Most frequently asked telephone interview questions
Interview

Most Frequently Asked Telephone Interview Questions

Telephone interviews are becoming more and more common as a tactic to select who to invite in for a face-to-face interview. Are you prepared? Take a look at three of the most common telephone interview questions and how to answer them

Once upon a time, applying for jobs was a simple process. You would send a CV, you would be invited to an interview and you either be given the job or not. However, more recent years has seen recruitment process become longer, the Financial Times reporting that candidates are facing more interviews than ever before for each job they apply for.

Candidates for junior roles face an average of 2.4 interviews for each role whereas for more senior roles, candidates can expect an average of 3.4 interviews. One of the reasons for this is that more and more companies are using telephone interviews to select who to invite in for a face-to-face interview.

more and more companies are using telephone interviews

If you’ve never faced a telephone interview before, don’t despair. Below we take a look at three of the most common telephone interview questions and give you advice on how to answer them.

1. What do you know about the company?

Telephone interviews are all about assessing how serious you are about the job and whether it is worth inviting you in for a face-to-face interview. This question assesses how much preparation you have put in for your telephone interview by asking you how much you know about the company.

You should always research the company before you have any sort of interview and learn as much about them.

Some areas of research to cover are:

  • The website: This should be your starting point and you can see what they do, how long they have been doing it and other general information about the business
  • Companies House: Want to really impress in your interview? Go to the Companies House website and you can download financial information about any company in the UK. They’re going to be really impressed if you’ve gone to the lengths of looking at their financials
  • Industry websites/magazines: By looking at these, you can assess where the business is in the market and look at their competitors and discuss where potential opportunities lie

always research the company

2. What are your greatest achievements?

During a telephone interview, the interviewer will have your CV at hand so questions like this are there to assess whether you can back up the claims made on it. That means you need to be looking at a copy too!

The key to answering this question is not simply to repeat what you have put on your CV but to expand on it and explain it fully to show just what you achieved.

You could even offer to bring in proof of your achievement by bringing in testimonials, facts, figures if you get offered an interview.

Interview Questions

3. What are your salary expectations?

Don’t get too hung up on getting an interview and state a salary that is actually lower than you want. Be honest and give a salary range in which you would be looking and what you think is suitable for your skills, qualifications and experience.

Telephone interviews can be tough but by taking this advice, hopefully you’ll be well armed to deal with some of the most common telephone interview questions.