How To Crack Telephonic Interview

Most of the interviews are matching mechanism between the company needs and your experience. Though there are instances where if they find you exceptionally good, they might open up a new position just for you. Some companies also have the telephonic screening just to make sure they are going to invest time (which is Money) with the right candidate. If you are chosen for a telecon than one thing is for sure, you have something in your resume that matches the need of the organization and you are one of their potential candidate.

So start preparing, before the interview make sure that you know the requirement well, go over it again and again and try to match with what you have done in your past. Make a short note of the primary points and stress on the difficult part of it. Always present facts about some difficult task from your past projects and how did you solve it. Do not get surprised to hear what was the most difficult/challenging task in your last/current project and how did you resolve it. This helps the interviewer know that you are serious when your encounter challenges.

Start with a very short introduction about your current role/responsibility and technology involved in it. Also put what you like well in the current role and what you would like better. All this should not be more than 4-5 points as follows

1. Your name and work experience in the industry
2. Your current company (client), project and role/responsibility attached to it.
3. Technology used.
4. What you like the most in your current job.
5. What you would like to become doing this for years.

During this short introduction the interviewer will get a fair idea about you and may want to ask a few more questions like elaborate more on your role or how you handle your day to day task. Now there is a deviation between the way most of the Desi take interviews and others (non-desi) take interviews. I have experienced most of the non-desi start with their short introduction first, even if she/he is a director or a company and taking interview of a programmer, they like to introduce themselves first and speak a little about their group( company in case it is a small one) and the open position. Then they would like you to repeat the same for them. Here is the chance to quickly remake your short introduction to fit the need described by the interviewer.

In case of a desi, do not expect this courtesy, if they show, you are one lucky guy. 

Desi starts the interview with asking about you, your skills and continue with pure technical questions related to the positions. Do not get offended if you were asked a few basic bookish questions, this is the way things happen. If you do not know simply say I am sorry its been a long time or I know it but I am not able to recollect it at this moment of time. If a Desi likes you she/he might tell you the answers of questions you were not able to. But again do not expect them to answer even if you specifically ask.

After she/he is satisfied with all his interrogations and feels that you have done OK, she/he might speak a little about the position and about themselves. If this is the scenario feel confident that you are going to get a call for the "next" round. Generally a telecon from a Desi goes for about an hour or so but in the case of a non-desi it gets over in 20-25 minutes max. While speaking over a phone, make sure there is no background noise and your voice is clear to them. Speak clearly, even if it is a NO. People like to hear a clear NO than a broken YES.

Do not get too excited for the job, even if you are the perfect match, sometimes this excitement send wrong signals about your personality. When you want to pause, ask for it and take a pause, filling it with uh/um/you know/ok/oh etc does not make things better. It always makes sense to speak in respect to the open position than only about your past projects. Try making a bridge in between your experience and the open position. Take a guess what the interviewer expects from you within this short time. She/he might just be interested in knowing about your technical/analytical skills. In this case no need provide anything extra. Just answer the questions asked. For example, if it is asked "What is a class in Java", just tell what it is. There is absolutely no need to mention you have designed/coded some classes in your XYZ projects. If asked then definitely answer.

It is always better to give some examples, make sure you are giving appropriate examples which would help the interviewer in understanding your point well. When you are sure of the answer and the person at the other end tries to prove you wrong (normally expected in case of a Desi), do not fight back, just say in your opinion it is correct. Try not to say "I might be wrong or I am not sure" after you have answered something, if you want, say it before. Maintain youre cool all the time. Remember, most of the Telecons are just screening processes and the person at the other end might not be having time to talk elaborately on your resume. Just present a sweet and brief version of your expertise, this would impress enough.

If you can, record the entire conversation, it helps a lot in your next telecon. Use any ipod/mp3 player and record the proceedings. Replay it later to figure out where did you do well and where do you need improvement. Always Thank the interviewer for their time at the end of the interview. Next time lets discuss something about in person interviews. Wishing You All The Best For Your Success.