Another Phone Interview But Not The Same Strategy

Recently, I had a phone interview with the Government of Alberta for probably one of the coolest positions I have seen in a while. I'm so glad that they called for a phone interview - even if I don't get the job, it helps to boost my confidence that I am putting out good resumes and cover letters that attract employers.

To prep, I did much of the same work I did for my previous phone interviews at Google and Laserfiche. I wrote down questions that I thought they would ask and then answered them myself while practicing my stories over and over. Even though I do have a pretty decent memory, I won't be able to memorize and recite any of my stories during the interview - but that doesn't matter, the fact that I have thought about the stories I want to talk about and also the different experiences that I highlight in each story helps me trigger responses during the actual interview.

When doing a phone interview, or any interview for that matter, every little bit helps. I didn't dress super fancy, but I certainly wore a dress shirt and some nice pants to help me feel that I was in an interview (or formal setting). I made sure that I sat up and my posture was good so that I sound confident and relaxed over the phone. Sure a lot of these things are in other interview articles but to read about them and to practice them are two very different things.

I think what was very different about this preparation however, was the fact that I actually tailored a lot of my answers to the questions I thought I would give. For instance, if they asked "tell me about your approach to problem solving", I would describe a time I solved a problem and all the steps I took, then (and this is the important part), I would think about what kind of problem solving this opportunity had and then tie that into my answer.

So for example: Tell me about your approach to problem solving (position is web administrator)

During my work as ... for ...

....

.... (story over)

I know that this experience in problem solving will be valuable in my role as ... when I am helping to troubleshoot bugs on web pages.


I'm not even sure why I never did this before because it is such a simple thing to do and makes it easy for the interviewer to see that

1. You've done your research and you're pretty enthusiastic about the responsibilities of this position

2. You have good experience and it is transferable to the new position

3. You sum up your answers (which is good if you've talked a fairly long time about your experience)


Good luck with all your job searches!