| Making calls: reasons,
etiquette and effectiveness |
| |
| Reasons |
| Your job search will involve
telephone calls for various purposes, as precursors and follow-ups
to written (including e-mail) correspondence. Purposes may include:
|
| • |
Confirming names, spelling,
title, address and other information for prospective contacts prior
to writing a letter. |
| • |
Following-up a letter to
arrange a visit, ask for further information, explore future employment
possibilities, follow-ups to interviews, etc. |
| • |
And, if you're lucky, employers
will call you. See receiving
calls from employers. |
| |
You may be interviewed,
or at least screened for interviews, through telephone calls. See
telephone
interviews. |
| |
|
| Etiquette |
| • |
Be courteous to everyone
with whom you speak. Never treat support personnel in a disrespectful
manner; the person you are trying to impress will hear about it, and
no one wants to hire people who behave rudely to anyone. |
| • |
Identify yourself, stating
your first and last name clearly. Be clear about the purpose of your
call. Make reference to any previous contact, conversation,
meeting, etc., to remind the person why you are calling. Don't assume
the person remembers you right away. Even if he or she does remember
you, a brief reintroduction of yourself is a business and social courtesy. |
| • |
Ask if this
is a convenient time to talk. If you want to talk to someone at
length — e.g. to conduct an informational interview, etc. —
you should ask to schedule a mutually convenient time for a phone
appointment. Then you make the call at the agreed-upon time and stay
within the limits of the time set. |
| • |
When leaving
messages, SLOW DOWN when you state your phone number. DON'T make
your listener have to replay the message three times in order to write
down your number; very annoying; and s/he may give up and therefore
not return your call. |
| |
|
| Effectiveness |
| • |
In asking for information,
wherever possible, use open ended questions rather than questions
which are likely to be answered with "yes" or "no."
For example, instead of, "Will you have any openings in June?"
say, "I’m interested in learning about your hiring plans
for management trainees this summer." Your goal in asking
open-ended questions is to start a conversation in which you gain
information which will help in your job search. |
| • |
But don't ask questions that you could
easily find answered on the employer's web site. You'll risk looking
lazy (or that you don't know how to use Internet resources). |
| • |
Your voice: Remember
that tone of voice carries a lot of weight in a telephone conversation. |
| • |
You don't have facial expressions,
body language, and other non-verbal elements coming through in a phone
conversation. However, silly as it may seem, smiling while you speak
on the phone can make you sound more pleasant. |
| • |
Ask friends (who will tell
you the truth) how you sound on the phone. They know you, but an employer
doesn't. Do you sound cordial or aloof, articulate or fumbling, interested
or gloomy? |
| • |
Practice how you speak on
the phone. |
| • |
Seek advising
through Career Services if you want coaching or assistance or have
questions on this topic. |
| |
|
| Also see: |
| |
When
employers don't return your calls |
| |
Receiving
calls from employers |
| |
Telephone
interviews |
| |
Cell
phone use in your job search |
