Telephone Interview Questions
Master 30 telephone interview questions covering communication skills, etiquette, and customer interaction scenarios.
Question 1 of 30
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Admin
Sales
Retail
Marketing
Manager
Teacher
How to Answer
Example Answer
Community Answers
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"With pleasure! I have over ten years of experience in the professional services industry and am interested in growing my career to the next level, and become an executive assistant. On a more personal note, I love to read, go hiking and spend a lot of my extra time volunteering with the humane society."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I started my sales career in a large corporate setting, and there I received a promotion within only a few months. I decided that I wanted to stretch my wings and made the leap to a startup. There, I earned the fastest promotion in company history and followed that up with the fastest deal to close after promotion. I have had continued success here and am in my preferred sales territory. However, I feel that I may have outgrown the position and right now, there isn't an opportunity for a managerial position here, so I'm looking at outside opportunities, such as this one."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I started my career in retail very young. My first job at sixteen was as a sales associate at a large department store, and I have stuck to retail ever since. After high school, I achieved my associate's degree in fashion merchandising and continued to a four-year university where I obtained my B.A. in communications. Since then, I have held various leadership and management positions in both small boutiques and large department stores. I am currently looking to take my experience and career to the next level by pursuing this position as the department manager in your highest volume department."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I graduated with a B.A. in Economics and started my career in sales. After a successful three years, I decided to begin making the moves to the marketing side. Freelancing on the side to shore up my creative skill set prepared me for the leap to my first marketing position as an inbound marketing coordinator. I am still with the same organization, but now as a content manager. I help build out the marketing calendar and execute its items from blog posts to social media to email marketing efforts. In my next role, ideally with your company, I am looking to achieve the next step towards a director position."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I am a calm and quiet leader, with excellent written and verbal communication skills. Even though I am quiet, I can motivate my team and keep morale high. I was recently awarded 'Most Productive Manager' in my organization."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I am super excited and passionate about my job, the language, my students, and continual learning. I feel so privileged to have a job that I leap out of bed for every morning. I am a mom of boys, and I am a fitness enthusiast: as their soccer coach, the high school soccer coach for freshman girls, and a runner in my spare time."
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
Many interviewers will start off with this question, which could throw you off a bit. You've done all of this research on the company but have you prepared to talk about yourself?
The interviewer is looking for relevant information about the position for which you applied. Respond by mentioning your education, how many years of experience you have in your field, and be sure to give some details about your most current position. Conclude your response with a statement about what you are looking for in a role at this time.
Christine Pasqueretta is a human resource and recruitment professional with experience creating, developing, implementing, leading, and measuring HR impact initiatives.
"I have a B.A. in Communications and Journalism from the University of Michigan. I have three years of experience in Marketing and Communications. My most recent position was with Amazon as a Marketing Coordinator, and I'm currently looking for a position that will allow me to grow into a leadership opportunity."
Anonymous Answer
I graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree from the State University of Jakarta. I bring five years of experience and offer a wide range of knowledge of the technical matter. Most recently, I have worked as a Team Leader/Network Engineer, and have aspirations to of joining a leadership team and grow in the field of IT.
Lauren's Feedback
This is a great response! You provided a well-rounded response that includes your future aspirations. Great job!
Anonymous Answer
I am a current graduate of Ohio University with a major in Business Management and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. I have spent my time at OU completing two Public Relations internships and being involved in organizations on campus. I am excited about this position because I get to share my personal experience. Without my time at OU, I would not be the person I am today.
Alexandra's Feedback
Great answer! If I were the interviewer, I might follow up with questions about why you chose your school and major/minors to get to know you more.
Anonymous Answer
I am calm and poised in an extremely panic situation. In my previous employment, I was awarded as best manager and ethical leader twice in a row.
Rachelle's Feedback
Would you be put in many extremely panicked situations in this role? The second part of your answer seems to be a much better fit, so I recommend rolling with that. I have provided a starter for you, below.
