What to say when you call for work. Talking on the phone with a potential employer

It does not matter for what reason you are looking for a job: you are not satisfied with wage or want to change careers. The main thing is to realize that as soon as you put your resume on the Internet, you can have a telephone conversation with an employer. From time to time, you will have to call companies on a job posting. Many underestimate this stage of the interview and believe that the working conditions are discussed in the office face to face. It is not right. It is necessary to prepare for a conversation with a potential employer. To do this, make a list of questions that you need to ask right away, before the second stage of the interview.

A call from a potential employer can be heard at any time

Fundamental rules

If the employer feels that you are not confident in yourself, your communication will be interrupted already at the stage of telephone conversations. Adhere to the following rules:

  • Talk on the phone slowly and measuredly, you should be heard well, answer questions clearly and specifically, without unnecessary words.
  • Emotions from previous phone calls should not affect your voice. If after a previous telephone conversation about work you feel annoyed or angry, get distracted - do household chores or read. As soon as your emotional state returns to normal, call the next employer.
  • If they ask about your professional achievements, do not say that you are an excellent specialist - this is a bad form. Tell us about your responsibilities, projects, and successes at your previous job.
  • If you feel that during telephone conversations you are nervous, answer out of place and cannot clearly formulate an idea, practice. Talk on the phone more often, and then the fear will soon pass.
  • Have a notepad with a pen handy to write down the employer's address or phone number.

Example Scenario

As you consider what to say when you call about an ad job, prepare a sample call script. This will help you feel more confident. Here are the highlights of your plan:

  1. Introduce yourself (after the greeting). Immediately let the employer know what you are calling about: what job you are interested in and where you read the ad.
  2. Ask about the nature of the job and main responsibilities. You must have an idea of ​​where you want to apply for a job. Many questions about work should not be asked. It is enough to find out the following: salary, allowances, bonuses; place of work, schedule; the possibility of training and internships; the duration of the probationary period.
  3. Be prepared for the fact that the employer will ask about your education, participation in various seminars and conferences, work experience. Put your diplomas and certificates of advanced training in a prominent place so that you can quickly and accurately answer questions and not return calls.
  4. If the employer is satisfied with your answers to the questions, he will offer to meet and continue the interview. You should not put off the meeting and say that you are busy. Try to fit in with your employer's schedule. But if it does not work out, say so directly and offer a convenient time for you.

If the conversation was successful, the employer will invite you for an interview

Possible mistakes

When talking on the phone, you must provide truthful information. You can’t lie about work experience or practice: it’s easy to check in an interview and you will lose your chance of getting a job. If you haven't worked anywhere, emphasize that you are a quick learner and interested in the job. There is no need to talk about an internship at the enterprise, which in reality did not exist.

You should not ask about official employment, it is better to ask about it at the second stage of the interview.

It is impossible to interrupt the interlocutor, do not rush to ask about everything. Everything you need to know, the employer will tell you anyway.

Prepare to call your employer. Make a rough plan of questions that you will ask and that you will need to answer. Remember the rules good manners: Speak courteously and politely. The employer must make sure that you are not only a professional, but also a well-mannered and adequate person who will find it easy to work in a team. Having the right mindset for a successful interview will give you confidence. Do not lose it, and then the fear of the first call to the employer will disappear.

"I'm calling about work..." Sound familiar? It is her or a phrase similar to her that has to be said to all job seekers who are looking for work through ads.

The first telephone conversation with the employer is very important. The impression you make will determine whether you are invited for an interview or not.

If you get confused in the answers, speak out of place, etc.

How to talk to a potential employer on the phone

This is a surefire way to "flunk" the conversation.

In order to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to take into account Eight important things to remember when talking to an employer for the first time:

  1. You need to greet the interlocutor and introduce yourself.

    At the same time, indicate the vacancy for which you are applying and the source of information from which you learned about the vacancy. Be sure to apply for a job! Keep in mind that an employer may post many ads listing multiple vacancies.

  2. To a possible question: “What did you do?” in no case do not answer: “Who, me?

    Worked." Agree, quite funny!? This answer option, as a rule, is typical for entry-level positions (salespeople, workers), applicants from 18 to 25 years old. But it repeats with enviable regularity.

