You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
My name's Jennifer and I'll be your host for this episode on dealing with a telephone interview for a job.
If you're joining us here, you may want to check out BEP 82 and 83 first to see how to talk about your experience in a face-to-face interview.
Unit 301 from our interviews.
E-book also gives a good overview of all our previous lessons on job interviews.
Just head over to www.businessenglishpod.com.
In this lesson we'll be listening to James, who has lots of experience in his field but has nevertheless recently lost his job due to downsizing at his company.
He has been applying for jobs and has completed a series of aptitude tests at an agency that is representing Xeon IT, a multinational technology company.
Angie, who works in human resources at Zeon's head office, calls James at home in the evening to do a screening interview.
She needs to ask him some preliminary questions to decide if he should be invited for a face-to-face interview at Zeon.
Why did James leave his previous job?
3.
How long does James have to wait to find out if he has a second interview with Zion?
Hello?
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Just a moment please.
James!
There's someone from a company called Zeon IT on the phone.
Zeon?
Oh yeah, I did that test at the agency last week for them.
Hello, James Greenwich speaking.
Hello, Mr. Greenwich.
My name is Angie Fortuna from HR at Zeon's head office.
I'm wondering if you've got time to answer a few questions about your application?
I see.
Well, I'm just about to sit down for dinner, Ms.
Fortuna.
Would you mind if I called you back in half an hour?
No, that's fine.
I'm in the office for another two hours.
The number is 6433-7337.
Let me give you... Thanks for calling me back, James.
Now, just to start off, could you give me an idea of the scope of your most recent position?
Well Angie, I was senior IT manager at Marzoni Solutions, which meant that I was in charge of all IT and security issues for our operations worldwide.
Uh-huh.
And what were your day-to-day responsibilities?
Mainly coordinating with internal clients to supply them with vertical IT solutions and managing project teams.
These two activities took up about 80% of my time.
I see.
And are you prepared to take a position that might have less responsibility than you previously posted?
Huh, got that.
And why exactly did you leave Marzoni?
Uh, well, due to downsizing, actually.
My position was eliminated when we merged with Quanta.
Uh-huh.
Now, can you tell me a little about your salary expectations for this position?
Well, Angie, to give me a point of reference, could you tell me the pay range for this job?
In my last position.
I believe my salary was somewhat higher than the one that might be available for this.
Okay, so the next step will be a panel interview at the Zeon branch in your city.
Have you got any last-minute questions?
No, I think everything is quite clear.
Thanks for talking to me today, James.
You can expect to be contacted within the next few days if you're shortlisted for the panel interview.
Thanks for your time.
Goodbye, Angie.
Now he's the interviewee and he's prepared to play by the book, despite the fact he is familiar with the process and probably finds it quite predictable.
If you are applying for jobs, you should be prepared to receive telephone calls like this.
Screening interviews are carried out to eliminate unqualified applicants, and interviewers may call in the evening or on weekends.
You may be caught off guard and you might be distracted or in the midst of something, or maybe your kids are making a lot of noise.
Your goal is to convince the interviewer that you are qualified for the job, and this will be difficult if you are distracted and unprepared.
Listen to how James deals with this unexpected phone call.
Notice how he immediately uses the formal Ms Fortuna to address Angie.
It's only after Angie signals a change in formality that James adapts his style to match Angie's by using her first name too.
I see.
Well, I'm just about to sit down for dinner, Miss Fortuna.
Would you mind if I called you back in half an hour?
You should never carry out a telephone interview if you are unprepared and cannot focus on the call.
It is perfectly acceptable to ask to delay the interview for 10 minutes to half an hour.
You need a little time to prepare for the interview and make sure there are no distractions during those important 20 minutes on the phone.
Let's practice a few more examples of ways to put off an interview, so you have a little time to prepare and make sure you feel comfortable and ready.
Is it okay if I call you back?
I'm just in the middle of something.
I'm so glad you called, but I'm a little bit busy at the moment.
Is it okay to call you back in about 30 minutes?
I'm a little tied up just now.
So is it okay if I call you back?
If it's OK with you, I'd like to call you back when I've finished eating.
First, make sure that you can comfortably talk to the interviewer for that amount of time.
Then, make a good impression by being prepared.
Have your resume in front of you.
Have a pen and paper to take notes.
Smile while speaking.
Smiling changes the tone of your voice and the interviewer can hear that change.
Make sure to enunciate clearly.
Speak slowly if necessary.
Angie asked James some straightforward questions about his previous job and we can see James's preparation in the concise way he answers.
Listen again to how James answers questions about the scope of his former job and the day-to-day responsibilities.
Well Angie, I was Senior IT Manager at Marzoni Solutions, which meant that I was in charge of all IT and security issues for our operations worldwide.
Uh-huh.
And what were your day-to-day responsibilities?
Mainly coordinating with internal clients to supply them with vertical IT solutions and managing project teams.
These two activities took up about 80% of my time.
