Why Candidates Fail the Phone Interview
And why most never realize it
The phone interview is where your candidacy quietly lives or dies.
- Before resumes are debated.
- Before panels are scheduled.
- Before anyone argues for you in a closed-door meeting.
The phone interview is your first real impression, and during that call, your voice and attitude are the only data points I have to work with. There is no:
- body language
- charm buffer
- visual recovery
Just your tone, your energy, and how you show up when the call comes in.
What candidates rarely hear out loud:
- Negative signals are amplified over the phone.
- Rudeness sounds louder.
- Disinterest sounds final.
Your voice tells the story long before your resume ever does.
What’s really happening on the recruiter’s side
You’ve sent your resume and are waiting for the call.
On my end, here’s what’s happening.
If your resume and online profile pass the initial screen, my next move is usually an email to set up a phone interview. I want to confirm three things:
- Are you still looking?
- Are you interested in this role?
- Can I safely put my name behind you?
That last one matters more than candidates realize.
Recruiters operate on timelines. Hiring managers are impatient. Reputations are fragile. Every candidate I advance reflects directly on me.
The phone interview isn’t neutral ground. It’s a filter.
Some of what happens during that filter is never admitted publicly, but it absolutely happens. This is the part most advice articles politely skip.
If you’ve ever finished a phone interview thinking it went fine, only to be declined without explanation, this is usually why.
Recruiters are not just evaluating your answers.
They’re interpreting tone, instinct, and risk.
Small signals carry weight.
Energy gets translated.
Hesitation gets amplified.
That interpretive layer is what most candidates never see.
I break down exactly how those signals are evaluated in Why Candidates Are Declined in the Phone Interview.
No scripts. No tricks.
Just how decisions are actually made.
→ Declined After a Phone Interview
Before the interview even starts
Let’s talk about the first hurdle, before a single question is asked.
Answering the phone
We set up an appointment. When I call, if you can answer, do it.
If you see an unfamiliar number and repeatedly let it go to voicemail, you are competing with candidates who didn’t.
I understand people are working. I know kids need to be picked up. Life happens.
What I’m trying to determine in this moment is simple:
- Do you exist?
- Are you engaged?
- Should I keep pursuing you or move on?
This first call is often about confirmation, not a full interview.
Your voicemail matters more than you think
If I do hit voicemail, here’s what I’m listening for:
- Is it professional?
- Does it clearly confirm I reached the right person?
- Does it sound business-appropriate?
What I don’t want:
- Music
- Jokes
- Background chaos
- Cute bits
- Confusion about who I called
A short, clear, professional message wins every time. Nothing clever. Nothing personal. Just competence.
If you answer: delight me
Yes. Delight.
This isn’t a performance. Do not oversell. Just sounds like someone I’d trust in front of customers.
A flat “hello” followed by silence is a bad start. It tells me how you’ll represent the company, the team, or me.
Within the first five seconds, I’m asking myself:
- Can I put this person in front of a hiring manager?
- Will this candidate embarrass me?
- Do they sound like someone I’d want answering a customer call?
Harsh? Absolutely.
Real? Completely.
Credibility
Recruiters protect their credibility first. Always.
This is why strong candidates are sometimes declined even when they “did fine.” The evaluation is about risk and interpretation.
To help candidates, I often give them a hint by announcing myself clearly:
“Hi, my name is HRN from Acme Publishing Company. You applied for a role with our Marketing team. Is this still a good time?”
What happens next determines everything.
How phone interviews quietly die
After that introduction, here are real responses recruiters hear far too often:
- “Huh?”
- “Yeah?”
- “Uh huh.”
- “What did you say?”
- “You finally called. What took you so long?” (you can’t make this up)
When that happens, the interview is effectively over.
Why?
Most companies expect employees to answer phones as if a customer is on the line. If that instinct isn’t already there, no one wants to train it.
The questions you should expect
When the formal phone interview happens, the questions are predictable. That’s intentional.
These aren’t trick questions. They’re alignment checks.
If you’re genuinely interested, your schedule flexes.
If you’ve done your homework, it shows.
Interest isn’t declared. It’s demonstrated.
What the phone interview really confirms
A phone interview doesn’t discover who you are.
It confirms what’s already suspected.
Based on your resume, online presence, and how you show up on the phone, the recruiter is asking:
- Do the skills align?
- Does the energy align?
- Is my risk acceptable?
Treat the conversation with curiosity, respect, and professionalism, and it becomes collaborative instead of adversarial.
The part most candidates never see
Most advice tells you what to say. The guide explains what’s actually being evaluated — and why recruiters decline candidates who technically did everything right. That’s the layer nobody names out loud.
If you’ve been declined after a phone interview and never understood why, start here.
→ Why Candidates Are Declined in the Phone Interview
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Ringo Nishioka writes about how managers actually make career decisions. Follow on LinkedIn and Bluesky.
Llei Malota
October 11, 2017What kind of people have you been interviewing, home depot associates or warehouse workers?
gdshea
July 19, 2017You, HRNasty, are an asshole. It’s your attitude, the HR world revolves around YOU, that is symptomatic of the whole screwed up HR/Application process in 2017. What an arrogant shit. After doing things “right” in the job application process, HR recruiters, hiring managers, and entire departments have created the most impersonal, lofty, and snotty sets of hierarchy and faceless, Application Tracking Software – robotic, algorithm-following minions of all time. You are wasting people’s talents by categorizing and boxing their skills, especially soft skills, into a phone interview, and then the subsequent processes of HR factory production. We both know the phone interview isn’t to find candidates; it is designed to eliminate them. Add your attitude to that, and you are just a self-important assclown.
Joe G
June 21, 2017Get drunk! Best way to pass phone interview.
Ray
May 21, 2017Agree with a lot of this, except for:
“When can you come in to talk? (Hint, if you are really interested, you will move your schedule)”
I have a job. I have direct reports and items that I am responsible for. I can’t just leave for 3 hours in the middle of the day tomorrow. The more you consider not only my time, but also respect the time of my current employer, the more you look like a company that I want to leave my current position for. Recruiters forget, far too often, that you’re selling this company to me as well as offering a chance for me to sell myself to the company.
Satwik Kamatmehbro
May 12, 2017Thank you for taking the time to share your insights and write such a great resource for those of us seeking new opportunities. As a recent MBA graduate, I know this has been invaluable. -SK
HRNasty
May 12, 2017Hello! Thanks for checking out the site and more importantly reaching to say hello. It means a lot. Do me a favor and share the site with your MBA colleagues! Let me know if we can help out in anyway! HRN
Terrance Jackson
April 24, 2017This is very emotionally written article.. There is nothing professional about it.
Josh
September 15, 2016I like a lot of these points and are things that have helped me get that interview over others of similar experience. The only point that I would be difficult with you on, is the salary part. When I start looking externally from my current role, I wont be handing out my salary info, if they want to take the process further then they will need to be forthright with the salary range.
HRNasty
September 15, 2016Josh, First, thank you for checking out the blog. I can respect “not” handing out the salary info. Here is the recruiter and hiring managers perspective. I don’t want to pass along any candidate to the next interviewer if I don’t know their salary requirements. I don’t want to have you interview with 2 or 4 of our folks then have you interview with the head of the department and then offer you a position to find out that we can’t afford the candidate. The head of the department will wonder why I as the recruiter wasted everyone’s time interviewing the candidate. It isn’t fair to the candidate either. For this reason, I would encourage you to give a salary when asked. I also posted this; http://hrnasty.com/desired-salary/ HRN
Tom
September 1, 2016They should write an article on all of the recruiters that waste your time. The ones that call 20 people, ask for resume updates, your time to speak and then you never get the courtesy follow up they promise. They now that they may waste the time of 20 people knowing only 2-3 will get real consideration. Many recruiters get commission on how many resumes and interviews they collect and set up. Recruiters are a dime a dozen who are competing with other recruiters to maybe….get you in front of a perspective employer.
