How do you prepare for a Telephone/ Skype Interview?

How do you prepare for a Telephone/ Skype Interview

1. Dress and act how you would in a face-to-face interview

A common mistake for phone and video interviews is to approach the situation more casually because it’s not in person.

In fact you need to be your professional best in every way. To do this, dress in business attire and speak clearly. Ensure your body language and delivery are professional.

Likewise, do not skimp on preparation. Be prepared and confident – behave like a person that would be a good fit for the position.

2. Have a backup plan in case you have signal problems

There are a variety of sounds that can disrupt a phone or Skype interview, such as background noise, TV, children or a poor signal. Try to find somewhere quiet and use a land line whenever possible. If your call is interrupted, then acknowledge this and ask the interviewer if you can repeat your answer or reschedule the call.

If you know your area has a poor signal, go somewhere else for your interview. Ask a friend, or look to see if any local hotels, libraries or schools have a video conferencing facility they might let you use.

3. Do a mock video or phone interview

Performing well on a video or phone interview requires a particular set of skills. Appearing on screen can feel awkward, so if you don’t regularly use Skype then have a few practice runs with friends to get used to it..

Practise with a friend, record the session and watch it – so you get used to speaking on camera.

Similarly, during a telephone interview it can be tricky to show the usual body language that indicates you are interested. Make sure you convey this by smiling while you speak, and use what you say to appear attentive and enthusiastic.

4. Allow time to set up your phone or webcam

Skype and video calls can take a few minutes to set up, so you need to build in extra time. Be in your interview space at least five minutes ahead and have your phone or webcam on and ready..

5. Don’t over-prepare, and be yourself

It’s definitely a good idea to prepare answers to potential questions but make sure you don’t sound like you are reading from a prepared script, Have a few bullet points to hand so you remember the points you want to make, but still sound natural and enthusiastic.

It’s important not to sound scripted.

6. Show you are a good cultural fit for the company

The key thing you need to show – apart from your competency and skills – is that you are a good cultural fit for the organisation, That’s really difficult to do during a phone or Skype interview, but the best advice is to be natural and try to turn the interview into a conversation.

7. Speak slowly and clearly thoughout the interview

If you’re nervous, it’s easy to speak too quickly on the phone. This can be a problem as the interviewer can’t see you to pick up on any visual cues so may miss your point. “Be aware of this and articulate your words clearly.

 

This type of interview will save you lots of time ( and probably money too) but you need to understand there are different rules to follow. Acknowledge this and you will be great!

 

Are you terrified of interviews - these notes should help you get that job!

 

Jobseeking often takes people out of their comfort zones.

However, if you’re not overly outgoing, or often feel as if your voice gets lost in the crowd, the prospect of promoting yourself to find the best job can be tough. And whether it’s writing a CV, attending an interview, or even applying for the right roles, for those with a more insular personality it can be a nerve-racking experience.

More of a thinker than a speaker? Here are some top jobseeking tips for introverts:

Choose the right role

First things first: try and identify the perfect position.

List all the things you think you do well, and find the jobs that best match your skills. If you’re most comfortable when working individually, for example, there are plenty of jobs which may suit you and compliment your personality.

Be realistic. There’s nothing to say that an introvert can’t excel in a customer facing position. However, if the thought of having to stand up and present to a room full of clients on a daily basis brings you out in a cold sweat, you will probably not be happy in this kind of career. 

Find the right type of job for you, and your CV and interview will stand a much greater chance of success.

 

Concentrate on your strengths

When it comes to looking for a job, it’s easy to see shyness as something which could hold you back. But this definitely needn’t be the case.

With this in mind, play to your strengths as much as possible. This rule applies to your approach to jobseeking, as well as your CV. When writing your personal statement, talk confidently about yourself using quantifiable terms such as ‘successfully’, ‘proven’, ‘experienced’ and ‘track record’, words that will place the emphasis on your accomplishments.

Which brings me onto…

Make the most of your achievements

For many introverts, learning how to shout about their achievements can be difficult.

However, highlighting your accomplishments is an absolutely essential part of the jobseeking process, whether in your CV, or at an interview. It’s also a practical way to demonstrate what you can do.

