A mobile phone, which most of us carry these days, may be your surest bet—because if you don’t answer, your own
personal voicemail picks up. Be sure your greeting is professional [no music or attempts to be cute or funny] and brief—don’t worry about detailed instructions on what the caller should do—they know!
Likewise, email is the second most important means of communication. While it is likely that an interviewer will first contact you by phone, email must also be at their disposal. Your email address should be identified with who you are—no nicknames, or role-playing game aliases should be used here.
I am shocked that some people are still concerned about privacy when choosing an email address. What is there to protect? If you are willing to have your name in the phonebook, there is plenty more “risk” in that, so get over it. Choose an address that is as representative of your full name as possible, such as
johndoe@aol.com
If you need to get a new email address, there are plenty of free services, including Hotmail, Yahoo, and Netscape. Many career websites also offer this service. Even though I do not use AOL for my Internet access, I still use it for my email (KeithLuscher@aol.com) mainly because it is so common and easy for people to remember. You can use AOL for email only and it costs less than five dollars per month.
When you receive a call, obviously you want to be as professional as possible. Show flexibility in your availability for an appointment, but also be fair to yourself. If you are more energetic in the afternoons than in the mornings, try for an afternoon meeting. It is in their interest as much as your own to get you at your best!
One last piece of advice at this stage: When scheduling the interview (be it with either the actual interviewer or an executive assistant), ask whether or not they will want you to fill out a job application when you arrive. Often, this is what they anticipate you doing first when they set up the time. If this is indeed the case, and if there is enough time, politely ask that they mail you the application instead, so that you may simply bring it already completed. This will serve your interest in several ways:
- It will allow you to fill out the application more thoroughly and under less stress
- It reflects a way of thinking that indicates your value of time and expediency
- It is something few other applicants will do, and thus make you stand out more.
- The application form itself may be a valuable piece for your own research.
 |
The above is an excerpt from The Last Guide to Interviewing You'll Ever Need, which is available for sale for $17 in our bookstore or for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. Students know that good experiences helps to build a good resume and that good resumes help you land interviews, yet how many of us have been shown how to interview well so that we can get hired? Written by Keith F. Luscher specifically for the job hunting students who use CollegeRecruiter.com. To get hired, you must know how to interview well. Read this book and you will. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter. |