HRNasty
September 6, 2016Tom,
Sorry, this is a blog that tries to help the candidate, not the recruiters. Candidates don’t necessarily know the mentality of the recruiter and the hope is that insight into their mind set will help candidates reverse engineer their process. HRN
Frank K
June 22, 2016What I got from this article is that recruiters use the phone call to discriminate in ways that are protected by EOE
Rick Schwratz
June 20, 2016You guys should relax and take a step back. What we all need to learn is that right and wrong, especially in this interest does not matter. The gentleman who wrote the article is simply telling you the way recruiters think. He is trying to give us insight on how to conduct ourselves based on how (perfect or imperfect) recruiters feel. Considering his experience, I am for one grateful for his insight…
Jeremy Baker
May 11, 2016Why don’t recruiters use email more to break the ice and make sure there is mutual interest? I am currently working and have limited time to talk on the phone, but emailing would work much better until there is something of mutual interest. I have tried to get recruiters to email at first, but they seem insistent on phone contact. It makes it difficult because we keep the same work hours, and being currently employed I do not have much time to talk during business hours. I think it would help both parties and limit the wasting of eithers time
Cynni
June 20, 2017But, you have time to email on company time? Are you one of those that keep your cell phone handy and find unlimited time to text, email, Facebook, game, Google, check messages and waste your employers time…
Daniel Jenkins
April 29, 2016Ok, I had a recruiter call me for an interview at a job 7 hours away, I didn’t ask about pay, would it be bad to call back and ask that question before I make that long road trip?
HRNasty
April 29, 2016Daniel,
Great question. I think you are absolutely within the rules to ask what the job pays. Thing is, I amy not ask what the job pays in those words. How bout something like this: Recruiter, I just wanted to confirm that I am still excited about the interview and will be there at X time. I did want to clarify one point. I am currently making (looking for) X amount of dollars. I want to be respectful of your time. I want to make at least this much and a little more in my next job. Am I in your price point?
This way, we are not asking what the job pays, we are asking if we are in their range. It comes off a little different. We don’t have to bring up the long drive or travel. Two separate topics. Make sense? Good luck!
Dustin Trammell
April 20, 2016Thank you for the article. I found it helpful and somewhat comforting. I have a phone interview soon and the tips are appreciated.
HRNasty
April 21, 2016You are absolutely welcome. Really appreciate the support! Good luck!
So What
April 11, 2016Always ask about the pay, the recruiter could care less about getting you the most money. Often times the less you get paid the more they get paid. They want to maintain their relationship with the employer so its not in their best interest to ask for more money for you. If they wont tell you up front its because they know its low or the job posting wasn’t sent to them and they are poaching off a job board.
My rule is that I don’t want to waste my time or theirs for low pay or a bad contract or something I am entirely over qualified for which happens several times a day. I place recruiters someplace between telemarketers and door to door salesman in ethical terms. There is a place for them but by and large they are mostly unprofessional and unknowledgeable in field they recruiting for.
HRNasty
April 15, 2016I have been doing this for quite a long time and I can assure you that “the less the candidate receives, the more the recruiter gets paid” is a false assumption.
If I am an agency recruiter (not working for the hiring company) the rate is usually a percentage of the first year salary. In theory, the agency would want to get the candidate AS MUCH AS THEY CAN, because their commission would go up. The less they get the candidate, the less they make.
That all being said, most agencies want a long term relationship with the hiring company so that they receive more requests for hires. It isn’t in anyones’ interest to take “less than they are worth”.
If I am a recruiter, I want to get the candidate a fair wage for the job. If I get the candidate too much money, the hiring company will expect a lot more out of the employee and will look at that employee as a failure.
If we pay too little for the employee, and the employee can find more money elsewhere, then the employee will probably leave.
It is mentioned that it isn’t in their best interest to ask for more money. If the candidate wants more money and the recruiter doesn’t ask for more on behalf of their candidate, the candidate can go elsewhere and get more salary OR find a recruiter that will ask for more money. The recruiter loses.
Hope this logic is clear,
HRN
Henry Hill
March 22, 2016What the heck? I’ll make sure the next time I am engineering a data center for a Fortune 100 client, Ill pick up ur call in the middle of buissness hours and listen to your bullshit description of the job infront of 20 people. My resumes infront of your fucking face, leave a voicemail, I WiLL call back, or drop a quick email. Ill respond within the hour. Also, the only way I am going to remember a specific job i applied for is if you’re a corprate recruiter calling me about a position at a major company. What the fuck is this bullshit, do your fucking job you worthless sack of shit. If people dont pick up an intial phone call or hand write you a fucking love letter after the interview then thats what it is, theyll call back or there not interested. Its all bullshit formality anyways. Keep it real dipshit.
Henry Hill
March 22, 2016Cant wait till you get layed off someday. Then when you’re carpet bombing resumes, like most do in this economy, we’ll see how well you recall that easy apply job on career builder.
IG
March 22, 2016That’s a technological challenge to reduce number of CVs and find most relevant role. Recruiter is something to become redundant in nearest future when smart enough software will be able to replicate what a recruiter can do.
Anonymous
March 8, 2016When will you recruiters get it into your heads that there is often a vast difference between someone who interviews well and someone who can actually do the job. Your goal is to help find the right person for the job, not to focus on how well they traverse the recruitment process (unless of course that is pertinent to the role itself).
As a senior manager I have often had to take a hands-on approach to recruiting and almost micro-manage recruiters, because they overlook exceptional candidates who are a great fit for the organisation, experienced and ideal for the role. Why are they rejected? Sadly, it is often due to trivial issues that have little bearing on the role itself (e.g. Rejecting a candidate who comes across as being socially inept, despite the fact that the role they’re applying for has very little do do with people as they’ll probably be spending their day glaring into a computer screen. As a manager I don’t need their people skills!!!).
Honestly, the ridiculous manner in which many organisations recruit leaves so many talented individuals out in the cold and worse yet, results in incompetent fools (who happen to have great interview skills, but sub-standard abilities) being hired.
HRNasty
March 9, 2016Appreciate your feedback. As a recruiter, I have seen too many people who are HIGHLY qualified not make it through the interview process which is why I started this blog. Schools are not teaching this skill and most companies don’t train their employees to be successful. I understand where you are coming from. I want folks to be successful at work. I am not able to train folks to do their individual jobs, but I can help them land the job and be successful within corporate America.
HRN
Ray
March 1, 2016I understand the sentiment of wanting the candidate to answer because they should be anxious and hungry; but it’s a flawed theory. All candidates are not sitting with baited breath waiting for you to call. They have lives that sometimes place them in situations where they are at a sensory disadvantage to discuss something as important as a job with you. Unless you’re intentionally trying to catch them off guard, why not prefer that they call you when they can sit down in a quiet room and discuss the opening properly. You are selling the recruit on the opening that you’ve been tasked to fill. It is indeed a “two way street.”
tessmonster
February 25, 2016@hrnasty:disqus As a professional recruiter and head hunter I can completely relate to this article. Thank you, as I type I am printing this out and creating a workshop from this article for my recruitment team.
