Don’t Get Caught Off Guard During a Phone Interview, Use A Call Recorder

As a person who conducts a lot of phone interviews, you probably have your process nailed down. Is a call recording app part of it?

Whether you’re a reporter, recruiter, or a researcher looking for in-depth answers, phone interviews help you be more effective in your role. However, conducting a successful phone interview is easier said than done.

From poor reception to excessive background noise, a lot can go wrong during a phone interview. But don’t let these complexities catch you off guard. There is a simple and easy solution: use a call recorder.

What are the benefits of using a call recorder?

• Revisit key parts of the conversation
• Focus on the person you’re speaking with
• Source accurate quotes
• Share the transcript with colleagues

Read on to learn what can go wrong during a phone interview and how a call recording app can help you avoid these common pitfalls.

It’s a phone call. What could possibly go wrong?

You may only have one opportunity to get the person you want to speak with on the line. Since a lot could be riding on the phone call, it’s important to make sure that it goes as smoothly as possible. So what exactly can go wrong during a phone interview?

Phone Interview Mishap #1: Loud/Excessive Background Noise

Oftentimes in phone interviews, one can’t necessarily control cell phone service (more on that later), but one can control where the interview takes place. Loud or excessive background noise can be very frustrating to the interviewer. Not only will they not be able to hear answers to their questions, but they might ask the interviewee to repeat his/her answer multiple times. Additionally, background noise also sends a red flag to a potential employer that you aren’t taking the interview serious which could lead to disqualification from the job.

From the interviewee standpoint, excessive background noise can be very distracting which could mean that you aren’t able to focus 100% on your answers thus not fully answering the question. It could also be frustrating if you have to repeat your answer over and over again if the interviewer can’t properly hear.

For example, if you have young children or pets, it may be best to hire a babysitter for 1-2 hours and find a nice quiet room or space. The more effort that’s put into being in a quiet space, the more focused both the interviewer and interviewee will be.

Phone Interview Mishap #2: Poor Cell Service

Another potential mishap that can occur in a phone interview is assuming that phone reception is always good. This applies to both the interviewer and interviewee. Interviews can be nerve-racking in itself and repeating questions due to static or worse, having the call drop, can make an unnerving situation even more nerve-racking, unclear, and frustrating. These negative emotions can put either person in a bad mood thus making an interview go not so smoothly.

One way to combat this is to test the call. A few days before the interview, take time to go into the same space you’ll use for the interview and call a friend or family member. This will provide insight on whether or not you need to pick a different spot. Plus, this test call only needs to last a minute and could end up being your saving grace.

Phone Interview Mishap #3: Speaking Too Fast

While this phone interview mishap pertains mostly to interviewees, interviewers can also learn a thing or two from this section.

We mentioned earlier that interviews can be nerve-racking, and sometimes interviewees will speak too fast, too soft, or too loud. While there can definitely be worse things to happen in an interview, your tone and speaking speed can cause confusion to the interviewer as they might not know what you’re trying to say, especially if you’re talking too soft or fast. Speaking too loudly can be a bit off-putting and can even cause tension to the person interviewing.

How can you help to lessen this mishap? You can have a practice interview with a friend who’s able to provide constructive criticism and you can even try to meditate or do a simple yoga exercise before your interview.

For interviewers, don’t be afraid to ask your candidate to repeat his/her answers for clarity. You can even be encouraging in your response and questions which will help the interviewer to calm down. While interviews can be a formal process, if you play it cool, and let your interviewee know that this call is more of a “get to know each other conversation” that can also help to calm nerves.

Phone Interview Mishap #4: Disadvantage of Not Being Face-to-Face

Another downside to phone interviews is not being face-to-face. Being in person will allow the interviewer and interviewee to connect in a nonverbal way. Being over-the-phone also means that you’re unable to read each other’s body language. While that’s not necessarily the end of the world, either the interviewer and interviewee won’t be able to pick up on questions that may be unclear causing for a potentially confusing interview for both.

For example, in an in-person interview, if a person is confused, they might furrow their brow, allowing the other person to further explain his/herself. In a phone interview, this could lead to overtalking or a long-winded answer. In worse situations, it could lead to the interviewer or interviewee not fully understanding or accidentally misleading the other person.