  3. After the greeting, you do not need to ask: “What are your requirements?” It would be more correct: What is the job? What responsibilities will need to be fulfilled? Thus, you immediately show your professionalism.

    If the employer wants to know if you meet the necessary requirements, he will ask you about it.

  4. After the initial questions mentioned above, it is appropriate will clarify some important additional points regarding future work (work schedule, salary, etc.).

    Just don't ask too many questions! Ask only what is really important. Numerous and insignificant questions leave a negative impression.
    Remember that your questions are part of your image, and an important one at that. The main purpose of the conversation is to get an invitation to an interview.

    Many perceive this as an opportunity to immediately get a job. This happens very rarely! Again, your goal is to get an interview or, at the very least, a request for your resume.

  5. Do not interrupt the interlocutor.

    This is impolite and makes a depressing impression. In this case, there is a desire to quickly end the conversation, and not find out the details of your impressive work experience.

  6. Have a pen and notepad handy.

    In a conversation, it almost always becomes necessary to take notes as the conversation progresses. And if you are invited for an interview, you will need to write down all contact information. Asking again and making pathetic attempts to remember the information received, you make an extremely unfavorable impression.

    And if, when you call, you are redirected to another specialist, giving the phone number and his last name, first name and patronymic, then it will be almost impossible to remember this data offhand. And calling back and clarifying is a strong blow to your image.

    And if you call the named phone and distort the name of the interlocutor ...

  7. Be prepared to answer employer questions. Phrases like: “Does it matter?”, “I don’t want to talk about this topic” put an end to the effectiveness of your conversation.
    Also, have everything handy. Required documents(resume, diplomas, certificates, etc.).

    The more clearly and without hesitation you answer the questions, the better impression the employer will have. And, therefore, you will have much more chances at the interview.

  8. Remember that you need to prepare for the first telephone conversation with the employer. Having information about the firm handy and mentioning some of the good points in the history or current position of the firm will help you establish yourself and leave a favorable impression.

    And, sometimes, and having received much more information about the company-employer or the vacancy you are interested in, which you can successfully use during the subsequent interview.

    The right facts mentioned at the right time and place can open many doors. Use it!

  9. Also, do not forget that telephone contact, despite the fact that it is a quick method of obtaining and providing information, has its drawbacks.

    Without the possibility of face-to-face communication, only words, voice and intonation can be evaluated during telephone communication.

And this should also be taken into account when communicating with the employer by phone!

  • Try to speak in a measured manner when talking on the phone, without losing the rhythm and not chattering.

    Because your interlocutor, listening to fast speech, simply does not understand and does not realize a lot.

  • When you call on the phone looking for a job, it may not be your first call, and somewhere you have already been turned down. You feel resentment, or maybe fatigue, anger, or disappointment.

    And the next time you call, these emotions will be reflected in your voice. You should rest a little, switch. And when the mood comes to a stable state, you can make the next call.

  • The next pitfall of telephone communication is an overly official voice. Sometimes, hiding the excitement, with an important phone call, we, without noticing it ourselves, switch to a dry, tense tone.

    This cannot be done, because a person who speaks in this way rarely causes sympathy. The advice is the same as in the previous paragraph - get distracted, recharge with positive energy, and only after that, make the next call.

    By the way, some people in their hearts are a little afraid of the phone, therefore, tension in their voice, incoherent speech will accompany them, no matter how hard they try. In this case, only practice can help - call more often, communicate, overcome your fear.

Benefits of a phone call:

v The telephone allows you to call many enterprises in a short time and find out about vacancies;

with skillful use of the phone, even if it is already busy, you can get other useful information;

In a telephone conversation, the candidate gets the opportunity to present his positive aspects and create a good impression of himself.

Talking on the phone requires certain rules:

It is desirable that the information you provide over the phone be carefully considered prior to speaking.

2. First you need to introduce yourself, clearly state the reason for your call and ask for a link with a company representative authorized to negotiate employment.

First phone call with an employer?