HRNasty
February 26, 2016TessMonster, thanks for the support. I know a lot of folks think I am an asshole with my attitude, but I write this to make a point. Regardless of how we feel, whether it is right or it is wrong, this is how recruiters think and if we want to get through the process, we need to play to the audience. Appreciate the support, and always look at the glass half full, HRN
Carla
February 11, 2016HR people are usually nasty and have a poor education. They call you, you attend and after doing all the interviews if they do not select you, they do not even bother in sending an email notification. They use you just as garbage. So, if I can be nasty at them, I will.
Wendy
February 9, 2016Thank you for the advise. I have a phone interview with the HR rep in a few days and although most of this seems like common sense to me, it helped to know what kinds of questions to ask. Also, I’m not always sure my excitement for the opportunity comes through on the phone, but I will make a point to watch for that with this next interview.
HRNasty
February 26, 2016Wendy, hope the interview went well. Try this: sit with your back to a friend and have them ask you the interview questions here: http://hrnasty.com/job-interview-questions/ Answer the questions and ask your friend if the answers to the 8th and 9th questions have excitement. The excitement tapers off towards the end. Good luck!
Joe
January 30, 2016One reason I don’t pick up if the number isn’t in my contact list is because of robot calls trying to get you to take surveys or other nonsense. With me, you have to leave a message. Sorry.
Sophie
January 28, 2016I love those recruiters who first communicate by email and arrange a time and date to call for an interview.
Jackie White
January 19, 2016Wow… Thank you for the helpful tips HRnasty… I will be using them today.
HRNasty
January 26, 2016Jackie,
Thanks for checking out the site and I hope your call went well. Keep us updated!
Anonymous
January 6, 2016As an interviewer, I’ll be looking for a person who fits the team, not a pleaser.
Anonymous
January 6, 2016Honestly, I felt that if an interviewer who’d call me has this attitude, I’d have a reflection that the company he’s from is not a good employer…
Michelle
November 15, 2015After reading all the whiny and negative comments, it explains why so many people are unemployed. Thank you for this article HRNasty, it is really giving some good tips for my phone interview tomorrow. BTW, I did reject the first call from the recruiter because it was a phone number from the east coast, and I declined it because I thought it was my credit card company. (Negotiating with creditors lately) As you can see, I need to land a job badly. I called the recruited back. We set up a phone interview after speaking for about 5 minutes. He sounded really cool. Again, thank you for the real talk here.
HRNasty
November 19, 2015Michelle, you are VERY welcome and thank you for being so realistic. Glad your call back to the recruiter paid off. Good luck with your search and let us know if we can help out in any way! HRN
Bri
September 29, 2015Hi thank your for this article… I’m really worried right now. A few days ago I submitted an application to Burger King (I’m a teen and that would be my first job if I got it). About a half hour ago I got a call, didn’t recognize the id but picked it up anyway, and it turned out to be a recruiter from Burger King! She asked me if I’d like to come in for an interview and I said yeah I’d love to. She said the interview would be in a few days at 3. I can’t make that time though because my mom works until around 5 and that is our only car so I’d have no way to get there for the interview. 🙁 I told her that and asked if there were any later times or if any other days were good and the only other days were also at three… :c She asked if I’d like her to call back if she can set up a later interview (and I said yeah that would be awesome, thank you!). I’m just worried that she won’t call back. Has something like this ever happened to anyone else?
IG
September 29, 2015don’t be a fool. She will never call you back. Take a taxi or find another way to resolve the transportation problem
HRNasty
September 29, 2015Bri,
I have to partially agree with IG on this one. Where there is a will, there is a way. Is your mom’s car the ONLY ride to this interview? Burger King is looking for folks who can get to work, and the way to prove this is to make it to the interview. They do not want to worry about whether or not you have a ride or not. I blogged a bit on this topic here: http://hrnasty.com/physical-address-resume/ See bullet point three. Take the bus, get someone to give you a ride, take a taxi. There has got to be a way. If you can’t make it to the interview, unfortunately, they will only have but one conclusion, you won’t be able to make it to work. Good luck, HRN
IG
September 15, 2015What makes recruiters give calls instead of sending an email? Seriously, I have a phone for recruiters only. My wife and my friends have more convenient ways to communite with me. Recruiters, what prevents you from using email box?
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Kick ass advice. Love, A Fellow Recruiter 🙂 (PS – I’m a career coach as well and use the dating analogies constantly – woo hoo!).
princess chatterjee
August 12, 2015I disagree most recruiters will ask for a time frame when someone is free.Its also very important when responding to the interview request to give them a time frame ( Tuesday between 2-4 p.m), so they call you then! If you don’t…then they just sort of call and it may or may not be a suitable time!
Matt
July 6, 2015Thank you. I found this rather realistic and practical advice. Hopefully, my phone interview goes well today!
T Bana
July 6, 2015This recruiter sounds like they are only worried about calling very young people for jobs. Generally, once people are over 25 they aren’t going to relate to your stories about a crush, a first love or someone they might have called when they were 14. If you are calling a professional and an adult about a job, why are you worried that they are responding like tweens? Maybe you should be calling more adults for these jobs. Check the resume and make sure they have graduated from high school.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Believe it or not a lot of candidates are clueless about these basics – sometimes they are young and need this advice, sometimes they’ve been in the same job for their whole career and are clueless how to navigate the search. And saying someone over 25 “aren’t going to relate”? Huh? As if once you turn 25 you lose all your memory of dating? I’m in my 40’s and married and found the analogies great – and a way to think about job searching as it is: trying to create a relationship out of thin air.
mtnview84
July 4, 2015Hello, I’m looking for the job, but I’m deaf. Normally I use text relay services, and I explain that to the recruiter, so they could be prepared, However I see there is no point to trying to explain and pass thru phone screen with text relay. They simply don’t want to interview at all and never came back.
Could anyone please give me advice on it? How should deaf(not signing ASL) person pass the phone interview?
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Put it next to your contact info on your resume 🙂
mtnview84
September 11, 2015I tried it, and this resume would never get any call.
Aimee Levens
September 11, 2015Reach out to me on LinkedIn…maybe it’s your resume that needs love 🙂
yash
May 27, 2015Hi, I came here looking for an answer for my questions. I was invited twice for on-site interviews. The company was responding really fast while scheduling all the interview rounds but now it has been 3 weeks since my 2nd onsite interview and I haven’t heard anything from them. During the 2nd onsite interview, I was told that I should expect an answer in 2-3 days. When i did not get anything, I called approx. 1 week after the 2nd onsite, and was told they would have the answer soon. Should I call the internal recruiter again and ask whats happening? Can you please tell me what might be happening on the other side ?
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015I would send an email to both the hiring manager and recruiter. Unfortunately, many places are terrible at follow up and if you haven’t heard from them within 2 weeks, move on. If they want you, they’ll move fast. Otherwise often they are just waiting to see how others further along in the process do, and keeping you as “bench reserve” much of the time 🙁 . Unfortunately, many overworked recruiters with too many recruitments are terrible at follow up 🙁
Robert Jackson
May 20, 2015Honestly I have grown tired of useless calls from recruiters. Why ask me for my portfolio when the link is listed on my resume, a link to my LinkedIn is listed on my resume and it has my portfolio link too? Why keep calling me for jobs that I have the skills for but apparently the employer is not hiring for the position, I say this because I have never heard from one employer that recruiters give my resume to. I have even rewritten it for different positions.
