​Ahh… Telephone Tuesday, the day of long wait times, annoying computer customer service menus, and short patience.  In the spirit of all that is phones, check out our seven tips for succeeding in the dreaded phone interview.

1. Try to use a landline.
Yes, they are as rare as no Uber surcharge on a Saturday night. But, landlines work and much better than your iPhone 6s that only works on speaker.

2. Don’t put it on speaker.  
Hold the phone up to your ear and hear the interview god’s praises. Nothing is worse as a recruiter than conducting an interview on speaker phone where you can hear every single thing in the background.

3. Answer by saying ‘Hello, This is [your name here]’.  
Nothing is worse than the dreaded, ‘Hello, I would like to speak to Your Name’ and your response of ‘This is he/they/me/what?!?!’  Avoid it now

4. Print off your resume, job application and the job posting.
​Bonus points for highlighting discussion areas you want to make sure to mention during the phone interview.

5. Keep an eye on the clock.  
Have a clock handy to check throughout the interview, you want to respect both your time and the interviewer’s time.

6. Silence is your friend.  
Don’t freak out trying to fill every single bit of silence, become one with the silence and befriend it.  Without non-verbal cues it is hard to tell when you should stop chatting about yourself. Get used to silence and embrace it as a tool in the interview.

7. Ask questions.
Not sure if you fully answered the last question? Don’t know if the interviewer needs more info? Instead of assuming, just ask - it goes a long way. And you’re not awkwardly chatting into oblivion trying to make sure you answer the question.