(Phone) Contact, Front - Getting Past the Gatekeeper’s Interview

Ok, you’ve applied for a corporate job or few; at your dream company or three dozen; submitted scores if not hundreds of resumes. Now what? So the waiting game begins. Since our “holiday edition post” advice, we’re simulating being equally busy going through our applicant pool databases to find the perfect candidate(s); if she or he even exists. Of course they do. Could they be you?

In this week’s post, we are going to advise what to do when you do get the unexpected phone call (or email or notification or text). Whichever, you will end up on a phone call; the dreaded phone interview otherwise known as the “screening interview,” where our goal (HR corporate’s) is to screen out the massive pool of hundreds of applicants to a more manageable number...like from about 20 to a dozen to eventually five or six. Yes, that’s it. About FIVE or SIX to be invited for the real interview with the actual hiring manager and team.

In the real corporate world, the hiring managers and their teams have their day jobs to do; that is doing their actual work. Whether it’s developing technology or analyzing competitive policies or creating marketing strategy or making widgets. That’s the job they are paid to do. Recruiting? Hiring is a necessary evil to them. It’s a collateral duty. They have to do it to build or maintain their teams. It needs to be done and it needs to be done very well in order for their day jobs to continue to be done very well. That’s where HR and specifically Corporate Recruiters come in.

Corporate Recruiters on the other hand generally do not develop technology or analyze competitive policies or create marketing strategy or make widgets. Corporate Recruiters are notoriously known as the company’s “gatekeepers.” Their job is to help, assist, and facilitate the recruitment process for the hiring manager. An essential part of that process is to whittle the applicant pool from hundreds to about a dozen or two. So in essence, they decide who to let in the corporate pearly gates of interviews to the next round(s) and which could ultimately lead to who gets hired.

But back to the main topic of this post. The following are advice on what to do to prepare for the initial phone call (screening call) with the gatekeepers and what some of those questions really mean so you can improve your chances to get to the next round(s) of the hiring process.

Tip 1: Pick up the damn phone!

Now is not the time to play hard to get. YOU APPLIED to the job posting(s); YOU UPLOADED your resume; YOU WROTE OUT reasons why you are qualified for the position(s); and YOU PROVIDED your contact information confident that someone will contact you. So pick up the phone and take the call. At the very least, answer the phone and explain that, “Now is not a great time. Do you mind if we can schedule for a better time?” Simple.

By not taking the call, you risk being passed over without you even knowing it. Then you wonder why after applying to dozens of jobs, submitting hundreds of resumes and covers, “No one is calling me” or “I haven’t been contacted.” The “perfect” (in his or her own mind) candidate right about now is probably thinking, “Well, if they really want me they’ll call back.” Will we now? Well, guess we just really didn’t want you enough to want to call you back. Nor do we think you’re a perfect match. OR what about the entitled candidates? The ones who have had some serious brass or chevrons on their collars or shoulders and who’ve been waited on hand and foot for the past decade? They’re probably pretty miffed, “How unprofessional! To not even leave a voicemail let alone send me an email in advance and invite me to check my calendar so I can determine whether or not it’s worth my time to get back to them.” Yes, that’s what we are thinking too. Except we are determining whether or not you’re worth our time. See, you just got passed over without even knowing it. So again, if it’s bad timing, still take the call and arrange for a better time. All it takes is picking up the damn phone.

Tip 2: Once you’re on the phone, be Sweet as PIE. Be Positive. Be Informed (of the position and company that you applied to). Be Energetic

Forget the Ma’ams and Sirs! If the caller says, please don’t call me Ma’am (or Sir) 1. Don’t take it personally, 2. Don’t explain yourself and 3. Stop calling her Ma’am (or Sir).

Next, be SWEET as PIE. It costs nothing to be a Positive person. Whether or not you are in real life, be a positive person on the phone and all subsequent interviews and communications for that matter. No one wants to work with a Negative (insert name beginning with N here). Even if you are in real life, don’t show it especially here.

Then be Informed of not only the job you applied to but also the COMPANY. Nothing worse to help make the call short than saying to the Gatekeeper, “I’m sorry, which job is this? And what’s your company name again?” Granted, you applied to dozens of companies, submitted hundreds of resumes. We get it. But when we remind you and we hear crickets…it’s not going to end well (for you at least). As for us, you just saved us 20-30 minutes to move on to the next resume.

Lastly on this bullet, exude Energy. Be happy that someone finally called you. And that you took the call. Make sure that enthusiasm is conveyed over the phone. One tip is to smile when you are speaking. Believe it or not, your smile can be “seen” over the phone. Another tip, don’t take the call sitting down. We recommend to standing on your feet and if the environment allows, to take a few paces every now and then. This allows more blood flow to circulate through your body thus transferring positive energy to your call.