If you are talking on the phone, you must remember that the contact person cannot see you, so the correctness and courtesy of your speech is especially important in creating your image.

fourth

Don't talk quickly on the phone. Briefly describe your education, qualifications, experience, skills, personal qualities and interests.

After acquiring the interests of the employer, ask him for a meeting, invite you to send him your resume.

6. When you end the conversation, you should clearly understand how the negotiations ended, whether they will meet in the future, or whether you need a phone call.

7. Keep in mind that with every phone call, polite business will help reinforce a good impression of you. Thank you for talking to the person you held in your time.

COMPONENTS OF THE RULES.

summary is the first impression of you.

A well-designed and embellished resume proves your professional competence and confidence in your abilities.

The main purpose of the resume- Make sure your employer wants to meet with you. At the forefront of any good life, it should be the presentation of your own successes and achievements.

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How to call a job ad?

You are interested in a job posted on a job site.

  • immediately send a resume and call back in 15–20 minutes;
  • call the company immediately for more information.

One way or another, a call to the employer's representative is inevitable if you really want to get this job.

An active job seeker always has an advantage over a passive job seeker.

So, calling on a job ad is a mandatory step on the way to the workplace.

How to take this step correctly? Let's consider both options.

Option 1. Call after sending resume.

This option is acceptable if the job advertisement provided full information about the company, vacancy, working conditions and remuneration.

The applicant does not need to obtain additional information, he is ready to actively seek the specified position.

Call Purposes:

  • clarify whether you have received a resume;
  • find out the relevance of the vacancy. It happens that recruiters form a database of candidates for a prospectively introduced position, in which case a passive unhurried search is conducted.

    If the vacancy is hot, then the recruiter will promptly invite a suitable and active applicant for an interview;

  • get additional attention from the recruiter to the resume itself (the recruiter will not be able to carelessly review the resume, because the applicant is waiting for a reaction to it during a telephone conversation);
  • receive an invitation to a face-to-face interview.

Option 2. Call before sending resume.

Information about the vacancy interested the applicant in principle, but it is required to clarify some information before the person sends his resume.

  • clarify the relevance of the vacancy (hot or potential);
  • ask clarifying questions to find out: the name of the enterprise (if not indicated), the location of the workplace, the level and system of remuneration ( official salary, bonuses, premiums), the availability and volume of the compensation package, etc.

Example of a phone call from a job seeker

Conventionally, the entire telephone conversation can be divided into 6 stages:

1. Greeting: "Good afternoon / Hello."

At the same time, let there be a slight smile on the face of the applicant, it will give the voice the desired timbre.

2. Message about the purpose of the call: “My name is Ivanov Ivan.

I'm calling you for a sales manager position. Can you give me 10 minutes on this question?”

It is always worth determining whether the interlocutor can talk to you now. If he is busy, then ask when he can be called, and be sure to keep the exact time of the arrangement.

3. Getting answers to your questions.

With option number 1: “I want to clarify whether you received my resume?

I sent it to the email address ... (name the sender's address) 20 minutes ago ... ".

There are working situations when the address of the recipient of the resume from the site is indicated by one person, and the phone number of the person responsible for closing the vacancy is indicated by another. In this case, the summary could simply be technically lost. To do this, specify the address of sending the resume.

With option number 2: “I was interested in the vacancy of a sales manager, but before sending my resume, I want to clarify some details ...”

4. Answers to the questions of the representative of the employer: “If you are interested in some information before our meeting at the interview, I am now ready to provide it to you ...”

5. Discussion of a personal meeting (interview): “I am ready to come for an interview tomorrow at 16:00. How can I find you?"

6. Farewell: “Thank you for your time.

Do's and Don'ts when calling about work

See you!"

Stages 3, 4, 5 can be interchanged and wedged into each other. You have to be prepared for this turn of events. The dynamics of telephone conversations and their results also depend on the interlocutor.

Active interlocutor. The person who finds out the reason for the call immediately takes the initiative in the conversation, showing a sincere interest in the dialogue. He is actively working on the 4th stage of negotiations and is immediately ready to move on to an invitation to a personal meeting.

