interviewed me so I didn't send a thank you letter. Thankfully today I got a call back offering a position.
Click to expand...

This happened to me too - I didn't have the email address for the person who interviewed me so I didn't send a thank you email. I could have reached out to HR and gotten it, but I didn't think I'd get the job anyway (didn't think I was qualified for it.) Much to my surprise, I got the job. In the future, though, I plan on always sending a thank you note.

Good luck ThLunarian, I'm glad the interview went well!
 
I'm an expert said:
I had to double check this wasn't another thread.. Just had this same topic.. In some industries in some countries it's pretty much handicapping yourself for no reason to not send a thank you letter. Op is in one of those countries and industries. He knows what to do.
Click to expand...

Or maybe you'll stand out for not being a dope who sends a superficial letter. I have a hard time believing that it can truly be a handicap. I don't see recruiters and hiring employers coming out and saying that they truly care about thank you letters for the sake of their own dignity so there's only anecdotal evidence to support that claim. I can see it maybe happening if somebody is just lazy and wants to cut the stack down, but at that point why stop at sending him a thank you card, why not throw some candies, flowers, or a bottle of wine too if you really want to stand out.
 
Good luck man.

For my current job, last year I did one phone interview, and three, yes three different skype interviews that lasted well over an hour each with the guy I work for now before they even flew me out for the interview. Then after the in person interview that lasted all day, he had me write basically a proposal on what I would do at the company in the first year and how I would add value. Hope you don't have to go through all of that...., again, good luck....
 
SummitAve said:
Or maybe you'll stand out for not being a dope who sends a superficial letter. I have a hard time believing that it can truly be a handicap. I don't see recruiters and hiring employers coming out and saying that they truly care about thank you letters for the sake of their own dignity so there's only anecdotal evidence to support that claim. I can see it maybe happening if somebody is just lazy and wants to cut the stack down, but at that point why stop at sending him a thank you card, why not throw some candies, flowers, or a bottle of wine too if you really want to stand out.
Click to expand...

Don't hate the thank you note. It allows you to express gratitude, restate your interest, and emphasize your strengths.

A dope is someone who does not follow up and take every opportunity to remind a potential employer of his ability and experience.
 
Good luck man. Looks like you nailed it.

Unlike me who bombed my last interview. I know how to get the job done, but i failed to communicate it well to them. lol
Was about to get like 5x my current salary and work in Singapore.

Oh well, i got another application coming up.
 
ThLunarian said:
I just got off the phone interview! I dressed up in a suit and tie and sat down at my desk at home, with some prepared anecdotes on hand in MS Word. I didn't need any of them though, as it turned out, and was able to rattle off my answers from memory.

I feel like it went really, really well. She asked me about 5 behavioral questions; on 4 of them I think I gave a stellar answer and on one of them I think I gave a pretty good answer (of course I wish I could go back and fix it, but what's done is done).

Then on the "Do you have any questions for me" portion I made sure to show her my excitement and enthusiasm about the job and I think I even managed to get her excited. I made her laugh too which I hope is a good sign.

I'm not sure how much say the girl will have in whether I move on or not; she was writing down everything, which could mean that she's going to hand over her notes to someone else.

Fingers are crossed! I will hear back one way or the other by March 10. If I passed, they're going to fly me out to New York for a "Career Exploration Day" and the final, in-person interview. I'm psyched!

Thanks again for all the advice, everyone!
Click to expand...

Cool; that's great man. Best of luck to you!
 
Perfect timing. I have a phone interview in about 20 minutes, and my heart is beating so fast, I'm about to have a heart attack.

I get the worst anxiety ever. I was fine all day, but now, I'm a complete wreck. :(
 
I hate phone interviews, you can feel like youre nailing them when you arent simply because you can't see the interviewers reactions to your answers. It gets worse when they start brining in multiple people Into to the call.

Best of luck to the OP. sounds like you gave it your best so what ever happens you can't really blame yourself.
 
