A phone interview is the first step in selecting candidates for a job opening. How to properly invite for an interview by phone, prepare and conduct an interview, we will tell in the article.
From the article you will learn:
Why is the telephone interview format so popular?
Telephone interviews are used by employers as a preliminary stage in the search and hiring of candidates. At minimal cost, except for time, these allow you to immediately weed out those applicants who clearly do not meet the requirements of the vacancy or corporate culture.
With candidates who live in another locality or out of town, conducting an interview by phone becomes a mandatory item if the company is not going to waste them and ruin their image. For positions that involve remote work, this method of interviewing the applicant may be the only option.
The multi-stage selection process can take up to three weeks over time. But already at the stage of a telephone interview, an experienced recruiter will be able to assess the presence of critical thinking and interpersonal skills necessary for effective communication. By “culling out” less qualified applicants, you narrow the pool of applicants while improving the quality of the remaining ones and saving time spent on .
Telephone interviews have another advantage. In a telephone conversation, the interviewer is not distracted by external factors and focuses on the meaning of what the interlocutor says. This allows you to form a deeper, more holistic portrait of the candidate and an objective one.
You need to prepare for such an interview in advance, whether you are a recruiter conducting an initial interview or a hiring manager making a final decision. You need to know not only how to properly invite for a phone interview, but also how to correctly interpret his answers to your questions.
Answered by Vera Mukhina
HR Director of ENKOR.
A typical picture: HR conducts a face-to-face interview with a candidate and understands that it was possible not to do this. There is a formal circumstance due to which the applicant is clearly not suitable. Moreover, this circumstance could be found out even at the stage of telephone screening ...
How to invite for a phone interview?
The rules of business etiquette suggest that the candidate should be given time to prepare for a conversation with a recruiter. Therefore, there should be two phone calls from the company:
- You agree on a time when it will be convenient to answer your questions and specify whose call will be outgoing - yours or the applicant's.
- Just a phone interview.
In both cases, you should remember and follow the elementary rules of business communication adopted in the modern business environment. By following these rules, you will create a good first impression of the company and increase its prestige.
How to invite for a phone interview (example)
Good day, Sergey. My name is Natalia, I am the HR manager of Alfa company. We have received your resume for the position "" and are ready to conduct a preliminary interview by phone. Now, would it be convenient for you to give me a couple of minutes and agree on a time for it?
When is it convenient for you to answer my questions about your resume? What is more convenient for you - will you call us yourself or will you wait for a call from us?
Good. So, we agreed that you will call us on the 15th, on Monday, at 10:00. I remind you that my name is Natalia, I will wait for a call from you at the appointed time. Thank you. Goodbye and have a nice day.
Note! An invitation to an interview by phone is an example when the applicant himself sets the time of the conversation - it is also a way to check its commitment and punctuality.
How to conduct a telephone interview?
The result of a competent telephone interview will be the right decision - whether this applicant is suitable for your company and whether he meets the requirements of the vacancy. To conduct an interview with a good result, the recruiter must get an idea about the experience of the interlocutor, his skills. To do this, he must know when to ask questions and when to listen carefully to the answers.
If during the telephone interview it becomes clear that the applicant may be suitable, the task of the recruiter is to interest the interlocutor in this vacancy. Therefore, a good recruiter provides information about the company based on motivations and, his goals and career aspirations. So, at the beginning of the conversation, you need to learn as much as possible about the interlocutor before telling him about the employer.
When inviting the applicant for an initial interview by phone, the recruiter has the right to decide for himself how to conduct it. The advice that can be given to him is often similar to what candidates receive when they are waiting for such an interview:
- Prepare in advance. Find out as much as possible about the interlocutor before the interview; for this, use social networks. Study the job description, prepare questions, the answers to which will show whether the interlocutor meets the established professional criteria.
- Be quiet and free from distractions. Do not announce both the invitation to the interview by phone and the interview itself and do not conduct it “on the run”, in a noisy place, while traveling by public transport, etc. Do not be distracted during the conversation - do not answer calls, do not check e-mail. A calm, continuous conversation will help you better focus, hear and understand each other.
- Don't talk too much and quickly. Follow the general principles of the interview - ask questions, do not let the interlocutor be distracted by details during the answers, listen carefully to them.
- Be prepared for unexpected questions. Like the candidates themselves, they never know when a non-standard question will be asked. If you are ready for such a situation, you will be able to answer correctly any tricky question.
- Tell the candidate about the next steps. This must be done at the end of the telephone interview. This will eliminate unnecessary calls and emails with questions from the applicant. End the conversation by thanking for your time and let them know when you will call to report the results of the interview.