"In my role with (company name), I was awarded as best manager and ethical leader twice in a row. I achieved this award by (what did you do to earn this recognition?) I am passionate for...(talk about what fuels you professionally). In my personal life, I...(mention a couple of hobbies that will help you to make a more personal connection with the interviewer)."
Anonymous Answer
Animals and music are my passion. I grew up with dogs and cats and horses on a small farm outside NYC. I am friendly, driven, and have a good sense of humor. I love volunteering at animal shelters and nursing homes for the older generation of people. I have an incredibly strong work ethic, as well. I have a dog and a cat whom I love dearly and make my days fully wonderful.
Rachelle's Feedback
It sounds as though you live a happy, fulfilling life! When it comes to your love of animals and your compassion for others, be sure to tie this into your future success in the role in question.
Anonymous Answer
M name is ______, I'm from Egypt, and I moved to Denmark for work in January 2020. I've graduated from the faculty of engineering in 2011
I started my career as a PHP developer in 2013, so I have 8 years of experience, and during these years, I used multiple languages and I strongly believe that I'm proficient in using PHP, Ruby, and Java with different frameworks for each programming languages and different software tools
also, I'm interested in the business side, and I got a certificate as scrum master from scrum.org, and I played different roles actually I can say I claimed the ladder from the first step I started as a freelance junior developer up to technical lead and scrum master and that helped me a lot to gain my knowledge and experience
Also, in my free time, I really like to listen to calm music and read a book or cook a meal, and eating it with my roommate.
Cindy's Feedback
Good! You're using the question to highlight work skills, which is great, and also talking a bit about yourself, personally. Interviewers often want to get to know applicants beyond the information on their resumes to determine whether there is a culture fit, so be sure to elaborate.
Anonymous Answer
I am an accomplished technical writer who has managed all aspects of planning, writing, ad publishing customer-facing documentation. Most recently, I spent 12 years helping to build a global publications process in a team environment. I am excited about this opportunity to work for an innovative leader in consumer and industrial computing.
Cindy's Feedback
Good! This question is geared toward getting to know you personally. Is there anything beyond what the interviewer can read on the resume that you can share?
Anonymous Answer
I have been working in real estate for more than 4 years. Started as assistant to the director in _______ and then was promoted to senior associate 6 months later. My main role includes sales agent and channel agent and developer relationship management. (Responsibilities include recommending suitable properties depending on clients' needs and accommodating schedule for appointments and follow-up to close deals, preparing sales reports to developers, and supervising employees and marketing activities. I will also be doing prospecting, making sales appraisals, and liaising with both vendors and buyers) Over the four years, I have developed pretty good skills in sales, written and verbal communication, negotiation, complaint handling, time management, multi-tasking, people management, and customer relationship management. I understand the role I am applying for is in a different industry, but I believe skills are transferable. I'm good at both working remotely, independently, and in a team environment. And I'm also used to and capable of working in a fast-paced environment and working under pressure.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! Your answer is very thorough and tells the interviewer a lot about you and your experience. What kind of training or education do you have in real estate and/or sales? Consider mentioning that, as well as describing your personality a bit more. (Are you motivated, personable, organized, and so on?) Finally, you say that you have 'pretty good skills of sales...' This comes off as lukewarm. Be confident! Say something like 'I have developed strong sales and communication skills...' Use powerful words that describe you and your abilities in the best possible light. Nice job!
Anonymous Answer
I have a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and almost 3 years of experience in the Orthopedic medical device industry. At my current job, I work as a Technical Sales Engineer with a prominent role in product development for surgical instruments. I'm the lead engineer at the company without any opportunities for advancement, so I'm looking for an opportunity elsewhere where I can grow my engineering knowledge and skills to one day become a manager for a product development team.
Marcie's Feedback
Awesome! Your answer is strong, and you do a great job of giving your educational and work background, in addition to explaining why you're looking to make a career move. To further build out your answer, consider mentioning a few of the skills and qualities you possess that will allow you to excel in this role. Good job!
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