Several clients recently complained that their phone calls to potential employers failed to generate interviews. In addition, one employer told me that the people I referred to him wasted his time and were ill prepare for the phone call. He commented that they did not know what he wanted and did not answer questions he asked on the phone. In others words, he said, they did not give him any reason to let them into his office.
I role played a phone call with 12 people. I played the hiring authority (not Human Resources) for their ideal employer. I answered the phone with “XYZ Company, Larry Stevenson speaking” I then followed their lead on the phone call. The reason for their failure revealed itself in 10-20 seconds.
Do Not Focus on Your Needs
In almost every single phone call the client failed to give a good reason for me to let them into my office. They though they had done so but did not. After the call I asked “What reason did you give me to let you in my office?”. Their answers included:
- “I’m looking for a job?”
- “I’ve completed your online application”
- “I sent you my resume.”
- “So-and-so told me to call you.”
In every circumstance, the client felt that those answers would impress the hiring authority.
They were wrong.
They could not grasp that the reasons they gave, while important to them, do not mean anything to the hiring authority. You see, the reasons listed above focus on the needs of the job seeker.
Hiring authorities do not have time to respond to your needs—especially if they do not know you. They worry that if you waste their time on the phone, you will waste even more time once you trap them in their office. You have to give them a reason that—focuses on their goals and problems—and how you can help them achieve them. That impresses them.
Join me on Wednesday when I share a phone outline that gets interviews
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