In the past two days I have had two phone interviews and they couldn’t have been more different. One was for a creative writing internship with an advertising agency and the other was for an editorial research internship with a life and style magazine. First of all, I think there are definitely some pros and cons to phone interviews so I decided to make a little list…

Pros:

*They can’t see you. So even if you’re a little nervous (like I was), they can’t see that in your body language. They can only detect it in your voice.

*It’s an open book test. You can easily refer to your cover letter, resume, sample responses to questions that you wrote out, and the company’s mission statement while they ask you questions.

* It’s casual. A phone call will always be more casual than an in-person meeting. The tone of the conversation is generally more relaxed and the dress code is too (No interview attire).

Cons:

*They don’t get a sense of who you really are. While its kind of comforting to be invisible, there are certain things you just can’t convey over the phone. Smiling, nodding and other bits of body language can’t tell them how much you want the position.

*Out of sight, out of mind. Chances are, they will pick a candidate they have had the chance to meet in person over someone they have only talked to over the phone.

*You can’t see their personality. One of the great things about an in-person interview is being able to see where you might be working. You get to see the office, meet people and get a better understanding of how the company works. All this is lost in a phone interview.

In the end, I think in-person interviews are better, even if they are a little scarier. You gain more from an in-person interview and the employer can get a much better idea of what you’re all about.

The interesting thing about my two phone interviews is that they were polar opposites. One was extremely relaxed. In fact, it was so casual that it was almost like having a conversation with an old friend. The other was much more intimidating. It felt like every question was a test and all my answers were being scrutinized. I guess the second one was more like a ‘real’ interview. It’s not that the second interview went poorly; it was just a lot more difficult than the first one.

If there is one thing I learned from these interviews is that it is extremely important to speak with authority. At one point during my intimidating interview I paused and the interviewer said, “you hesitated there.” I didn’t mean to hesitate, but one of his questions did catch me off guard. Its not that I am unsure of my skills, I am confident with my work experience (repeat to self). That’s why I think its important not to let nerves take over. Valinda once told me to practice saying accomplishment statements. Such as, “I have had lots of experience conducting research and doing fact-checks for The Student Life Newspaper.” When it comes to interviews I definitely think that is something that I will have to practice. I think it will make me a better interviewee and it will help me build even more confidence in my work experience.

It’s important to remember that these phone interviews are a good personal experience for me, whether or not they lead to an internship. The point is that I am learning how a professional interview actually works and that I am assessing my strengths and weaknesses along the way. Mastering the art of the phone interview, or any interview for that matter, is something that will take practice and time.