The Purpose of a Phone Interview

August 12, 2026
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The Purpose of a Phone Interview

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

 

In this video, Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter discusses the purpose of a phone interview from the employer’s perspective and from yours.

I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I’m referred to as The Big Game Hunter because I’ve been hunting down leaders and staff for organizations for 40-plus years.
Today’s video is about the purpose of a phone interview. And and I want to do it from both sides’ perspective.
Now, first of all, your side’s easy. Your purpose is to get to the face-to-face interview. In 999,000 times out of a million, no one’s ever hired on the basis of a phone interview. There are very, very rare exceptions, but usually a firm will want to meet someone before they hire you.
So, your job is to get to the actual in-person interview, and and I’ll give you a couple of suggestions for how to do that in a minute
The employer’s perspective is: number one, they’re trying to confirm that what piqued their interest about your background is actually true, that you have relevant experience. So, they may have some questions in their mind as to whether your experience is relevant. There may be something that’s causing them concern, or they’re looking for confirmation, which means they see your background is a great fit, and they’re trying to confirm that by speaking with you.
Now, really what they can confirm is a couple of pieces of objective information that comes through subjective questioning. Now, that sounds contradictory, but, you know, the questions that they use to evaluate involve some degree of subjectivity. And, you know, again, I’m going to get to how you can do your part of this most effectively in a moment.
So, the other thing that they can really evaluate is your energy level. Do you have passion? Do you have zeal? Do you have excitement for what you do? How does that come across in your voice? Do you speak in a slow, methodical, monotone manner that puts people to sleep, or do you demonstrate a degree of enthusiasm and excitement?
Now, your side of this: how do you demonstrate that you have some passion for what you do? How do you demonstrate that they don’t have to worry about you, that you do fit the role?
Now, even—there’s two parts to this, and I addressed one yesterday. If the call is coming out of the blue, then what I want to encourage you to do is to say something along the lines of, you know, and again from a corporation, not from a third-party recruiter, if the call’s coming from a corporation, I want to encourage you to say, “I’d love to speak with you. Can we schedule a time a little bit later? I’m about to go into a meeting,” “I have an appointment,” “I have—I want to give you full attention, so could we speak at about—” and you offer up a time.
Then you’ll go back and forth and schedule it. Understand that part of what you’ve now gotten from their phone call is who it is. You can reference your notes about the job that you might have submitted your application to. Or you can—before you jump off, say, “Could you tell me about the position that you’re trying to hire for?” and make them talk, and say, “Thanks. I look forward to speaking with you at, let’s say, 2:00,” whatever it is.
Then there’s the call that’s actually scheduled. And you now have a call set for 2:00, for example, and they call, and you start off the conversation with—and remember, scheduling can come from a third-party recruiter as well as from yourself. So, you start off the conversation by saying, “You know, I spoke with Jeff Altman about the position, and he gave me a brief summary, but I wanted to get your take on it. Could you tell me about the job as you see it, and what I can do to help you?”
And that way, they’re going to start off by talking about the position that they’re trying to fill, and you’ll get enough information so that when they start with, “Tell me about yourself,” and all the follow-up questions that come from your answer there, you can tailor your answers to what matters to them.
So again, the purpose of the phone interview from their standpoint is to screen you in or screen you out. They don’t want to waste time with someone who isn’t a fit. They want to confirm that you have the right background or get answers to a couple of basic questions that gave them hesitancy, but they’re willing to give it the benefit of the doubt with a phone call.
So this is Jeff Altman. Hope you found this video helpful. If you did and you’re watching on YouTube, share it, leave a comment, click the Like button, do something that lets people know this is a worthwhile video.
Now, I also want to encourage you: come over to—subscribe to my channel on YouTube, which is The Big Game Hunter TV. All one word: TheBigGameHunterTV. You’ll get notices whenever I do a new video for YouTube.
In addition, come over to JeffAltman.com. I’ve got a lot of great content there, including my videos, podcasts from my two radio shows, which are called Job Search Radio and No BS Job Search Advice Radio. I broadcast each weekly with advice for job hunters good anywhere in the world.
So this is Jeff Altman. Hope you have a great day. Take care.

 

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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER

People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ careers easier. Those things can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues. 

He is the producer and former host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3200 episodes.

Jeff Altman

You will find great info to help with your job search at my new site, ⁠⁠JobSearch.Community⁠⁠ Besides the video courses, books and guides, I answer questions from members daily about their job search. Leave job search questions and I will respond daily. Become an Insider+ member and you get everything you’d get as an Insider PLUS you can get me on Zoom calls to get questions answered. Become an Insider Premium member and we do individual and group coaching.

Schedule a discovery call at my website, ⁠www.TheBigGameHunter.us⁠ to discuss one-on-one or group coaching with me

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/T⁠⁠heBigGameHunter⁠

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