Phone interview advice?

[Sebastienne]

I'm in the midst of a major career change, trying moving from academia to an industry tangentially linked to my area of study. I have a phone interview lined up in a few days for what sounds like a potentially awesome job. The problem is, though, I'm pretty terrible at phone interviews. Without any visual cues that let me know to shut up, I tend to talk way too much. I also tend to fill silences when I'm nervous.

I'm preparing a cheat sheet with answers to questions they're likely to ask, and I'll have the company website open for extra backup. What other advice do you have? How does one ace a phone interview?

[NyaChan]

Even though you are on the phone, wear nice clothing - you'll feel more confident and professional while you are speaking.  Make sure you have a quiet space laid out for the interview with a table/desk with writing utensils and paper.  Have your resume/cover letter/any documents you have sent into the so that you see what they are likely looking at as you are speaking.  Stay calm, and give yourself a beat before speaking.

[Amara]

Stand up during the interview; it makes a difference in your voice. Also, have a glass of water close by but not within arm distance because you don't want to accidentally knock it over while talking.

Try to practice being comfortable with silence. The best advice I ever got was to let a few seconds go by before I began any answer, both to let them know I had control (and thus didn't need to fill every second with sound) and to give myself that time to think. It helped.

[blueyzca01]

Absolutely don't forget the water!  I've had 2 phone interviews that I was prepared for, but got incredibly nervous when the time came to answer the questions.  And, of course, I get coughing fits when I get nervous.

[Only me]

do you have a stop watch, or a something can you can keep an eye on the time. Keep your answers under 2-3 sentances or under 2-3 minutes depending on the question. IE Can you tell me about this from your resume?

I think it would remind you to stop talking.

I am in the middle of a career change and was talking to another worker in the office. She sounds just like you and knows she is not used to silence. She said she just finished her answer and let the silence play out until another question was asked. It was hard, but doable.

[rashea]

Try and feel it as a conversation, that will help remind you to let them talk too. And watching a clock can help, but try not to stress over it. Answer the question, and then stop. They can always ask you to elaborate.

[cicero]

I'm in the midst of a major career change, trying moving from academia to an industry tangentially linked to my area of study. I have a phone interview lined up in a few days for what sounds like a potentially awesome job. The problem is, though, I'm pretty terrible at phone interviews. Without any visual cues that let me know to shut up, I tend to talk way too much. I also tend to fill silences when I'm nervous.

I'm preparing a cheat sheet with answers to questions they're likely to ask, and I'll have the company website open for extra backup. What other advice do you have? How does one ace a phone interview?

I am the same and i don't have any sage advice. It's not just the visual cues to let me shut up; but i miss the the whole body language/chemistry aspect of an in-person interview.

cheat sheet , keep the web site open, and a bottle of water are all good ideas.

good luck!