The applicant should not be confused and direct the dialogue towards discussing their questions and getting an answer to them. After all, it may happen that some conditions do not suit the applicant.

In this case, it is better to clarify them over the phone and not waste time or energy on an unsuccessful personal meeting.

Passive interlocutor. An employee who finds out the purpose of the applicant's call does not show any interest in it.

He sluggishly and reluctantly answers questions, negative intonations (irritation, discontent) can slip in his voice. In this case, the applicant must take the initiative. It's good to have a list of questions he wanted to ask in preparation for the call. It is worth boldly and confidently moving on to stage number 3 and alternately asking all the main questions, clarifying if necessary, waiting for a complete answer to them.

There are cases when the representative of the employer is so passive that the only thing left for the applicant is to say goodbye to him and delete this employer from the lists of potentially interesting jobs.

Before calling an organization (firm), determine for yourself:

  • purpose of the call
  • call content,
  • Prepare the questions you would like answered
  • prepare answers to questions that may be asked by the employer,
  • if possible, find out the position and full name of your future interlocutor,
  • Have paper and a pen ready in case you need to write something down.
  • Put your CV and job posting in front of you.


TELEPHONE TALKS

Remember that they do not see you, and what becomes a business card is what what you speak and as you speak.

  • Don't start the conversation with the question: "Who's talking?", but check if you got there.
  • Introduce yourself and state the purpose of your call.
  • Smile. The person on the other end of the line senses this in the tone of your voice.
  • Do not shout, even with poor hearing - this will not improve communication.
  • Speak your words clearly.
  • Never interrupt the interlocutor in mid-sentence, let him finish the thought.
  • Do not ask several questions in a row, pause to hear the answer.
  • Your questions should be clear and short.
  • If you didn’t understand or didn’t hear something, then ask the interlocutor to repeat or clarify the information.
  • When making an appointment, do not try to solve all the questions at once by phone.
  • Repeat again what your interlocutor should remember (date of the meeting, phone number, full name, etc.)

ALGORITHM OF NEGOTIATIONS

The norm for a business telephone conversation is three minutes. During this time you must:

  • greet company employee,
  • introduce yourself (full name, vacancy of interest, education, qualifications, work practice in the specialty, abilities, etc.),
  • demonstrate an interest in working for the firm.
  • If the answer is “yes”, agree on the date and time of the meeting, “no” - take care of the information: possible work in the near future, work not in the specialty, etc.
  • Express gratitude for your time.

Your search call conversation can be roughly divided into five stages:

The first stage is finding out the name

At this stage, it is necessary to find out who is responsible in this organization for the reception of workers and be sure to find out his last name, first name and patronymic. This will give you several benefits at once.

  • First of all, you will not waste time talking with someone who cannot solve your question, but you can immediately ask the right person about the possibility of employment.
  • Secondly By addressing the right person by name, you immediately create a favorable atmosphere for communication, reduce the psychological distance.
  • Thirdly, you immediately create a favorable impression of yourself as a well-mannered person with serious intentions.

The second stage - "overcoming the barrier"

Be sure to get a conversation with the person you need. If you ask someone who isn't responsible for a job opportunity, you're likely to get a rejection and assume that the organization doesn't have any vacancies for you. If they ask you what issue you are calling about, you can limit yourself to answering that you want to talk about hiring, but with exactly the one you need. Don't agree to talk to another person. If the person you need is not available, find out when he will appear and call back at the right time.

The third stage - "submitting yourself"

Having contacted the right person, specify his name and patronymic and do not make a mistake in their pronunciation: he may be offended. Then introduce yourself to him and present your "homemade". It should contain a brief message about your work and personal qualities, experience, qualifications, skills, abilities. You should not underestimate your abilities, because. your goal is to impress the right person, not the modest one. Your presentation should not be too long, but interesting and attention-grabbing. You must explain the reason for the call - the desire to work in this organization.