I told one today my portfolio is at enterfan com and if that is not a good enough of example of my skills and talents then let the employer higher some idiot with a pretty resume. You can’t tell me that I can build an entire fucking Social Network using PHP, MySQL, Javascript, HTML5 and CSS3 but I am not qualified enough to get even 1 single employer calling me to set up an interview for an entry fucking level PHP job. Really you mean writing a few million lines of PHP to create several thousands PHP Classes and files which create a social network doesn’t even qualify me for a simple entry level PHP programming job???
I mean the same recruiters call me several times a month, nothing has changed, my portfolio is the same.
The only reason I can think of for not hearing from employers even when I apply for the simplest, entry level web development job is the fact that I have always been self employed, lost my business in 2008 and have not been able to get a job since. I guess that looks really bad on a resume or even Walmart application.
The only option I see is to keep trying to improve enterfan for the next few months, then if it doesn’t make money come up with another idea and if that doesn’t make money come up with another idea and another until I find one that finally makes money.
The way I see it now is employers can suck my ass and continue to hire incompetent idiots with pretty resumes
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015There are bad recruiters and good recruiters. But the fact that
your reply here is full of profanity towards hiring teams? Perhaps this is why you’re not getting the responses you want.
Robert Jackson
September 15, 2015what the fuck ever. I have only started responding like this in the last few months because I am tired of the CORPORATE BULLSHIT.
Anas Al-Mustafa
May 1, 2015Nice post, thank you
HRNasty
May 3, 2015Anas,
thanks for stopping by and really appreciate the support! Thank you! HRN
GirlNeedsNewLife!
April 17, 2015Can you tell me why an internal recruiter emailed me, asking for a timeframe so she could schedule a phone interview, and then has not answered me reply after two days? My reply was concise and courteous, with no slang or misspellings….this has happened to me a couple of times with the same company within about a year. I would appreciate some insight.
HRNasty
April 20, 2015Great question and one I hear on a regular basis. I would say that this is more of a reflection on the the individual recruiter working with or at the company. Generally speaking, if someone reaches out to you for a FIRST contact, they will want to talk. I did write this which explains some of the reasons recruiters don’t call back: http://hrnasty.com/when-do-recruiters-call-back/
I realize this happens more often than not. I would take it as a reflection of the recruiter. That being said, this is why I preach that we want to make it as EASY as possible to get ahold of us as candidates. I realize there are things out of our control, but if we were to leave it to “the other person” to be responsible for our careers, our careers will never get off the ground. I want to make it as EASY as possible for anyone to get ahold of me during this process. Regardless of how busy the recruiter is, how little they care, or how dis interested they are. Hope this helps, HRN
anon
April 15, 2015I agree, hr people have to understand that people have other jobs and cannot just drop everything they are doing to answer a call. People cannot be available 24/7 to pick up their call. Especially personal calls. I wouldn’t want to work for an employer who can’t understand this. If it is very important, they can always send an email.
Richard Rabinowitz
March 28, 2015Also, because there are a TON of telemarketers out there, and they outstrip the recruiting agencies by a good deal, it is natural to assume that someone calling from, say, 555-2321, is a junk caller or telemarketer. So… if you REALLY want my time and energy… email me, or text me – and use an appropriate topic. Thanks.
Richard Rabinowitz
March 28, 2015Thanks for demonstrating that the technique of phone interviewing is inherently discriminatory towards deaf/ hard of hearing people. How would one expect a deaf/ hard of hearing person to understand an unsolicited caller? Also, even though deaf/ hard of hearing people sometimes have captioned telephones, the captioning process imposes a delay that a tele-interviewer with normal hearing would misinterpret. It may be “unbusinesslike”, but sometimes it is necessary for a delay to occur.
tl;dr: Phone interviewing discriminates against the deaf/ hard of hearing.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015I email everyone I want to talk to first – gets a faster response and is a way to find out things like you mention above. That being said, I’ve done plenty of phone interviews with the hard of hearing who use TDD to get through this. But I do agree with you on not feeling obligated to answer every call of a number you don’t recognize at any given time 🙂
AF C
March 17, 2015After reading this article I think it’s more for hiring people to work at taco bell instead of a business professional. Horrible…..
Henry
March 11, 2015This was great advice!! It really helped me today. Thank you!
HRNasty
March 23, 2015Henry, thanks or stopping by and glad the info helped out. Good luck!
Chandra
February 25, 2015As a recruiter I agree with some of what is said. It’s important if you’re expecting a call for an interview the only way to answer is “Good morning/afternoon, this is ….”. It’s basic professional etiquette. I expect the call to sell me on why I want to work with you.
However, I disagree on other points. I think it’s okay to ask about benefits, vacation, the headquarters and if a recruiter has a problem with that they’re missing an opportunity to sell! The one thing I will point out is that if you’re serious about an opportunity asking about pay likely won’t get you far. Most organizations keep their compensation models tucked away and those who ask you early on — well this maybe a warning that they pay may not be competitive.
If you’re far beyond midpoint in the role, however, it’s not a bad idea to check in to make sure you’re making the best use of everyone’s time. I recommend treading lightly in this territory though, as a recruiter I’m weary of folks that are focused on base salary specifically because people who make a change for the money will leave you just as quickly when a higher salary comes along. Also, it’s just not in your best interest to negotiate a salary upfront especially without knowing about the role. It could be your dream job but pay on the lower end or it could be a nightmare and pay far more than other companies. So if you’re asked about salary expectations, don’t be afraid to be coy let the recruiter know you need a few more details before making a decision.
Secondly, the candidates role is to show professionalism and provide relevant examples of experience and background. The recruiter’s role is to act as an ambassador for the company. If you treat people badly, that’s going up on Glassdoor straight away and you can destroy your brand. Savvy candidates do research and they won’t talk to companies who are known for negative candidate experience. At the end of the day your candidate is your customer, no matter how annoying they are it’s your job to treat them respectfully and ensure they have a positive experience. Even when candidates are driving me up the wall, I give them the benefit of the doubt by looking at whether this is a yellow flag or a red flag but at the end of the day I’m courtesy, professional and respectful.
The last thing I’d like to say is that those questions are terrible. There are far better questions you can ask during an interview. I like to find out what drew the interviewer to the company, what’s different there compared to their prior employer or how success is measured in the role. These questions are far more likely to either sell you or cause you to run screaming.
So overall just remember, this is your reputation and it will follow you. Professionalism, transparency and respect for both parties involved in the conversation. Anything less is worth walking away from.
Kira Sherrine
October 26, 2015Thank you. I wish you wrote this post. It is exactly what should happen in an prescreening and HR should understand their role as well. Is there a way to communicate with you. I have some questions, that I feel you would have good pointers for. LinkedIn perhaps?
HRNasty
October 27, 2015Thank you for the comments and checking out the blog. I posted a reply. Feel free to contact me at HR@HRNasty.com.
Rachel
February 15, 2015“The
phone interview is where you make your first impression. Your voice
and attitude are the ONLY things I have to go on during the phone
interview”
This is why most experienced candidates will refuse to interview with an HR drone. Because you’re honestly incapable of using the content of the candidate’s actual answers to assess their skills, you use irrelevant measures like these to “assess” them instead. All you’re really assessing by using irrelevant heuristics is your own suitability as an interviewer. If a company can’t be bothered to send a competent interviewer to their own meeting, what makes them think any worthwhile candidates will be interested in showing up?
