Phone Screening for a Job Interview

Job-hunting.

Sigh-inducing at best, job hunting is not for the faint of heart. Anxiety seems to be the norm in this situation, as it has that ripple effect on your entire life. Rare is the ending that comes with giddiness.

Unless your unemployment came about by you winning the lottery, eventually you will have to return to the rat race.

I am not one of those people who does well during the interview process. I get nervous and fumble for words. I practice for the stock questions and they throw out something unusual.

I was reading about phone interviews on the eve of mine. One of the things I read was to remember that this is just a person. We're just having a conversation. 

When you have a conversation with other people, you don't know what they're going to say next. You go with the flow. I had a very amusing conversation with a fellow regarding condiments and spices, because I was making egg salad while we were on the phone.

Flow is flow. Preferably not ending in screaming. The truth is, you just never know where a conversation will go. 

I went to sleep  with the interview on my mind, and how to be more prepared. Naturally my brain worked on my dilemma while I was asleep. 

I woke up at 4am, with an A-ha! I already had been given a general list of things she told me she was going to discuss; my qualifications, my interest in the job. Then there are always the questions. Where do you see yourself in x number of years? What are your strengths, weaknesses? Have you ever had to deal with a difficult customer/client/coworker and how did you deal with that situation?

I jotted down things that might come up, little notes about what I thought. Now I mentioned flow and trying to be natural, but this was a life preserver. If she asked you about cheese and the first thing you do is lose your cool and fumble about, cheese? Soft cheese? Oh, god what if she's lactose intolerant? I had simply written target words to get me back in the go with the flow mindset.

This time, I went in feeling calmer, more confident. And at the end of the call, I was told that she thought I was just the person they were looking for and would be recommending me to the hiring manager as a candidate for this position.

So, if there is anything to take away from this, it's to find a trick to stay calm. Nervousness is natural, but letting it take over is not going to help you at all. 

As always, I have a song for that. 

Unlike that other song about work, this is the kind when you need a little inspiration.