The fourth stage is the continuation of the conversation

You must build your conversation in such a way that the interlocutor does not have the opportunity to “curl” it immediately. For example, if you say you want to know if there is any work available for you, you can easily say “no” and hang up. If you say the same thing in this form: “I would like (would like) to come to you and talk about whether you have vacancies now or in the future,” then it will be much more difficult for the interlocutor to answer with a short “no”. He, most likely, will have to think about the prospects of the enterprise, and this is already an opportunity to continue the conversation. Therefore, do not put pressure on the interlocutor, but do not give him the opportunity to end the conversation.

Be sure to try to achieve, if not consent to the meeting, then at least the consent to bring or send to the interlocutor a copy of your resume or copies of other documents with your data in case there are vacancies in the organization in the future. Arrange that you call again to find out if your documents have been reviewed, find out when this can be done. Also ask if the interviewee knows about vacancies in other similar organizations.

Fifth stage - a positive end to the conversation

It is very important to end the conversation politely and positively, regardless of the outcome. Be sure to thank the interlocutor for the time spent on you and for the help. If the interlocutor agreed to see your documents, then deliver them to him as soon as possible. If it is not possible to hand these documents in person, then provide them with a brief cover letter, in which indicate your last name and refer to your telephone conversation.

If you have not received consent to this, ask permission to call again after some time - after a month or two. This is unlikely to be rejected, and you will have the opportunity on the second call to mention that you have already talked about vacancies.

It is very important to analyze the conversation that took place, to check whether all the requirements were met by you, what you succeeded and what you failed to do, how the interlocutor behaved, etc. Search calls are psychologically quite difficult, but that's why they train your phone skills well. It would be nice if you specifically made a few “training” calls.

The labor market is highly competitive, a stable, well-paid job is not easy to find, and usually people place high hopes on every call to a potential employer. How to call an employer in order to leave a favorable impression of yourself and get the most out of the call? Some useful tips on this subject.

Council the first. Before you call your employer, prepare for the conversation.

Clearly formulate for yourself what you want: just to find out about vacancies or to definitely get this job. Anticipate possible questions and prepare answers to them. Consider both favorable and negative developments in the conversation for you, and your behavior in both cases. And, be sure, before calling the employer, prepare the necessary documents (or their names) and the numbers that may be needed during the conversation.

Tip two. Observe accepted business etiquette.

When they answer you, greet with restraint, introduce yourself, wait for a return greeting and only then start a conversation. After the conversation, regardless of its outcome, politely say goodbye. Leaving a good impression of yourself is already a chance to get a job in the future, even if you are not needed at the moment.

Tip three. Before calling an employer, choose the most efficient time to call.

It is most convenient to call an hour and a half after the start of the working day, but not at the end of work or at lunchtime.

The same words, depending on the tone in which they are spoken, are perceived differently. The tone of your voice during the conversation should be friendly, calm, confident and express interest. Take your time to "blurt out" all the information, pause - they will allow you to think about what you said and give additional weight to your words.

When a person does not speak, but listens, then he has the opportunity to actively perceive and analyze important information. For example, a future employer may himself begin to talk about the desired qualities of the employee they need. All you have to do is listen carefully and imagine yourself taking into account what you heard. You need to be able to tell about yourself in a winning way so as not to remain unemployed.

Article from www.vacancia.ru

"I'm calling about a job..." This phrase or something similar has to be said to everyone who is looking for a job through newspaper ads. The first seconds of a conversation are golden, because it is often they who decide whether they will invite you for an interview or not.
And success here depends not only on whether you have sufficient qualifications.

Much determines the fact how exactly you will speak in these first seconds. If you are confused, do not know the answers to counter questions, your chances, alas, are drastically reduced. And how often we exclaim later - oh, sorry, I didn’t think to say this or that ...

Of course, it is impossible to foresee everything, but the most typical mistakes that applicants make in first phone interview with an employer, it is not difficult to avoid if follow a few simple rules.

So, start with such a seemingly trifle as pen and notepad- they must be at hand.