If the question arose of how to refuse an applicant after a telephone interview, do not use the phrase “You are not suitable for us”, although it reflects the true state of affairs. Be clear about the reasons for the denial, but be aware that you may be required to provide written justification for it if discrimination is suspected.
Telephone interview, an example of an employer talking to a rejected candidate
Unfortunately, we only had one vacancy. Based on the results of the interview, you took second place, so now we cannot hire you. But, if you do not mind, we will leave information about you in our database and, if a similar vacancy appears, we will contact you again.
What is an invitation to an interview? An invitation to an interview expresses the desire of the recruiter to talk with the applicant in person. It shows that something in the candidate's resume of an employee of the company caught on, seemed to him interesting and worthy of attention.
By phone
How to invite for a phone interview?
How to arrange a telephone interview? To arrange an interview by phone, dial his number, introduce yourself, succinctly invite and set a time.
Perhaps the applicant will ask how to get to the company or ask other clarifying questions.
Be prepared to answer them.
Invitation letter
Typically, the recruiter composes a text written in standard business style. A sample email interview invitation looks like this:
Dear Kirill Vladimirovich,
I have reviewed your resume for the position of art director and would like to invite you for an interview.
Call me at tel. 00-00-00 to set the date and time of the interview.
Sincerely, Anastasia Igorevna Polivanova.
This is only an approximate and abbreviated version. Generally each company makes its own interview invitation template. The invitation may additionally contain several sentences or even several paragraphs about the company and position.
How to respond to an invitation?
The following is a response to an invitation to an interview (sample letter):
Dear Anastasia Igorevna,
I will be at the interview at the appointed time.
You can use another option. The main thing is to thank for the invitation, confirm your consent to come to it or refuse it, indicate the date and sign.
How to cancel an interview?
Cancel interview polite and always motivated. It may happen that the reason for the refusal is quite discussed and then the details should be discussed with the employer.
How to cancel a phone interview?
If you want to decline by phone, call, politely introduce yourself, give the date of the interview, and say that you cannot come, giving a reason.
How do I opt out of an email interview?
You can unsubscribe by e-mail in much the same way as expressing consent.
Dear Anastasia Igorevna,
I received your letter and thank you for the invitation.
Unfortunately, I will not come to the interview, because due to family circumstances I cannot work full time and have to work remotely. If there is such an opportunity in your company, I will gladly consider it.
08/15/2016 Sincerely, Kirill Bolshakov.
Why are they not invited?
Why aren't they invited for an interview?
If there is no answer to the resume, it means that you made mistakes when compiling it.
Perhaps it lacks flair., and it looks like hundreds of others.
You may not be suitable for the job in terms of education and previous experience.
Maybe you have more than one desired job listed on your resume., which should never be done, as this shows that the applicant is unsure of himself and does not know exactly what he wants.
If the interview is not invited, it is no reason to be upset but just an experience. You need to work on your resume.
For example, you can open one of the major job search portals and carefully read and analyze resumes of specialists in your field. It also makes sense to read the requirements of employers and make a mirror resume to them.
Conclusion
Both the invitation to the interview and the answer to it will have short and polite form. The answer must necessarily contain gratitude and confirmation of acceptance of the invitation, or with an explanation of the reasons.
An invitation to an interview may take a more or less detailed form, depending on the traditions in a particular company. So, you have learned how to properly invite for an interview by phone, by e-mail, success in your work, we hope our article was useful to you.
And so you received a letter - invitation for an interview. What is the right way to respond to it?
Usually invitation for an interview drawn up in a single pattern. You can get it in writing via mail, most likely e-mail. As a rule, the invitation indicates what kind of vacancy you are being invited to, the place, date and time of the interview, the contact information of the company and the employee you can contact if you have any questions. also in invitation for an interview there may be a list of documents that you need to take with you to the interview, brief information about the company; sometimes the salary for this position and the list of job responsibilities included in the competence of the position are also indicated. Competent invitation for an interview testifies to the high level of the company.
Invitation for an interview. Sample.
There is a certain template for an invitation to an interview.
Example 1
Dear Petrenko Alexander Alexandrovich (your full name).
Thank you for submitting your CV for the position of ***. We have reviewed your resume and your candidacy interested us. We invite you to an interview, which will take place on July 10 at 10:00. You will be met by the manager of the department *** - Vasiliev Yuri Valerievich. Sincerely, the company ***.
Example 2
Dear Petrenko Alexander Alexandrovich (your full name). The company "***" invites you to pass an interview for the position of administrator, which will take place on 10/25/2013 at 11.00. Sincerely, the company ***.
Letter 3.
Dear Petrenko Alexander Alexandrovich (your full name). I recently received your resume for the position ***. We have already found a candidate for this position, but we have another vacancy that may be of interest to you. Please call me at [number] and we will discuss the details with you. Sincerely, Anasov Petr Nikolaevich.