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Insulting HR will get you nowhere. We want to make sure candidates aren’t going to act like jerks to the hiring manager – and if you can’t make basic conversation, do you have the social skills to get along in a company environment? Treat HR like your ally, rather than your enemy, and they can help you get to where you want to be. Treat them like crap, and you won’t go far. Sure there are recruiters who stink at their job (I’ve dealt with many myself), but if the end goal is to get the job, what good is it going to do to treat someone who works at that company with this type of condescension?
IG
September 15, 2015I’ve seen so many people excellent at interview but completely useless at doing their jobs. So the advice is simple, if you want to have a better rate learn how to deal with HR, competence has not much to do with your salary/rate. Hiring manager does not care and has no capability to understand how much value you potentially can bring into the business..
Aimee Levens
September 15, 2015That’s a bad interview then, because a good interview process goes way beyond the old fashioned Q&A that makes all our eyes roll, and truly lets the team see how they’ll be in the workplace. Good interviews are harder unfortunately to come by, that’s why I challenge my hiring teams a lot on what they’re focusing on, if they complain they can’t find the right people.
HRNasty
September 18, 2015Aimee, you make a great point. As recruiters and hiring managers, the behavior and manners shown during the hiring process is all we have to go on in the present moment. We take it as a direct reflection of how this candidate will treat our customers and our internal colleagues. If we are not able to treat the HR department in a decent way, we can only assume the same attitude will be extended to the customers. Regardless of whether we agree with this or not, Aimee is only pointing out the unspoken rules of the game that most don’t ever learn in school or even at work. For many HR professionals, we feel this is a shame, which is why we are sharing them here. We want folks to be successful and so we are uncovering the ways to win.
Alexander K. Dumas
February 5, 2015these motherfuckers are full of shit. I have been called numerous times for phone interviews. They ask me to go in for a face to face, but then tell me they went with someone else. Half the time I think it is because I am black. FUCK THESE PHONE INTERVIEWS.
RetardintheWH
January 20, 2015This is the typical attitude from recruiters. They act as if they own a person. You don’t. That’s your job to recruit and who cares about who’s breathing down your back. The reason why you have frustration is because your lousy at picking candidates. Recruiters NEVER return calls or even respond back, then they criticize us for not following proper etiquette. I’ve had more luck doing it myself. Don’t waste your time and energy. Most recruiters are just looking for leads. My word of advice. NEVER give a recruiter information on others you know. Make them earn the information first and come back with viable offers of employment that pan out first.
HRNasty
January 20, 2015Retard,
Thanks for stopping by. I am sorry you feel this way about recruiters. FWIW, I am trying to provide the impression that most recruiters have so that candidates CAN arm themselves and know how to play “the game”. Recruiters can be a resource, we just need to know how to leverage them.
RetardintheWH
January 21, 2015I’ve had at least thirteen recruiters call me in two months. How many have called back just to say “yes” or “no?” Zero. A resource is great if there is proper follow up, but I’ve become jaded from recruiters. Sorry, but the game is on your side. Not mine. I’m too busy trying to make a living to worry about the “game.” If you really want to help make sure other recruiters know how we feel, you can do one thing. FOLLOW THROUGH regardless of the result. It’s to easy now for people to blow you off over the email and phone. It’s disrespectful and annoying.
Best Wishes..
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Yes there are bad, bad recruiters out there who give the profession a bad name…just as there are bad marketers, salespeople, engineer, managers, accountants, etc. As a recruiter, I fill my positions on average in under a month because I follow through same-day with every applicant and consider myself an advocate for both sides. Everyone hears from me and gets feedback afterwards as well. Not all of us are evil.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015There are good and bad recruiters out there – please don’t make blanket statements.
Junior
January 15, 2015… And pic? They’ll use your PICTURE to see if you’re a good candidate or not? What? Why would someone EVER make a decision based off of your picture? I get if you’re not dressed correctly or presented well. But why your linkedin or twitter picture? To SEE if you LOOK like you fit? Lol, what? See, things like this make me think if you’re a minority, they’ll be quick just to not even move forward with the hiring process if they see anything other than a certain skintone.
HRNasty
January 20, 2015Junior,
Yes, most recruiters do look at pictures as do hiring managers. The reason is not about skin tone but more about company fit. If I am recruiting for a conservative bank that requires a suit and tie, I will probably hold off on the candidate with extreme hairstyles and facial piercings. I realize that I am short changing the selections and there may be brilliant candidates with piercings, but I have a customer in a hiring manager and when they are in the mood for a suit and a tie, I need to give it to them. This is why I recommend that we go with a conservative picture that will blend in with any corporate environment. If I am hiring for a radio station, a hair salon, I won’t think twice about the extreme hair style or tattoo. My point is that a conservative picture will keep you in the selection process for more jobs than a less conservative image. Hope this makes sense, HRN
Cityflower
November 24, 2014HAHA! This made me laugh. Written by a typical recruiter! Entitled/self-absorbed/ and focused on nothing but the bottom line! They don’t care where you work – only that they place you somewhere. Trying to sell their clients top-tier talent but continuing to overlook the “no-brainers” that lead you to those. GUESS WHAT? – most good candidates (not all) already have jobs. That’s why they are good candidates. They are simply opportunistic and it’s YOUR JOB to sell them on new opportunities. NOT the other way around. I’m not going to answer my phone because I AM WORKING. AT MY JOB. The one that YOU need to convince me to leave. Don’t ask about benefits, time off, or pay? Are you KIDDING ME? Once again – let me reiterate: Since I ALREADY HAVE A JOB, these are factors that need to be presented in order for me to assess if it’s worth leaving my current position or not. If you won’t present them to me, then we won’t be working together. This mindset is limiting recruiters only to desperate people. Ones who have been out of work and are struggling to find it. They are the ones who are most likely waiting by the phone and who won’t care about benefits or pay. I’m sure your clients will love that you are inadvertently filtering out good/employed candidates in favor of desperate ones!
HRNasty
November 24, 2014Cityflower,
Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate you pointing this out. FWIW, I am not an agency recruiter, I work internally for the hiring company. The point I am trying to make is that there are a lot of un employed folks who are making these mistakes, who are answering the phone with too much casualness or asking me to leave a message and then calling me right back. I am trying to point out the impression that is being left by those struggling to find a position. If you have a job then you probably have not these points figured out.
Again, thanks for getting to realize this needed clarification
HRN
Chris
May 3, 2015I curently have a job and was previously an agency recruiter. Nobody ever judged a candidate negatively if they did not answer our call. We were told that most people do not answer your call because, well, they are not expecting you to call. Our focus was sounding impressive enough to warrant a call back. I also answered a call from the hiring manager of my first job with “Yo” because I was just disconnected from my buddy. I owned it, recovered and went on through the process and got the job. Some of this advice is weak…….
Victoria Cole
June 19, 2017Like you said you owned it. Apologized to the recruiter and went on.
Tom
November 8, 2014Who wants a job where you have to talk on the phone anyway? Sounds positively dreadful.
Dirtbag359 .
October 9, 2014“I want someone to answer the phone when I call. I don’t want to leave a message. If you have caller ID and don’t recognize a number, PICK IT UP!!!! That could be your next employer calling.”
While this is certainly understandable what about the flip side when I end up leaving 3 messages over the course of a week solely for the chance to speak with a recruiter at a particular agency for the first time?
I understand not getting a call back within 10 minutes never mind the first day, but over the course of a week with multiple messages only to finally get a call from someone that doesn’t seem to care is pretty bad in its own right. Not to mention a promise to call me back when the recruiter has something else come up, only to break said promise. It’s not like I’m doing my best Toby Flenderson impression when I’m answering the phone.