Here is a simple situation: you get through and ask a question about employment, and they immediately tell you another (eleven-digit!) mobile phone number, as well as the name, patronymic, surname (foreign!) Of the person who is recruiting, and finally, the day of the week is called a patter and the exact time when this gentleman should call back.
Think about whether your interlocutor will wait patiently while you run into another room and, after a break everything upside down, find a pen that, unfortunately, turns out to be faulty?
And it goes without saying that you should not even try to remember this information by ear. Suddenly, you still make a mistake and, having called back the personnel manager at the specified time, shamelessly distort his last name.
Needless to say, in this case, it will be much more difficult for you to make a winning impression. But all these real risks and their sad consequences can be eliminated very simply: at the beginning of a telephone interview about a job, put a pen and notepad on the table next to the phone.

The next step that will bring you closer to being invited to an interview is find documents in advance, that are somehow related to your work activity. This and a work book, and a passport, and a diploma of education.

In addition, it is very useful during a conversation to have your own summary, which will allow you to name all the main dates of your work biography without hesitation.

In principle, the more documents you have at hand, the better, because it is possible that the detailed information that you promptly provide during the first conversation will present you as a neat, pedantic person, able to answer exhaustively the questions posed.
The main thing is that all documents are reasonably laid out and any of them can be quickly used.

Here real case, which was told to the author of these lines by the personnel manager of one of the large St. Petersburg companies.

The applicant called the office on the announcement, who answered briefly, clearly, clearly, without hesitation, named the positions and names of the institutions in which he worked, as well as the dates of the transition from one institution to another.
The personnel manager was surprised at the candidate's preparedness and jokingly asked if he remembered when the United Nations was founded. The exact answer followed almost immediately. As it turned out, the applicant kept an encyclopedia at hand. Just in case.
And the case turned out to be happy: the applicant made a very pleasant impression on the manager, who, by his own admission, getting to know the applicant at the interview a day later, already perceived him extremely favorably, so he offered him a vacant position in the company without much doubt ...

Often, in the first telephone conversation with the employer, job seekers in a hurry interrupt the interlocutor.
This is, firstly, impolite, and, secondly, unreasonable: let the employer calmly ask you about everything that interests him. Perhaps then you will not have to waste time on your questions - you will be refused immediately.

If you are invited for a job interview, feel free to ask about what interests you. However, do not try to find out over the phone unimportant details - ask only what is really important.
Let's say you can only work part-time, and it is not clear from the text of the ad what kind of job is offered. Ask if there are such vacancies.
It is likely that in this case we are talking about a full-time vacancy working week, and then, of course, you should not waste time on further actions.

When asking questions, remember that your interests are part of your image, and an important one.
Many job seekers set themselves up for a phone conversation as if they expect to get a job immediately after the interview. But the main task at this stage is to get an invitation for an interview.
Therefore, do not show excessive interest. Agree - few people like people who ask a lot of questions. And among the managers involved in the selection of personnel, such people are the least. After all, they daily, by the nature of their service, have to answer phone calls from applicants.
Therefore, the fewer questions you ask, the more likely you are to please the employer.

So it is best to write down all the necessary questions in advance on a separate sheet. This will help you feel more confident, and therefore your tone will be more calm and personable.

If the telephone connection is poor, do not try to shout - it is better to call back. A screaming person does not dispose to himself even when he does it by force.

Never do not start the conversation with questions like: “Where did I get to?”. First, of course, say hello, then you can clarify: “Is this a firm such and such?”. And only after that you can say the sacramental phrase: "I'm calling about work ...".

If you immediately got through to the HR manager, give your name and try to find out, but unobtrusively, the name of your interlocutor - if an employee of the company introduced himself to you, he will already feel some personal responsibility for communicating with you.

The question deserves a separate comment. about salary.
Often it is not indicated in the ads, and it is possible that you will come for an interview in vain - the proposed salary will not suit you. Therefore, it makes sense to ask such a question by phone.
However, in any case, it should not be the first. Do not forget that you need to talk to people not about what interests you, but about what interests them.

The employer is interested in his work, not your salary.
And he offers you, in fact, a job, and not a salary, which, to be honest, the employer pays not from a pure heart, but involuntarily.
Therefore, if you want to find out by phone how much you will be paid, first clarify what exactly you will have to do, what knowledge is needed in order to do the job efficiently. After the employer sees that you care about his problems, he will more favorably discuss what interests you.