When Looking For a Job- Mind Your Phone Manners

When you are sending out resume after resume, getting your phone to ring can be an accomplishment in itself, but be sure that your phone manner isn't causing employers to pass on asking you for an interview. When you think about it, you can imagine being a hiring manager with a stack of people to call to schedule an interview. If you are less than confident about the candidate after leaving them a message, it is very easy to just skip to the next person on the list. Don't let this happen to you.

Here are some tips for making your phone employer friendly:

• Keep your voice mail greeting simple- When employers call, don't subject them to 30 seconds of your new favorite song before they get to the voice mail greeting. Call tunes can be fun for friends, but when you are hoping to get calls from potential employers, take it off your phone. Also, record a simple greeting stating your name and number and asking the caller to leave a message. Remember that sometimes, this is the first impression an interviewer will have of you. Make it count.
  
  
• Don't let other people answer your phone- When a hiring manager is calling to schedule an interviewer, the last thing they want to have to deal with is a small child answering the phone. Or worse, someones grandparent or college buddy who thinks that the caller must be a friend who is joking and who doesn't understand what the caller is trying to say. To avoid these situations, be sure to guard your phone when you are looking for a job. It would be awful if someone from the company you are dying to work for called you for an interview and they ended up talking to your friend who kept asking if they were someone who was at the keg party last night. Just don't let this happen to you.
  
  
• Keep a professional manner when answering your phone- When you answer your phone and you hear a professional voice asking for you, don't respond with a confrontational “Who is this?”. It will turn the employer off fast. They want to get the feeling that you are a professional who is well versed in handling simple customer interactions like answering the phone.
  
  
• If you aren't able to talk, don't answer- It is better to let an employer leave a message than answer your phone when you aren't in a place to talk. They don't want to hear you arguing with your child, checking out at the grocery store or be put on hold while you place your order at the drive thru. If you aren't in a position to have a professional conversation, call them back. Most busy professionals understand and will appreciate you making sure that you are able to devote your attention to them.

Having a great phone manner is a skill and it takes some thought and practice. Follow these tips and think about what your phone manner says about you.

Have you had any bad phone experiences? Let me know in the comments.

Are you looking for a job in the Philadelphia area? Take a look at PhillyJobs.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.