Maybe this is some sort of payback for the late 90’s when people avoided headhunters like the plague.
ua2
August 23, 2014Always remember, HR can’t hire you, only disqualify you. I suggest for postings that are well written and specify what the direct team is to try to contact someone on that team via finding them through linkedin. Bypassing HR increases our chances dramatically.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Bypassing HR is outright rude and unprofessional. Fine if you want to contact BOTH, but don’t bypass the process – remember, the hiring manager and HR are partners, and agree upon this process. Dissing HR/Recruiting by ignoring their role will only show that you think you’re above following company procedures.
IG
September 15, 2015Companies make money not because of a good HR team but because of value which employee add to the company. HR has no competence to estimate the value. So only God knows what’s the role of HR in a hiring process. Any thoughts?
Aimee Levens
September 15, 2015Depends on the HR professional. Some do, some don’t. HR is a cross-functional type of expertise, in a lot of ways like Marketing. HR adds to the company’s profitability and overall bottom line when HR staff has a strong knowledge of the business, organizational development, and compensation, benefits, training, and recruiting programs, and when executive teams include them at top-level discussions. As a recruiter, I find the right people for the right jobs who will help the company be profitable. Companies come to me because they go at it on their own and can’t find good people. I not only know good people, but I know who fits in what kind of organization and team, and along with that, I know what my hiring managers want so I screen for their requests (while also ensuring they’re not getting too anal retentive in what they’re asking for – I’m sure you’ve seen those job postings with 86 “requirements” when we all know there are great folks out there who would rock at the job but the hiring manager went for his/her dream person and told the recruiter it’s all or nothing. A good HR professional is able to partner with the hiring manager to understand the value of the role, and challenge them on areas where they could potentially serve their candidates and employees better. Pay is a huge one – if I’m out there and see that most folks in a certain role are making $100K and my client is paying $80K, that’s something they need to know. But again…just like there are bad hiring managers (and engineers, and salespeople, and execs, and…), there are bad HR folks who are making the good ones look bad.
IG
September 15, 2015What makes you think you “find right people for the right jobs “? Do you discuss that with founders/stake holders or you speak to a line manager a month after securing the role?
What are the criteria for the “right person”? I always give my name when picking up a phone. Am I the right person?
HRNasty
September 18, 2015Aimee, you bring up a very good point. HR and the hiring manager are usually working together and we want everyone pulling for us. Bypassing the system just adds friction to an already red tape heavy process.
Kira Sherrine
October 26, 2015I would skip the hiring managers if I can. The ridiculous points they make to even send it to the hiring manager 7 out of 10, is different viewing from the hiring manager. The hiring manager will normally forward it to the HR ONLY to process you in.
Your post has a bit of sarcasm and contradicting of itself. You can’t be mad that I didn’t pick up my phone and the talk about voicemail. In the end you are still using that as a trigger to judge me. There are TONS of reasons why people do not pick up their phone and hardly now is the excuse that the number was I recognizable. The call post also insinuates that I have to explain myself to you. Which I clearly do not have to do. You are calling unannounced. And since most resumes are sent via email. I would except you to reply to that email that you are interested in a phone interview (since those almost 95% means you are HR and not the hiring manager) and when is a good time to reach out. Not cold calling.
2nd was that after you call, It is YOU that should introduce yourself. Again it is you that called not I. If I’m calling you then I expect to explain who I am. Since as you stated, majority of the time you are calling from a number that is not recognized. Yes there are a lot of people some people would not want to deal with. And I have not known even companies that answered with Hello and their name. Only the receptionist of the company which states the company. There should not be a long space after a Hello. (Or in my case “Hello, with whom am I speaking to?”) as you should have used that time to state who you are. When you do that, it’s then that the pleasantries begin. Not saying that I’m going to answer my phone rudely but your actions and expectations seem quite rude considering you called and I don’t know who is calling and I do not have a expectation of you calling.
Everything else sounds okay until the wage part. Once again contradictory. You cannot ask me what am I looking for and yet I can not ask you that question. We BOTH are using this as a process of elimination as to whether this is a next step. You are asking me that because you already know your ballpark and are using it an rule of elimination or sort through to minimize the amount interviews a Hiring Manager has to go through. I am using to as a tool to not have to interview with a company that cannot pay what my ballpark range is. Very simple.
It is not my job to please you. It is my job to do the job I’m hired to do with the integrity that comes with it. It is both our jobs as a prescreening to see if what the job actually entails is somethings that could possibly work right. = you the company and me the potential employee. Pleasantires on a formal level should always be there for both sides.
The last one, which is expecting to ask when I can come in and interview. That is not something I should state, that is actually something you should state to acknowledge that I actually can meet with the hiring manager or to let me know that you will pass the interview info on to the hiring manager and see when you can reach a time. No one wants to seem desperate… Especially when a lot of HR people actually say they do not like that. Which again is a contradiction. If I didn’t want a interview, I would not have proceeded with the pre-screening.
You do not know the amount of Hiring Managers I have talked to that state that the key point of what they were looking for was not what the HR person interpreted. The actual job description and qualifications! And it shows clearly in this post if you are more concerned about your ideal of pleasantries then the actual questions you would ask to see if a potential employee actually fit.
Kira Sherrine
October 26, 2015Also, please excuse any missing grammar or misspellings.
HRNasty
October 27, 2015Kira,
Thanks for checking out the blog and commenting. You bring up great points and I totally understand where you are coming from and yes, this is some of my earlier work and there was some flippant attitude as I tried to differentiate this blog from the others. The bottom line is that yes, you are correct. The recruiter SHOULD introduce him or herself and there are a LOT OF things that recruiters can do better. That being said, the point of this post and this blog is to show where the recruiters and hiring managers are coming from so that as a candidate we can better prepare and be ready. I am not saying that it is right or wrong, in most cases, HR is on the rude and assuming side, but if we as a candidate want the job, we need to be ready for the insensitive, we need to be ready for the un trained, the impatient, and the folks that just do not know how to do the job and feel like they have the power. That is where this blog is coming from. I want to show how to get past all of the BULL SHIT and why this works. Hopefully this makes sense. HRN
Asgar Ali
December 18, 2015thanks alot for great points
Pls tell me by my email how to imrove comms. skills
Nic S
July 1, 2016I absolutely disagree. I applied for my current job through the usual channels and had no response even though it wasn’t filled. I managed to find out who the hiring manager was, and emailed him directly, and here I am. I’m currently applying for other jobs, and the only ones I’ve had responses to are the ones that I contacted the hiring managers for directly… And I have an interview for one next week. HR people/recruiters are among the biggest slackers I’ve come across in my entire working life, only chasing candidates/employees when they have something on the line and not giving a fig the rest of the time. I’ve done very well having as little to do with them as possible and feel absolutely no desire to change that.
Darin Clements
July 13, 2014Sound like all a recruiter wants is someone to kiss ass. Newsflash, Guido, yours isn’t the only job. Some of us are experts in our fields and we are interviewing YOU. If I don’t hear “delight” in your voice, yes, delight, then I’ll be sure to mark that down as well.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015No, we want people to give a shit about the job they applied for. It’s amazing – and very sad – how many people apply for jobs then sound totally apathetic when we talk to them (then wonder why they don’t get called back for interviews).
IG
September 15, 2015Why would I be excited about moving to a new job? Unless you really hate you current one..
