Sunday, January 29, 2012

Free HR Advice: Use Caller ID to Your Advantage

You're out at happy hour with your friends.   Your phone rings or vibrates and you see it's your Mom.   You make the executive decision that this is not the right time to talk about your goals, aspirations, love life, dog, roommates, health, or what you want to be when you grow up.   You ignore the call and let it roll into voicemail.

The same way that you use caller ID to your advantage in your personal life, do it in your job searching life. 

Your phone rings.  You don't recognize the number.  If you've been submitting applications or resumes, it could be your potential next employer (hooray!).   Think first.  Answer the phone second. 

How should you answer the phone?
a)  "'Sup?"
b) "J-dogg here"
c) "Who's this?"
d) "Hello.  This is _________ (insert your real first name here)"

If you choose to answer the phone and it is your potential next employer, you've just made your first impression.  Answer your phone wisely.   If it's not a good time to talk or you want to know who's calling first, let it go into your voicemail.  Then you can check the message at your convenience and return the call when you are prepared.

2 comments:

  1. omg Jenni I am just now getting around to reading these tips...poking around your blog and one link led to another...anyway, here's a funny story related to this post: it was 2 years ago, I had *just* moved to Denver and was searching for jobs. It was late sunday afternoon, andy & i were having a few beers at the pool and my phone rang. of course I looked at the number, it was local, but didn't recognize it. so i picked up the phone and said "heeeellllooooooo?" in this silly voice (i wish i could attach a sound bite!) turns out it was one of the managers from a company I had sent my resume to. i was surprised she was calling on a sunday! i managed to not act like a total idiot on the phone & scheduled an interview, however i was pretty embarrassed. andy & i still joke about it, sometimes he'll answer his phone in the same way that I did, totally mocking me, it's great.

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  2. Anne, you make me laugh! I definitely wrote that post through my personal experience. And then, every once in a while, even when the applicant knows that you are calling about a job, they still say things like "I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner, I dropped my phone in the toilet."

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