How do I prepare for a phone screening?

Phone screenings can come in all forms.

Usually, phone screenings are short, 10-15m phone calls to see if they’d like to interview you (take you to the next round). Basically, they are a very short interview.

Usually, there is a small amount of “small talk”. Sometimes, there is none. Be ready for small talk anyway.

Usually, we find they ask these questions:

• Why do you want this job?
• Tell me about yourself.
• Do you have experience with XYZ technologies?
• What experience do you have?
• What are your working rights?
• What visa do you hold?
• What’s your salary expectation?
• How much notice would you have to give your current employer if you were selected for the?
• Specific technical questions related to the role [if for a technical role]
• Do you have any questions for me?

So, how should we prepare?

To prepare, I recommend:

1. Going through the interview training (3.1 and 3.2 in Week 7) as this will prepare you for everything they might throw at you.
2. Sending your interview bullets (draft answers) to [email protected] for review, especially for the main questions: tell me about yourself, why do you want this job etc.
3. Book in a practice interview with Mackenzie beforehand if possible
4. Find people in the group to practice with on top of practice with Mackenzie (link on how to do that here)