According to the rules of business etiquette invitation for an interview You must answer. In your letter, you confirm that you have received an invitation for an interview and that you will arrive at the appointed time and place. You can write the answer in a free form, but in a business style. Only without too much officialdom. Then a simple and trusting relationship will be established between you and a potential employer. Be careful when writing your answer, in no case do not make grammatical errors. The response to an invitation to an interview should be literate, discreet and concise.
Do not write a lot of unnecessary information, you should state your thoughts briefly and clearly. You should not describe in detail - how important this job is for you, that you have dreamed of working in this company all your life, etc. Be polite, but not intrusive. The answer to the invitation is the key to your impeccable reputation in the future.
Sample response to an interview invitation
Your response should look something like this:
Dear company **** (if the invitation contained the full name of the employee who wrote it, you should contact him directly), I received your letter. Thanks for the invitation. I will be at the specified time. Sincerely, (your name). Signature.
Quite often, the invitation takes place over the phone. Prepare a notepad and pen in advance to write down all the information received. Be sure to find out (if the employer does not tell you about it, ask him yourself):
- Date, place and time of the interview;
- What documents you need to take with you;
- Who will conduct the interview.
Formulate your questions in a clear, concise and understandable way. During the conversation, be attentive and polite. And do not forget that this conversation may affect the further decision on hiring you. (See Telephone Interview)
For an interview to be successful, you need to prepare thoroughly for it (See Preparing for an Interview). Prepare the clothes you will wear to the interview in advance (See How to Dress for an Interview), prepare your questions (See How to Dress for an Interview).
An invitation letter is a way to invite the addressee to attend a certain event, to be present at any event. An invitation can be expressed orally, but in business relations it is the written form that is common, which has a number of advantages. In the article we offer several sample letters of invitation to participate in an event, conference, exhibition. There is also an example of a written invitation to an interview with an employer and an invitation to cooperate.
In business relations, an invitation letter is an important element in building a trusting and respectful relationship between the two parties. A written offer to take part, visit, watch is a sign of special attention, in addition, it allows the addressee not to forget about an important event awaiting him.
Why do you need invitation letter:
- confirms that the addressee is indeed invited, avoids errors;
- reminds of the time and place of the meeting, the event to which the recipient is invited.
Why written invitation better than oral
- allows you to notify a certain person about any important event, event;
- reminds the addressee of plans, will not let you forget an important event;
- acts as an additional sign of attention and respect - the sender took the time to inform the addressee in writing of the invitation information;
- it is possible to send even to those persons with whom it is not possible to talk on the phone or in person.
How to send invitation:
- transfer personally from hand to hand - bring to the addressee and hand it over, this method allows not only to invite the addressee in writing, but also orally to an event - a meeting, interview, meeting, exhibition, conference, reception or other event;
- send by Russian post, if the event is especially important, then you can send it by a valuable letter with a description of the attachment, however, the sending must be done in advance, taking into account the delivery time of the letter to the invitee;
- send by e-mail - a very simple and convenient way, if the addressee's e-mail is known, this method is often used by recruiters when sending a letter with an invitation to come to a job interview.
How to write an invitation letter competently - design samples
In order for this document to perform its function correctly, it is necessary to provide a sufficient amount of information in it. The information should be of such volume that the addressee does not have any questions regarding the planned event, place and time of its holding.
In order for the address to make sure that the invitation was sent to him, you need to specify the details of the recipient. Usually this information is placed in the upper right corner of the letterhead in the dative case. If this is an organization, then write its name and location, full name and position of the head. If this is an individual, then his full name and address of residence.
Next, indicate from whom the letter was sent. It is important to indicate not only the name of the organization or the full name of the originator and sender, but also contact information, which allows you to ask the author of the letter of invitation if you have questions about the planned event.
The text of the letter begins with an appeal. The polite form is used. If this is a specific person, then be sure to indicate his full name or first name, patronymic. For example, “Dear Olga Vladimirovna!” or “Dear Alexander!”. The appeal depends on the type of event, the degree of acquaintance of the originator and recipient. If these persons are not in close acquaintance, it is enough to confine ourselves to the neutral “respected”.
How to invite to an event
- the date of the event - a meeting, conference, interview, exhibition, meeting, official reception, indicate not only the date, but also the exact time;
- venue - the information in the letter should be sufficient so that the invitee has no questions about where to go. It is important to indicate not only the address (street, house), but also additional information - where to go, where is the entrance, which floor, which office, hall. It is also possible to attach a traffic plan to the letter. If necessary, also indicate the type of transport that can be used to get to the venue of the event. That is, the information should be as complete as possible so that the person invited to participate in the event does not wander through the corridors in search of a venue for the event, does not waste time, and is not late. Inaccurate information regarding this requisite is disrespect for the invitee, he will have to clarify exactly how to get there, what to ride;
- type of event, its name - it is also important to indicate in the letter of invitation what type of event the invitee expects, if it has a name, then it is written in exact accordance;
- the word “invite” directly, it also specifies what exactly the invitee should do at the specified event - participate, watch, observe, for example, you can invite to speak at a conference with a report, or you can invite other speakers to watch speeches at the conference;
Examples of an invitation letter:
“Dear Anna Dmitrievna!