When you begin your job search, you should look at your resume and make detailed notes on your previous experience.
Then practice sentences that briefly give the most important information.
Notice how the following examples state information related to employment in a clear, concise way.
My responsibilities are divided between planning upcoming events and managing current ones.
Basically, I troubleshoot our processes and take care of damage control when things go wrong.
Most of my time is spent following up on customer complaints.
After becoming Operations Manager, I was responsible for the day to day running of the plant.
The screening interview is meant to eliminate candidates who are unqualified.
To move to the next level, you need to convince the interviewer that you are qualified for the position.
The interview is also intended to eliminate candidates who expect too high a salary.
Listen to the way James responds when Angie asks him about his salary expectations.
Now, can you tell me a little about your salary expectations for this position?
Well, Angie, to give me a point of reference, could you tell me the pay range for this job?
In my last position.
I believe my salary was somewhat higher than the one that might be available for this.
It is best to avoid discussing salary until you have been offered the job.
If you are asked about salary, respond by asking a question about the salary range being offered.
Here are some more examples of turning the question back to the interviewer.
Would you mind telling me the budget for this position?
Could you give me an idea of the current salary for this position?
The telephone screening interview is quite short and Angie needs to let James know the interview is coming to an end.
Okay, so the next step will be a panel interview at the Zeon branch in your city.
Have you got any last-minute questions?
Angie tells James about the next step in the process and gives him a final opportunity to ask questions.
Here are some other ways to indicate that the interview is coming to an end.
Do you have any final questions?
Is there anything you need to know while I'm on the line?
I can try to answer any queries you have before I go.
Are there any questions I can answer for you before we say goodbye?
At the end of the phone call, Angie tells James what will happen next if he has been successful in convincing her that he is qualified for the position.
Thanks for talking to me today James.
You can expect to be contacted within the next few days if you're shortlisted for the panel interview.
Thanks for your time.
What else can you say to let a candidate know what they can expect after their screening interview?
Listen to these examples.
We'll call you within a week regarding the position.
You'll hear from us by next Wednesday if you're a shortlisted candidate.
We'll inform all shortlisted candidates by email.
Someone from HR will contact you later in the week to follow up.
Now it's your turn to practice some of the techniques we've looked at today.
First, let's review the language of asking to delay the interview.
Imagine that you've applied for a job and someone from the company has called you at an inconvenient time at home.
Use the excuse given to ask the person if you can call back.
For example, if you hear... Excuse.
In the middle of something.
You can say, Are you ready?
Let's give it a try.
We'll play some example answers after the practice.
Are you free to answer a few questions?
Excuse.
Tied up just now.
Sorry to be calling so early, but I'm in a different time zone.
I hope you don't mind answering a few questions over the phone this evening.
Excuse.
Busy at the moment.
How did you do?
Compare your answers with these examples.
Are you free to answer a few questions?
Example answer.
Sorry to be calling so early, but I'm in a different time zone.
Example answer.
If it's okay with you, I'd like to call you back when I've finished eating breakfast.
I hope you don't mind answering a few questions over the phone this evening.
Example Answer I'm so glad you called, but I'm a little busy at the moment.
Is it okay to call back in about 30 minutes?
Many of these examples can be applied to work situations too, so it's worth practising this language again till you become comfortable using it.
Moving on, let's look at a few of the collocations or word partnerships you can use to describe your previous experience.
Imagine you're doing a telephone interview and you need to tell the interviewer about a previous job.
You should repeat each sentence, replacing the beeps with the missing words.
In each example, there are two missing words.
For example, if you hear... You should say...
My responsibilities are divided between planning upcoming events and managing current ones.
We'll play an example answer after each question.
Get ready to start.
Basically, I troubleshoot our and take care of damage when things go wrong.
Answer.
Basically, I troubleshoot our processes and take care of damage control when things go wrong.
Most of my time is spent up on customer.
Answer.
Most of my time is spent following up on customer complaints.
After becoming Operations Manager, I was for the day-to-day of the plant.
Answer.
After becoming Operations Manager, I was responsible for the day-to-day running of the plant.
We'll finish off today's lesson with a practice on useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear I was expecting a salary increase, so your offer is on the low side.
You can say, I was expecting a salary increase, so your offer is somewhat on the low side.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
As head of the biomechanics department, I was in of the entire research operation.
Answer As head of the biomechanics department, I was in charge of the entire research operation.
The organization went through a serious... and many senior managers were laid off.
Answer The organization went through a serious downsizing, and many senior managers were laid off.
We'd like to invite you for an interview with two project managers and someone from HR.
Answer.
We'd like to invite you for a panel interview with two project managers and someone from HR.
We'll only contact you if you're for the position.
Answer.
We'll only contact you if you're shortlisted for the position.
Giving concise information, avoiding giving a salary amount and winding down the interview.
Don't forget to check out the study notes and online activities for this and other episodes at wwwbusinessenglishpodcom.
See you next time, and thanks for listening.
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