Aimee Levens
September 15, 2015People don’t just leave jobs because they hate them. Sometimes the company isn’t doing well, or there only is so far they can go with that particular role (often in small companies this happens), or they want to go to a new industry and take on new challenges, or the chance to make more money (think moving from a nonprofit to a corporate job).
IG
September 15, 2015Honestly, searching for a new job is most stressful time of my life with no excitement at all. I clearly understand that a recruiter is the person who stands between me and my potential manager who can clearly understand my strengths. But seriously why would I be excited about say building a new house for someone even for 5% better money?? Speaking to a recruiter that’s what I hate most of all. It doesn’t produce any value or product I can sell or exchange into anything. I wish I could speak directly to a person who is happy to employ me because of my skills rather than following phone conversation etiquette,
HRNasty
September 18, 2015The benefit of speaking to a recruiter is that they usually have a relationship with the hiring manager. Whether this is an internal recruiter or an agency recruiter, they have a relationship that most candidates do not. Consider them to be your wing man or wing woman. They can help break the ice and are the credible reference that the hiring manager WILL listen to.
IG
February 12, 2016I see. Bribes everywhere..
HRNasty
September 18, 2015Aimee, you are completely right. We just want folks to sound like they care. We talk to many folks every day on the phone and we are not able to see excitement over the phone. All we have is your tone of voice. Sounding excited is not kissing up, in this situation for me as a recruiter it is conveying interest.
Igor Kubrakov
February 12, 2016I wish to see your face when you are refused to buy a cup of coffee because coffee machine didn’t notice your excitement when you pressed coffee-making-button.
What makes you think that people excited about a new role are motivated to meet requirements of that role? Where is the correlation?
IG
February 12, 2016I wish to see your face when you are refused to buy a cup of coffee because coffee machine didn’t notice your excitement when you pressed coffee-making-button.
What makes you think that people excited about a new role are motivated to meet requirements of that role? Where is the correlation?
Rik
July 16, 2016This article might have been well intended, but it does not address its purpose as it should. I wonder how it comes across to some feel considering when the subject of your examples is based on a guys experience when he calls/called his first crush; bias springs to mind. Your procedure is devoid of the human touch, your approach is so robot-like that I can programme that in an unmanned phone. There is no dynamism in your interview and if I was employing through you, I’ll definitely stop after reading this.
Rik
July 16, 2016…to some females considering that the subject of your examples is based on a guy’s experience …
Carla
February 11, 2016HEHEHE, where you hired to anwser all the negative comments in this article? Are you his sister?
Carla
February 11, 2016I am very nice, and HR recruiters never call back. I take my time to listen to them, to answer their question. If they do not want me, they do not notifiy me. Today I had an interview, I stopped everything I was doing to take the phone call from the HR recruiter and she never called. I wrote her, and she said the position was taken already: so, why you did not cancel the interview!! HR recruiters are the worst, you guys are the enemy, you have no consideration.
So What
April 11, 2016How do I know who you are when you call? How do I know you are calling about that job I applied for 6 months ago? What makes you think I even remember? More often than not recruiters don’t even work for the company being applied to so what makes you worthy of my excitement? Why shouldn’t I save my excitement for the interview that counts. If I don’t act exited you push my resume forward? B.S. You want to get paid just as much as me and you play the numbers. All you care about is getting a candidate in the door and pray he does well so you can keep getting candidates in the door.
Rik
July 16, 2016For crying out loud, thank God you are just , Yes JUST, a recruiter. You sound like the giver and taker of life, your kind will be condescending to Bill Gates if they could write a single line of computer code
Michael McNally
September 29, 2015Respect is a two way street. “Guido?” Seriously? You sound like an HR nightmare already.
Carla
February 11, 2016HEHEHE, where you hired to anwser all the negative comments in this article? Are you his mother?
MeGa SaMa
May 20, 2014You won’t get shit if you’re the type that stands people up buddy. Lower your expectations if you make people wait for ever for your stupid ass to call. You should be grateful that people are so desperate that they would wait for you to begin with, many people don’t have jobs. Stop taking yours for goddamn granted.
really?
May 20, 2014“would love to hear the candidate announce their first name. A flat
hello followed by silence is not business appropriate and although I
won’t hang up immediately, the clock is ticking” . Are you serious? This isn’t the 50s where you are calling a party line, and you’re not calling your secretary in the office. If you are calling my cell, you know who you are talking to. I would wonder if someone who answered a call like that was sharing a house with a bunch of college roomies.
HRNasty
November 24, 2014You would be surprised that there are still folks out there with room mates and land lines. Yes, we do realize that folks are calling cell phone 95% of the time, but for those that are answering the phone like this, I just want to make the point that recruiters and hiring manager are left with a first impression and they do not want their VP or manager calling a candidate and getting a “Whats up?”
monchies4
July 20, 2015Upon ending the conversation with the phone interviewer, should I have been asked to meet with them in person? Or do they usually wait a couple days to give you a call to schedule an interview time? Just recently had a phone interview with an investment firm. This is my first phone interview with an investment firm, so I was really nervous and not as articulate as I normally am.
HRNasty
July 23, 2015Monchies4,
Great question. Generally speaking, candidates are not asked to come in for an in person interview at the end of the phone screen. The purpose of the phone screen is to talk to a number of candidates (between 3-5, maybe more depending on the position) and then after all of those candidates have been talked with, figure out which 1-3 candidates should be brought in for the in person, or a phone call with the hiring manager.
One thing we can do is politely ask is to let the recruiter know that we will follow up via email or phone the following week to check in. Even if you did not say this during your phone call, it is totally OK to call or email. Sometimes folks in HR get busy or side tracked and I blogged about that here. http://hrnasty.com/when-do-recruiters-call-back/
Hope this helps and good luck!
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015It’s always OK to ask what their timeline is for next steps – and takes ownership. And on phone interviews, have notes written down – keeps the butterflies in check 🙂
Rik
July 16, 2016You don’t get it, do you? It is fine and dandy to advocate for courtesy over the phone, but making a fuzz about answering with a first name is pathetic to say the least . I’m sure you are definitely not knowledgeable in the field you recruit , you would be craving for real stuff rather than cheap self-serving glorification.
Josh
September 15, 2016If you have been applying for jobs, is it really that difficult to answer the phone with a “first name speaking”? I certainly do and it helps the conversation go a bit more smoothly
HRNasty
September 15, 2016Thank you!
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Actually I always answer the phone with my name. I’s not the 1950’s, it’s called being prepared and professional in case a prospective employer calls. Not looking for a job? Then go back to answering however you choose. The author is giving hints so people will be more successful, why diss this?
Kay Cee
February 15, 2016You are so right!
IG
February 15, 2016How many calls do you receive? I receive up to 10 calls per day when I am not looking for job and a lot more when looking. If my minute cost £1 (1.5USD) to my employee and average conversation lasts 2 mins then it comes to £20 per day + indirect costs when I am not doing my job but chatting on the phone instead.
What recruiters are missing is that every minute I spend on the phone is my money. If you have nothing to say, please do send an email instead and do not call during working hours.
Rik
July 16, 2016Unbelievable!! I guess one should put their life on hold because they applied for a job. Will this belligerent approach to recruiting apply when there is a shortage in skill and you just found one that could earn you a commission or “bribe”.
loyalindian
August 11, 2016Its a pointless activity. If you have a scheduled call there is understanding beforehand that who would be calling whom. And if its unscheduled then sorry I am not happy to say my name and then someone hanging up on the other side.