Tip 3: Screening question – “What’s your employment status?

This question is for us to determine your availability but more importantly answer, “Why are you not employed?” We want to know why are you on the job market? There are many possible answers. And of course, we maintain that honesty is the best policy. This question not only allows us to mentally insert you into our process timeline but also predict the caliber of talent you (potentially) possess. Many of you have heard of behavioral based interview questions which you can expect during your interviews (best saved for a later post). BBIQs are effective because “past behaviors are good indicators of future performance” i.e. your track record of success (work ethic, significant achievements, decision making, teamwork, etc.). So if you are on the market, there is a reason why you are not employed and/or looking to leave your current situation. Easily answerable (end of contract, graduating with degree, moved to a new location, retiring from service). Nothing major to stress over but know that inquiring minds want to know.

Tip 4: Screening question – “Why are you qualified for this role?” (Or “Why did you apply to this position?”)

The purpose of this question is to remind you to invest in your own job search with the decent amount of research, diligence, studying of the job description AND company. Gatekeepers are recruiters yes; but they don’t exist to find you a job. Their mission is to hire the best qualified candidates for their position;s preferably candidates who take the process seriously enough to study the job description requirements as well as know a little bit more about the company. Expect probing questions about minimum requirements such as your related education/certifications, examples with certain processes or technologies, and of course a few BBIQs. It’s your mission to convince us why you are a better qualified candidate compared with the one we just spoke with and the one we are calling immediately after you. If you don’t take your own job search seriously, don’t expect us to either.

Tip 5: Screening question – “Do you have any potential conflicts in the next few weeks and/or possibly preventing you from accepting an offer with us at the end of the month?”

As you’re figuring out, the questions being asked up front are not necessarily the only questions we’re looking to answer. A few things about this one. Yes, we want to know about your availability during our process and start planting the seed about potentially working at our company. But be prepared. We are going to dig deeper. This will lead to disclosing other companies (competitors) you may (or may not) be interviewing with and being considered at. This will also help us determine the “speed” (or lack thereof) of working with you. Do we have all the time in the world or do we need to fast track the process (to beat our competition). This question also helps us gauge your value (salary). This is all about supply and demand. The more demand there is for you (more companies interested in interviewing and potentially hiring you), the higher your perceived value. The more readily available you are (i.e. no other interests or interviews), the not so highly perceived value. Let us note however, legit companies in general will not low ball you. Repeat, legit companies in general will not low ball you. We will though, present a competitive and fair offer commensurate to your skills and abilities as relate to the job you applied to AND compared with your (future) peers who are doing the job now. We will not pay for your ability to steer a boat, drive a tank, hit a dollar bill at one mile…you get the point. And yes, this is a story best save for another day.

Remember – the Gatekeeper’s mission during the initial phone call is to screen out and get to a desired number of candidates to recommend to the Hiring Manager. That’s it! (At least during this phase of the process.)

As you digest this information, you’ll notice that the Gatekeeper’s line of questioning isn’t very technical or even hardcore. On the surface it’s a lot of admin types of questions, right? By no means are these questions all inclusive or close to being a complete line up of what you’ll be asked. You still have to do your diligence to research, study, prepare and by all means practice, practice, practice. And it starts with actually studying the job description and matching (tailoring) your resume to it. If you can’t do that, don’t expect the contact (phone call).

It’s with the hiring managers’ interviews however, where they’ll grill you deeper on your technical abilities; the ones you need to prove that you possess the skills and experience and show you can actually do the job. But to get there, you need to get past the Gatekeeper. Your candidacy is in her or his hands. The Gatekeepers recommend to (decide for) the hiring managers which candidates move on to the next round. The hiring managers of course make the final decision but remember they have their day jobs and existing teams to worry about at this time. So they pretty much defer to the Gatekeeper’s recommendations. It’s the Gatekeeper who decides Who lives, Who dies, Who gets to tell their story at the next round of interviews. And that’s key to corporate interviews; to keep getting to the next round until there are no more rounds of interviews and you land an offer.

For those of you who have gone through the phone screening interviews with a Gatekeeper, what’s your biggest lesson learned for surviving to the next round?

Welcome to this blog. In this series, we will reminisce about that we did not think we would ever miss before we got out; hopefully with a good dose of healthy humor. With tips, tricks and secrets to reintegrating back to the civilian workforce and with the proper mindset. And we welcome positive feedback from those of us who have already made the transition to the real world. xUSAmp is a group of determined veterans, allies and family members who have worked in corporate HR and specialize in preparing veterans and military spouses to transition to corporate America.