We invite you to take part in the celebration of National Unity Day on November 4, 2018 at the Golden Alley restaurant at Novosibirsk, st. Dekabristov d.34, entrance from the end of the building.
“Dear Daniel Mikhailovich!
We invite you to visit the All-Russian conference “Changes in accounting and tax legislation in 2018”, which will be held on November 22, 2017 in the small conference hall of the Palace of Culture Zheleznodorozhnik, Yekaterinburg, at the address: Yekaterinburg, st. Zheleznodorozhnaya d.23 (main entrance, 2nd floor).”
- the content of the event - if this is a conference, you can attach to the letter a list of speakers, who will participate in it, and topics of speeches; if this is a celebration of an event, then a short program of the event.” This information will allow the recipient to assess the degree of interest in the planned event and prepare for it correctly;
- please let us know about your plans to attend the event. If you want to know the exact desire of the addressee to attend the event, then you need to clarify at the end of the invitation letter whether the person will come on the specified day at the place of invitation. You must indicate how you want to send your answer - by e-mail, postal letter, telephone call or otherwise.
The letter is signed by the addressee indicating the date of compilation. If necessary, the drawn up document can be packed in a beautiful envelope and transferred to the destination.
It is important to make sure that the text contains contact information for feedback.
Sample exhibition invitation letter
How to invite for an interview
Candidates for a vacant position are usually invited for an interview either by phone or by letter of invitation to e-mail.
No interview invitations? Perhaps you are doing something wrong?
Even during an upturn in the labor market, there are still three types of job seekers who will always find it difficult to find a job: those who change jobs frequently, those who are out of work for a long time and, finally, those who are overqualified candidates. If you are one of those applicants, then fret not! By making the following changes to your resume, you will be able to receive invitations to interviews.
Defector candidates(job hopper)
Hiring the wrong person is expensive for HR managers. Therefore, it is only natural that recruiters are wary of those candidates who are used to changing jobs frequently.
At the same time, changing jobs is becoming more and more common. A recent survey found that 91% of Millennials (Generation Y, Next Generation, "Networked" Generation, Echo Boomers - the generation born after 1983, who met the new millennium at a young age, characterized primarily by deep involvement in digital technologies) plan work in the same company for no more than three years - 71% of this group of people are going to change their current job before 2020.
So, what does this type of applicant need to do so that the employer stops seeing him as a threat and does not perceive him as a risky investment?
You need to focus on the experience you have gained while working for different companies. The advantage of job seekers-defectors is that they are able to perform various kinds of duties and regularly improve their skills. Therefore, it is logical to focus on your achievements and skills in your resume. Use numbers and facts to show how you have benefited your past employers. For example, “attracted 15 large clients” or “increased the company’s profit by 25%”. For a recruiter, your examples will mean that if you have achieved such results in the past, then you can do the same for their company in the future. Therefore, for the employer, you will no longer be at risk when hiring you.
When creating a resume, choose the format of a functional or combined resume.
A functional resume focuses on the skills and responsibilities acquired in different jobs.
Functional Resume Example from How to Write a SMART Resume Effortlessly 
A combined resume is the best option for those who have the necessary set of experience, professional knowledge, skills, and competencies. In a combined resume, job responsibilities are directly related to the skills acquired during the period of work in each company. Also in this resume format, you should demonstrate your competencies and qualifications suitable for the position you are applying for.
Such a resume is highly valued by recruiters, as it gives a more complete picture of the candidate. Nevertheless, this format is not popular among applicants themselves. The reason is that it takes a lot more effort and time to write a combined resume than it does to write a resume.
An example of a combined resume from How to Write a SMART Resume Effortlessly.
You can buy the book How to Write a SMART Resume Effortlessly for 220 rub. on the 
Or buy an e-book on my website with a 20% discount.
The cost of the book on my site - 176 rub.
Unemployed job seekers
overqualified applicant
Many people think it's good to be an overqualified candidate. But this is far from true. HR managers believe that such candidates will demand more money or leave the company as soon as they get a better offer. Therefore, you must explain to HR why you are interested in this job. Perhaps you want to have less responsibility or want to build a career in a different field. Whatever the reason, it's best to describe it. For this case, there is a cover letter in which you can talk about your career goals.
