A phone interview is only one of several interviews that you will have to go through before you can be hired with the company. What this means is that you have only got one opportunity to show the potential employer what you are made of, and if you fail to ace the phone interview, you can forget about all others.

There are a number of phone interview mistakes which are often disastrous.  By avoiding the common mistakes mentioned in this article that are often made during phone interview, you can talk through the interview with more confidence and elegance.

The first critical mistake you can make is chewing or drinking anything during the phone interview. This is bad for a number of reasons. First, you will not be able to speak as clearly as you would without eating or drinking, and second, it is disgusting.  Before the phone interview, make sure you are not eating or drinking anything.

The second critical mistake that you can make during a phone interview is asking the interviewer questions about benefits, pay, or things of that nature.  If you have already researched the job in advance (you should have), then you will have no need to ask these questions, and if you have, there is no need to ask about them.

While this may not sound like a big deal to you, the reason why you will want to avoid this is because asking about these things gives the interviewer the impression that this is the only thing you are interested in.

Anyone who applies for a job purely because of the pay or benefits is unlikely to be successful in the long run. You must love the job you get, and you had better have a good reason for wanting to work for them.

During the phone interview, you will be asked why you are interested in working for the company, and responding by talking about the great pay or benefits may lead to your phone calls never being returned.

The third critical mistake which can kill your chances of acing the phone interview is interrupting the person who speaks with you. Interrupting someone while they are speaking is very rude, and may irritate and annoy the phone interviewer. This is the last thing you should want.

More Interview Mistakes to Avoid

During the phone interview, it is absolutely critical that you wait for the interviewer to finish talking before you begin speaking. If you have a bad habit of cutting people off during conversations, you will need to get this bad habit eradicated as soon as possible.

Another mistake that can kill your chances of acing the phone interview is your environment. Even if you have a great tone of voice, and you are answering the interview questions perfectly, there are things in your environment which could kill your chances of acing the interview.

The phone interview should always take place at home or in a quiet setting with no interruptions or noise. It is best to avoid conducting the phone interview over your cell phone while you are out and about, since traffic, wind, or other noise can be annoying.

Final Thoughts

It is critical to make sure you are in a quiet place. It is also important to make sure you monitor your tone of voice and speed. You should conduct research on the company prior to the phone interview to make sure you can mention things about the company. If you know solid details about the company you are applying with, this can give you a powerful edge during the phone interview process.