Hello! Thank you in advance for taking the time to review my first blog post. This is going to be first of many! Here at Curare, we have over 25 years of experience in physician recruiting. I am happy to share some of our data-driven principles that will lead you to your ideal job.
The initial telephone interview is one of the most important interactions you will have with a prospective employer. It is their opportunity to put a voice to a name, and get a sense for who you are and what you’re about. In my experience, maximizing the telephone interview process reliably leads to more site visit invitations, contract offers, and ultimately a greater freedom of choice on where you will be taking your career. Here are five tips to telephone interview success.
- Remember that the primary goal of the telephone interview is to be invited for a site visit, not to decide if you want to take the job. The secondary goal of the telephone interview is to gather as much information as you need/can regarding the practice, the team, and the community. The people you work with and the community are two non-negotiable points in the recruiting process, the more you know about them the better your decision will be at the end of the recruitment.
- Ask questions about the practice, the facility, the operation, the community, etc. Employers will be immediately receptive to a candidate who appears engaged in the process. Remember that these folks work very hard to showcase their companies and their communities, Ask them what they’re proud of and most likely they will provide you with excellent information, and you will stand out as a stellar candidate at the same time.
- Unless the employer prompts you or brings it up first, avoid discussing compensation numbers and especially avoid negotiating compensation at this stage. On the other hand, it is very beneficial to ask questions regarding the structure of the compensation package: is the compensation an income guarantee or a base salary? Are there bonus or ancillary income opportunities? Jumping straight into a “How much does this job pay” will generally leave a negative impression with the employer. Remember that until you have an executable employment agreement from the employer, you have no decision to make and nothing to negotiate over.
- Unless you are totally opposed to proceeding any further with a specific opportunity, ask for an in-person interview. Check your calendar and have the dates you can visit ready to share. Make your objective to secure a site visit date while you are already connected with them on the phone. It will never be easier than right at that moment to capitalize on the employer’s high level of enthusiasm for you and translate that into an invitation to go on-site and interview with their team. If you have no intent to continue the recruiting process with the opportunity further, don’t tell them that! Thank them very much for their time, and let me, your recruiter, know your feedback. I will advise the employer about indefinitely postponing the site visit stage in such a way that will leave the door open on the opportunity, should we need to revisit it at a later date.
- Thank them for their time and for the opportunity to connect with them about their opportunity. Expressing gratitude (and even using their name – “thank you Mr./Ms. ____”)to create a personal connection and communicate your appreciate for the hard work that employers put into the recruiting process. Often theirs is a thankless job and it is an easy way for you to set yourself apart from other candidates immediately by being a gracious and personable candidate.
Give me a call to learn more! (866) 242-7951
The post Five Tips to Ace a Phone Interview appeared first on Curare Job Seeker Blog.
Source: Physicians Recruiting Blog