If you struggle to talk about your successes, ask a colleague, former manager or professor to talk about some of the main things you’ve achieved. Just think of it as reporting the facts, rather than tooting your own horn.  

At interview, bring a portfolio of your work or certificates along with you. This can help to clearly demonstrate what you are capable of, whilst letting your work and achievements speak for themselves.

 

Don’t be apologetic

Shy types often find themselves apologising when there’s really no need.

This can suggest a lack of confidence, so is always best avoided when it comes to your interview.

Cliché advice time: Be who you are, and be proud of it. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not.  

 

Practice

OK, so it may seem stupid to stand in front of the mirror and rehearse what you’re going to say at an interview. However, the more you practice and the more you go over your lines, the more confident you’ll be when it comes to the real thing.

You could also try asking a (very close, non-judgemental) friend or family member to run through a couple of interview questions with you. Just make sure it’s someone honest and supportive, who you’re completely comfortable with.

Whichever method you choose, try and keep your cool, speak slowly and maintain eye contact. Which obviously, can be easier said than done if you’re relying on the mirror for feedback…

 

Make notes

Always take a pad and pen into an interview with you. No exceptions.

Not only will this allow your interviewer to talk uninterrupted, it also means that you won’t miss out on any of the points you want to bring up. And if you don’t feel like you can speak up during the questioning stage, you can always bring up your points when given the chance to ask questions at the end of proceedings.

Note taking is even more important, when it comes to group interviews, especially if you find it a struggle to make your voice heard over more dominant interviewees. Simply write all the points down, and make sure to mention these if you get a chance towards the end. 

Very Important

 

Finally, even if you forget what you want to say during the interview, sending a well-written thank you email afterwards is a good place to include any nervous omissions.

 

 

Helpline Manager, London, to c. £80,000 + big company benefits.

A brilliant opportunity. Don't miss this one!

Helpline Manager, London, to c. £80,000 + big company benefits.

 

The Role

Our prestigious client is looking to recruit an experienced Helpline Manager to run an international first line support function which operates 24/7, consisting of a team of fourteen Helpline analysts and three supervisors.

The Helpline Manager will sit within the Technology department as a key member of the IT Management Team reporting directly to the Head of Technology.
Job Overview
The Helpline Manager is responsible for managing and advancing the first-level service and support of end-user service requests and computing issues. The position requires strong managerial skills, and a deep commitment to end-user satisfaction and experience in driving process improvement.

Primary Responsibilities and Activities

• Manage the staff of the service desk, including motivating them, hiring and writing reviews, preparing overall performance evaluations and training. Candidates should be skilled at managing teams.
• Develop, manage, measure and report on key service-level metrics, including average response time, first-contact resolution rate, mean time to resolve, cost per call, call avoidance, demand mix and end-user productivity.
• Strive for continuous improvement of the incident management process and the integration of the incident management process with other IT operations management processes, such as problem and change management.
• Build and maintain relationships with all Technology Teams to ensure that Technology-delivered services and end-user productivity goals are understood and exceeded.
• Perform end-user satisfaction surveys (transactional and periodic), and develop action plans to address areas needing improvement.
• Advance the use of a knowledge repository to share information among all levels of Technology service and support.
• Prepare cost analyses, budget plans and proposals as needed.
• Be an active member of the change, release, asset and problem management teams responsible for increased call avoidance, improved asset use and decreased end-user downtime.
• Leverage service desk best practices and process frameworks, such as the ITIL, to drive continual process improvement.
• Promote self-service tools and the knowledge repository as mechanisms to improve end-user satisfaction and reduce costs.
• Perform trend analyses, and develop action plans for improving service timeliness and reducing costs.
• Stay abreast of trends in service desk operations, management, technologies, sourcing, policies, procedures and other external changes that could have an impact on service desk services.

Primary Work Arrangements

• The ideal candidate will be expected to manage the service desk 24/7 throughout the year and must be available for off-hour support when necessary.
• The service desk manager must have sound communications skills and experience working alongside other IT and business management professionals.
• The service desk manager must foster relationships with end users and must become the champion of end-user satisfaction.

