It starts at “Hello”
In my role as a Internal Recruiter I spend a lot of my day phoning potential candidates who have applied for a role at Groupon.
One thing that I have discovered is that most people don't realise that we are 'interviewing' them from the moment they answer the phone. How do they do it? Do they come across friendly or irritated? Little things like this leave a lasting impression and if you have applied for a job it is important to treat every unrecognised number as a potential employer. With that in mind here is my very simple list of do's and don't s.
Don't answer the phone and:
- say "sorry who is this, I've never heard of you"
- say "I've applied for so many jobs that I can't remember what job I applied for at your company"
- say "I can't remember what I liked about the job but it sounded great"
- say "I've not looked at your website, I thought I'd see if I got an interview first"
- say "I'm at work but I can talk as long as I don't have to say anything"
Do answer the phone and:
- sound friendlysmile (we can hear it)
- sound happy to hear from the company (after all you want to work there don't you?)
- blag! If you can't remember the role off the top of your head then propose a better time to speak which will buy you time to refresh your memory
- think about the answers you are giving before you answer
- feel free to ask as many questions as you like, this is your first contact with a company you want to work for and no doubt you will want to find out as much as you can!
Lauren Auletta is currently a Senior Internal Recruiter at Groupon in London. She worked on-board cruise ships and later became a Recruitment Consultant at Excite Recruitment a leading provider of recruitment solutions to the Cruise industry.