Michael
December 24, 2013Did you HAVE to post the picture of the girl in the bikini to attract readers? Jeez you hyNasty
Shona
November 27, 2013If you call someone during business hours, there is a good chance you will get their voicemail. I’m in the job market, but I do not take personal calls on my current employer’s clock. If I am tied up with work responsibilities, then I’m sorry, you must leave a message. When I’m on my break, or lunch, I’ll call you back. I’m sorry, but this advice is very inconsiderate in this regard!
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Her advice was to check your voicemail on your break/lunch and return calls then – NOT to stop work if you aren’t allowed.
Rishona Campbell
September 10, 2015This was a man who wrote the article. And this is a direct quote:
I want someone to answer the phone when I call. I don’t want to leave a message. If you have caller ID and don’t recognize a number, PICK IT UP!!!! That could be your next employer calling.
Faith
September 15, 2015If you continued reading, you would have seen:
“I totally understand that if you are currently working or going to school, you are probably not going to pick up the phone between 9 am and 5 pm. We all have lives and we are all busy people. That being said, please do everything you can to call me at your break or your lunch. I am not expecting to interview you for 30 minutes at that minute. I just want to know that you received the phone call and schedule a time to talk. I literally want to know if you exist and are still looking for new opportunities. “
Rishona Campbell
September 15, 2015Yes – so he CLEARLY contradicts himself. A sign that he is disorganized in his thoughts and probably in other aspects of his professional life as well. He should tidy up his own house before offering advice to others.
Michael McNally
September 29, 2015If you’re this combative in regards to your own lack in reading comprehension I could only imagine what kind of employee you would make.
Rishona Campbell
September 29, 2015Combative? Wow…..no words. One thing is for sure, I’m the type of employee who would never work for YOU (since you are delusional)
Kay Cee
February 15, 2016You are joking, right?
pena_esmeralda@yahoo.com
August 10, 2016I think she’s not reading his message correctly or is misunderstanding what he is saying. I understand and makes sense.
HRNasty
August 25, 2016Kay Cee and Pena, thank you! Much appreciated, HRN
Patience Clinton Mightyi
November 27, 2017Rishona Campbell, How can you be so ungrateful to someone who took his quality time to write this educative and informative article for people who have no clue about how phone interview goes. If you are jobless I will not be surprise because of your attitude.
God bless your efforts Mr HRNasty. Keep up the good work Sir.
My phone interview is coming up and am excited for finding this article. Thank you Sir.
HRNasty
December 3, 2017Patience,
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your support and feel the same as you here. 🙂 I realize that I am not for everyone. Rarely is anyone for everyone. I have a specific demographic and recognize that not everyone appreciates my style. I don’t find much in common with a lot of HR folks (I do know a number of great ones) but by and large, I thought that there was a small segment that might resonate with a different attitude. Good luck on your interview and we can help out, just let us know. Thank you! HRN
Jony
March 9, 2017She sounds dumb, bitter, and angry.
HRNasty
September 18, 2015Faith, thank you for the clarification. Really appreciate your input here.
So What
April 11, 2016How is she combative? The entire article is combative and contradictory. She is absolutely right, he does contradict himself. He also makes himself out to be something more than just a telemarketer that thinks we all owe him something. For every job posting there are 100 telemarketing recruiters spamming it to candidates. You aren’t special and you aren’t doing any favors.
Reece
June 20, 2016You guys should relax and take a step back. What we all need to learn is that right and wrong, especially in this interest does not matter. The gentleman who wrote the article is simply telling you the way recruiters think. He is trying to give us insight on how to conduct ourselves based on how (perfect or imperfect) recruiters feel. Considering his experience, I am for one grateful for his insight.
Him
October 25, 2013the writer can’t spell, punctuate or use prepositions properly. I read online articles as with a new book, I expect to learn. Everything I’ve read since I was 18 I’ve known it all before due to my own experience and it doesn’t change
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Ha – and you didn’t capitalize, use proper grammar, or put a period at the and of your sentence…
Anon
September 11, 2013Biggest load of crock ever written. If this is how you select or reject candidates then I pity the company you work for.
I don’t know how many times I get the following even before I can introduce myself:
“Huh?”
“Yeah”
“Uh Huh”
“What did you say?”
“You finally called, what took you so long?”
So many people answer the phone as if they are expecting a telesales person. With any one of the above answers, the conversation is over. Why? Because at our company, we want people to answer every phone call like it is a customer on the line. We don’t want to train someone how to answer a phone.
Guest
June 30, 2014Nothing could be further from the truth. This article was written with a lot of sarcasm and without a hint of regret. I get the hint already – HR means “business”, but a little courtesy from HR themselves can benefit a lot, especially when it boils down to “employee retention”.
gander2112
June 12, 2013Great post as usual Mr. Nasty. The only quibble I would point out is if it is an unsolicited call from a recruiter on a fishing expedition, if they are blocking caller ID, I ignore the call. It never ceases to amaze me that head hunters (retained professionals) hide that meta data on calls.
Of course, if I dropped my resume, and am interested in a position, then I behave differently.
HRNasty
June 13, 2013You are absolutely right! I wouldn’t call it “fishing”, I would call it bottom trolling.
Aimee Levens
September 10, 2015Agree on the author’s part about answering the phone – and anyhow, as a recruiter, I usually find that emailing a candidate gets a quicker response 🙂
Larry McKeogh
June 11, 2013Tried and true wisdom. This post reads like a script of my phone interview today. I believe I executed to plan and hopefully will hear back by the end of the week.
HRNasty
June 11, 2013Mr. McKeogh,
Thanks as always for the support and glad you are proving out these humble theories. Let me know if I can help in anyway!
Larry McKeogh
August 24, 2015Back for a refresher. Great info as always. Amazed at the number of comments good and bad since my last visit. Keep it up, ’cause you’re keeping it real. All the best…
HRNasty
August 26, 2015Hey there Brother, welcome back. As always, let me know if I can help out in any way!
Peace,
HRN
Dan Zehner
September 24, 2015I’m with Larry! I followed your advice when talking with a recruiter, but I haven’t heard back from them in almost a month. I sent a follow up “thank you” email the day after the interview, a “how’s things going/need anything else from me?” email the week after, and left a voicemail on the third week. They gave the timeline for me to hear back as two weeks. Do you have any advice? Should I just move on or try contacting someone in the hiring department or HR directly?
HRNasty
September 27, 2015Dan,
sorry to hear that your recruited didn’t follow up. I would follow up with them via phone one last time and if you don’t hear back, move on. Agency recruiters can be professional, but at the end of the day, their client is the company that is paying them, and not us as candidates. If the candidate doesn’t help them make money by being a viable candidate then we are usually not of interest to the recruiter and it is best to move on.
IG
September 28, 2015I live and work in London, UK. To my experience 9 out of 10 recruiters who say “I will give you a call” or “I’ll definitely send you an email” never do so. Out of my 1000+ conversations I’ve seen only a few posting back.
So a recruiter contacting you with feedback is either the one who will let you take the role or the one from your dreams.
marvinawhite blog
October 13, 2012Thanks ! Super Post !!
Tony Darnell
June 25, 2014Yum!
Curtis
May 5, 2011Looks like you are an expert in this field, great post and keep up the good work, my buddy recommended me it.
My blog:
credit immobilier et banque Rachat de credit
Evelyn Amateur
April 27, 2011Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.
Washi
May 31, 2015Your post has some good information but sending second thank you letter before the actual face to face is a bit much. Sending a thank you letter after the initial phone should be sufficient.