How To Stop Failing Technical Phone Screens (Phone Interview Guide)

An interview guide for the most overlooked but important interview in a technical recruiting process: The gatekeeper.

Not sure how to get a recruiter’s attention? Begin with a portfolio of projects. To see how to start, get my free 5-page project ideation guide.

The best interview advice I’ve ever received came from my Wall Street friend the night before an interview for one of the most exclusive internships in media.

“It’s yours to lose.”

On the surface this remark might sound a bit cynical or dismissive but its power is that it emphasizes personal agency in the interview process. Although there are factors outside of your control like environmental, economic and company-related reasons to not get a job offer, you should never forget the fact that for your 30–60 min. interview slot you’re in control.

While I often return to this advice for late-stage interview rounds on the cusp of a new opportunity, today I want to apply them to a type of interview that often goes overlooked which leads to candidates being disappointed when they receive a rejection. And that’s the phone interview or, in radio terms, the “phoner”; otherwise known as the start of the recruiting pipeline.

For me personally, depending on the opportunities, phone interviews went one of two ways. If it were an opportunity I was…