Key skills and attributes

• Degree
• ITIL certification (preferred)
• At least three years managing an IT service and support function in a corporate, complex environment
• Previous management experience
• Knowledge of IT service desk tools and best practices
• Strong communication and reporting skills


HTS Recruitment Ltd
Mob: 07970 494916
Tel: 0121 687 1234
Email: jayne at HTS
Connect with us at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaynehannon

 

HTS, Specialist Recruiters. Contract and Permanent Vacancies.

Service Delivery Manager / Head of Customer Services IT, Tamworth, to £50K + Car

This is such a great opportunity I thought I would repeat it on the blog. And see the Benefits too! You will need to hurry though, as there are already people going for interview. If you send your CV now to jayne@hts.co.uk, you could still be in with a chance!


Service Delivery Manager / Head of Customer Services IT, Tamworth, to £50K + Car

Due to continued growth our award-winning, market-leading, software house client has a superb new opportunity for a Customer Services Manager to join the team.

Keywords: Service Delivery Manager, Manager, Customer Services Manager, Customer Support Manager, Midlands, Birmingham, Lichfield, Brownhills, Sutton Coldfield, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Tamworth


The Customer Services Team consists of Support Analysts (first and second line), Data Analysts, Infrastructure Engineer and a Team Leader.
The Customer Services team is responsible for managing customer issues through to resolution, the management of regular service pack and project releases, as well as internal support management.

Reporting into the Operations Director, the Customer Services Manager is a senior role, having responsibility for the day to day management of the Customer Services department.

A good understanding of technology and support management fundamentals are important, however communication, influencing and change management skills are also essential in ensuring a team ethic is strong throughout the customer experience.
To become a key member of the Customer Services team you will need to be a self-starter, willing to work hard and be able to fit in well with a small team.

Essential
• A proven track record in Customer Support Management
• At least two years’ experience in managing a support team of at least 8 people and be able to demonstrate excellent leadership skills.
• Excellent client facing skills and experience to ensure relationships are kept strong.
• Experience in support system and ticket management.
• Ability to carry out detailed analysis and implement changes to handle trends.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills at all business levels.
• Ability to manage upwards and delegate effectively.
• The ability to have a strong impact and influence key decisions and decision makers.
• Be competent with creation of non-trivial XLS books, for example to present support statistics visually.


You will be able to demonstrate the following attributes: initiative, resourcefulness and a passion for providing superior customer service along with established communication and technical skills. Diplomacy, composure, good judgment, the ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and the ability to build a rapport with customers is a key feature of this role.
Benefits:

25 days holiday (this increases after 5 years’ service)
Company Car
Pension (scheme is being introduced in August)
Childcare Vouchers
Long Service Bonus and holiday after 5 years


Please send CV ASAP to Jayne at HTS

Email:  jayne@hts.co.uk
Mob: 07970 494916
Tel: 0121 687 1234

Connect with us at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaynehannon
Or visit our website www.hts.co.uk


HTS, Specialist Recruiters. Contract and Permanent Vacancies

On doing research before your job interview

On doing research before your job interview

Today's theme: doing research before your job interview.

My advice, as an industry insider, would be: you should, like, do it.

Let me put it another way. You know how it's bad to turn up at an interview drunk and do that trick where you waggle your finger through your trouser zip? Turning up having done no research is sort of like that.

Most of you will agree with me, but there are a few avant garde job-seekers (naming no names) who seem to have difficulty with the idea.

As recruitment agents, we can tell you about the company, we can send you a link to their website, we can urge you to research the company prior to your interview, and we can advise you on how to go about this. We can't, however, do the research ourselves, dress up as you and then attend the interview in your place.

We'd love to! But since the laws changed in 1986 we can't.

Now, we make a point of actually begging our candidates to do research - tears, hand-wringing, the whole shebang - and most of them do, but if you're one of the minority who prefer to prepare for your interview by doing nothing whatsoever, you might profit from the following 'behind the scenes' insight:

When candidates turn up at interviews with our clients having done no research, the only thing the clients ever say to us afterwards is, 'We're not interested in taking it further. They obviously hadn't done any research.'

They never say, 'Bob turned up completely unprepared, and didn't even know we were an online marketing agency. We've hired him - he's a maverick.' Any more than they say, 'The moment Bob put his finger through his fly and waggled it around while crashing drunkenly into our cardboard cutout of Bill Gates, we knew he was the one for us.'