Phone Interview Mishap #5: Being Late

With society always being connected, oftentimes, we get frustrated when our cell phones or internet lag and take a few tries to connect or work. Now try, facing that situation right before an interview. If you’re 5-10 minutes late due to cell phone issues, both the interviewer and interviewee will be extremely frustrated. Oftentimes, if someone is fifteen minutes late, you’re considered a no-show and probably won’t get a second chance.

According to Sophie Cikovsky, who handles recruiting for Infinite Global, about a quarter of her interviewees show up late. This is indicative of someone who isn’t very detailed-oriented and most employers want someone who will be both timely and detailed-oriented.

If you’re an interviewee, we recommend to call in about 10 minutes early. For those interviewers, we recommend that you ask the interviewee to call you that way you can find out right away if they are a good fit or not.

How A Call Recorder Can Help During Phone Interviews  

Now that we’ve talked about the disadvantages of phone interviews, let’s dive into how you can have a successful interview with a call recorder.

While there are many benefits to call recorders, they are especially helpful during phone interviews. Whether you’re interviewing someone for a potential job, for a newspaper article or school assignment, it’s imperative that you’re able to revisit the conversation at a later time for important details that might have been overlooked during the actual interview.   

Why use a call recorder? You’ll be able to re-visit key parts of the interview, you can focus on the person’s answer rather than trying to write down their responses, and a call recorder allows for easier transcription.  

Benefit #1: Revisiting The Interview & Key Parts    

Let’s face it, during an interview your mind is focused on a variety of different things: phone reception, note taking, conversation flow, etc. While you’d like to stay 100% focused on the interviewee and write down key quotes, more often than not, you won’t be able to remember everything that was said. A call recorder can help.

Re-playing the interview back over and over again will allow you to confirm quotes and make sure you wrote everything down correctly. Plus, if your interviewee has an accent or there was heavy background noise, a recording app will allow you to review the conversation as many times as you need to.

Benefit #2: Focus on The Person

Even if you’re a speed writer, it can be quite challenging to write down every single word your interviewee says. And even if you could, you shouldn’t. Why? Trying to jot down everything is inefficient and distracting. Plus, it will make you less engaged with the person.

Enter in a call recorder.

This small device will allow you to be more conversational with the person in addition to being more engaged throughout the interview. Let the call recorder capture the facts so you can actively listen and capture key details that will urge readers to keep reading.

Benefit #3: Easier Transcription

Using a call recorder can help to create an accurate transcription. How so? Instead of you having to write down every single word and then sending your handwritten notes to a transcription company where a person would have to read your writing and even guess at certain phrases, a call recorder captures all audio as accurately as possible. A call recorder also allows the transcriptionist to re-listen to certain parts of the interview if needed. Having a recorded interview means that transcriptions can be at least 99% accurate (or better), which means your name won’t be tarnished by quoting something that might not be correct should you choose to not use a recording app.

Rely on a Great Call Recorder for Better Phone Interviews  

So now that you’re convinced to use a call recorder for phone interviews, what recording app should you go with? We’re glad you asked. We make one of the best call recorder apps on the market.

Why should you join the 25,000+ monthly subscribers who use our recording app?

• Free unlimited recording for both outgoing and incoming calls
• In-app translation service which allows you to easily convert audio to text
• Easy ability to share recordings with others via email, Dropbox, and more. You can also share transcripts just as easy

Still not convinced yet? Our call recorder app and services are trusted by hundreds of thousands of companies across a variety of industries including media, education, and legal. In fact, you can even read it for yourself from one of our customers:

“I often conduct phone interviews. This is a simple utility without any frills or unnecessary features. Call, start recording, send my recording in to be transcribed. I save hours every day and the price is well worth the time saved. Thank you to app developers who are keeping it simple for us.”

The Final Word on Call Recorders

From excessive background noise to poor service, phone interviews can certainly present several challenges. However, that’s no reason to stop doing them. A call recorder can truly transform the way you think about the phone interview process.

Plus, the benefits of using a call recorder help combat the most common issues associated with phone interviews.

Once you have that recording, Rev can also transcribe your phone call which can come in handy for follow-up questions, second round interviews, article quotes, and even videos. So, what are you waiting for? Download Rev’s free call recorder app now.