Got off my interview. It was about an hour long. I added extra minutes just in case on my phone for this! It was a for a fulltime remote helpdesk job, because, well, who doesn't want to sit on their ass at home working full time?

I honestly don't know how I did. I felt stressed throughout the whole ordeal. I had examples for everything they asked, but I hope I came off likable and professional enough but I can get pretty flustered at times if I don't watch myself. But you know that feeling you blew it? Yeah....

....though if they want me, I'll find out in a few weeks since there is so many interviews for them to go through.

And_Now_I_Wait.jpg
 
SPE said:
TIL people send out thank you letters after interviews.

If I received a thank you letter from someone I'd just interviewed, I'd feel like they were being needy and weird. It would not be a positive thing.

Is this common in the US?
Click to expand...

they also clap after a landing when on a plane and tip a cop 15 percent when he gives them a ticket and a face full of mace
(only half kidding too)
 
Sorry for the hijack but I have a question and didn't feel it warranted a new thread. I made a financial model for another job interview as part of their skills assessment and I've asked other interviewers if they want to see it to show an example of my work in excel since that's a huge part of it and most seem to respond well to it but the problem is, what should I say when they ask where it's from? Can I say it's from a skill assessment from another interview or should I make up some weird lie? I'm just curious how to handle it when asked.
 
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
Sorry for the hijack but I have a question and didn't feel it warranted a new thread. I made a financial model for another job interview as part of their skills assessment and I've asked other interviewers if they want to see it to show an example of my work in excel since that's a huge part of it and most seem to respond well to it but the problem is, what should I say when they ask where it's from? Can I say it's from a skill assessment from another interview or should I make up some weird lie? I'm just curious how to handle it when asked.
Click to expand...

Honesty is the best policy, and in your case the honest answer wouldn't look bad IMO.

If you want to lie and say it is from personal work or something, make sure your lie is razor sharp; don't say something dumb.

OP any updates on the position?

I recently was offered a final round interview after having a phone interview as well. I thought the phone interview went "fairly well", it was for a 30 minute slot and lasted around 20-25 only; not my best performance, but it goes to show that sometimes you just can't tell what will happen. I made sure to send a thank you letter and follow up every 2 weeks or so, and expressed that it was my top choice (I think this helped). They eventually got back to me in like a month (so slow).
 
Lamel said:
Honesty is the best policy, and in your case the honest answer wouldn't look bad IMO.

If you want to lie and say it is from personal work or something, make sure your lie is razor sharp; don't say something dumb.

OP any updates on the position?

I recently was offered a final round interview after having a phone interview as well. I thought the phone interview went "fairly well", it was for a 30 minute slot and lasted around 20-25 only; not my best performance, but it goes to show that sometimes you just can't tell what will happen. I made sure to send a thank you letter and follow up every 2 weeks or so, and expressed that it was my top choice (I think this helped). They eventually got back to me in like a month (so slow).
Click to expand...

That's what I wanted to do, I don't like having to remember lies in interviews but I wasn't sure if that was a big no-no to mention another interview.
 
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
That's what I wanted to do, I don't like having to remember lies in interviews but I wasn't sure if that was a big no-no to mention another interview.
Click to expand...

I mean employers expect you to be interviewing at other places; often times I have been asked "where else have you been looking/interviewing"? So I think you'll be okay.
 
Lamel said:
I mean employers expect you to be interviewing at other places; often times I have been asked "where else have you been looking/interviewing"? So I think you'll be okay.
Click to expand...

That was my gut reaction but some people seemed weird about me mentioning interviewing at other places for some reason so I wanted to check.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Do you have your phone on silent? I can’t remember the last time I heard a phone ring?
39
1K
GymWolf replied
The Worst Job Interview in History
2
84
5K
dave_d replied
After my divorce I have a dating dilemma.
49
3K
Keylime replied
I feel like everything about my body is denying my current job at this point
32
3K
clarky replied
I have to go for a mammogram next week.
Social Drama 
21
2K
DownLikeBCPowder replied
Top Bottom