Let's recap. When our client asks you what you know about the company, it's usually not enough to wipe your nose on your sleeve and say, 'Something to do with the internet?'

To those of you who refuse to heed my advice (and there are plenty of you out there): Instead of going to the trouble of attending job interviews, why not consider staying home and watching television in your underpants while eating Monster Munch?

To those of you who do your research: Take heart; your competition may not be as competitive as you fear.

interviews at high technology companies: the sickening truth

interviews at high technology companies: the sickening truth

 

 

 

 

 

The sickening truth about going for an interview with a high technology company is that the people who'll be interviewing you are almost always OBSESSED.

They are the kind of cultish, moon-eyed crazies who like to talk about work - outside work.

'Seriously, Ron, we can talk about soccer or politics or Big Brother or falconry or anything. We're in the pub now. You don't have to talk shop all the time with that... look in your eyes.'

Wash your mouth out. Ron wants to talk about technology. He wants to demonstrate laser ablation techniques using his Cheese Moments to signify print-head nozzles. Ron really cares about this stuff.

If you're going for a job interview at a high-technology company, you need to realise that you'll be interviewed by someone who thinks his/her company's technology is the dog's knees. There are really only three things you should do when talking to such a person. The first two are obvious.

1. Ask loads of questions about the technology. Inquire ESPECIALLY about what makes it unique, and how this uniqueness determines what the company requires from its staff.
2. Show - giving concrete examples - how your practical experience dovetails with these specific requirements.

The third thing is the most neglected. It's neglected because most people think that the purpose of an interview is to show how your background fits the company's needs. But to the extent that the company and its products are unique, you WON'T fit completely. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

There will be areas where your background doesn't fit - and in these areas, the company is in a position to meet your requirements in a way that your previous employers never have. What you need to do is show that you're the person who'll make the most of such opportunities.
With that in mind:

3. Show that you're able, and super-enthusiastic, to exploit the unique career opportunities that this role would offer YOU.

So - if there's a part of your background / skill-set that doesn't match the job spec, worry not. This is your opportunity to tell the interviewer: 'That's an area I'm dying to move into, but my current role doesn't offer me the scope to do so.'

Don't have all the technical skills for a role? As long as they're not essentials ("I don't actually have any brain surgery training as such") you don't have to blag - just show that one of the attractions of this role is that it will require you to learn the required skills. In other words, if you don't meet the requirements of the role, show how the role meets your requirements.

Been working on different technologies, but still feel you have transferrable skills? Say - 'I want to work with a technology I'm really excited about, Ron.'

Of course, you have to actually mean what you say. If you don't, you probably shouldn't be going for that particular job. 

Otherwise, remember the three steps: give Ron generous scope to vent his enthusiasm, show how your experience enables you to fit his company's needs, and show how the uniqueness of his company meets yours. And in all things, friends, be enthusiastic. Because Ron is enthusiastic.

Also, keep your hands off his bar snacks.

asking questions (dammit) part two

asking questions (dammit) part two

You are expected to ask questions at job interviews. It's the law. To neglect asking questions is one of the cardinal sins of job interviews - I'd place it somewhere between turning up late and sneezing into your hand then wiping it on the chair. Not asking questions can count against you, resulting in a failed interview, or even, in some cases, death by impalement*.


A good question shows you're interested in the job and the company. It also uses up time that your interviewer might otherwise spend asking you difficult questions about your lack of semiconductor knowledge or your unsuccessful attempt to join the Foreign Legion in 1998. Asking questions gives you time to sit back and listen to someone else talk while you eat your digestive biscuit. Simply, questions WORK.



The question is: what counts as a good question?
Good question.


A good question is one that a) shows you've done your research or b) shows you've been listening.
Conversely, a question is bad if it reveals that you haven't done your research, or if it shows you haven't been listening.


In other words, don't ask questions about stuff you should have googled prior to turning up at the interview. Ask questions that require the interviewer to go deeper into things you've already researched, or into things s/he has already said.
Good: 'I noticed that your product has over one million conical nozzles. What kind of machining techniques do you use to make these?'
Bad: 'So, what do you make around here, anyway? Is it... light bulbs? No - wait - cat flaps?'

Next: more about questions.

* rare, admittedly