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New at Career Choice Guide

Of all of the job interview tips I could provide, the most important is to be specific and give plenty of details and examples when you are interviewing for a job.

Job Interview Techniques

There are several types of job interview techniques used by interviewers; each serves a specific purpose. These tips for interviews will help you to make a great impression at several types of interviews.

Phone Interview

Employers may use phone interview questions to do some initial screening. Use these tips to effectively answer telephone job interview questions.

Feature Article

Is Your Voice Mail Causing You to Lose Job Interviews?

First of all, I'm going to assume that you have an answering machine or some type of voice mail system. If you don't, you absolutely must have one while you are job searching.

If an employer calls to invite you to a job interview, and you are not home, and there is no way for the employer to leave a message, there is a very good chance that the employer will not call back to try to arrange an interview. Employers normally want to fill job vacancies as quickly and efficiently as possible, so they simply will not make several calls to try to contact you.

Assuming that you do have some type of answering machine or voice mail system in place, have you listened to your outgoing message recently? What kind of first impression does that message make?

Plenty of people leave cute, funny outgoing messages on their answering machines. That is fine when your friends and family call you, but it can make a bad first impression on an employer.

Things to Avoid

Keep it Simple

You may actually forget what your outgoing message sounds like. If you recorded it a while ago and don't leave messages on your home phone very often, you may not even remember what message is on there. Call any phone number you have included on your resume and listen to the message. Think about the kind of first impression it would make on a potential employer, and change your message if you feel it does not create the kind of impression you want.

While you are job searching, imagine that your home phone number (and any other phone number you have included on your resume) is like your home office and leave an outgoing message that is work appropriate.

Something along the lines of, "You have reached (your name) at (your phone number). I'm sorry I'm not available to take your call. Please leave your name and phone number and I will return your call. Thank you for calling." is perfectly acceptable.

Don't get fancy with your outgoing voice mail message when you're job searching. Keep it brief, simple and professional, and you will make a good first impression on employers.

Online Career Resource