Guide to phone interviews

Due to geographical restrictions most of the time a phone interview is the one chance you have to get to know a company apart from our job description and their website. This is a dual task as firstly, it is important for you to make a good impression on the interviewer and secondly, you need to extract information about the job to make your final decision whether or not to do an internship with them.

Be prepared

Make sure that you get as much information as possible on the company you will be talking to. This is fairly easy in the case of corporations and most SMEs as they will usually have a comprehensive website. If no website is available, get information on the business area and the relevant market if possible.

Make sure that you clarify anything that is unclear on the job description form. It is very important for you to find out what the internship is about, what concrete jobs you will do and what responsibilities you will have. The following questions act as a guideline and should be asked unless the information can be found elsewhere, e.g. on the company’s website:

• At what stage of development has the company arrived so far?
  (number of employees, turnover, notable clients, market share)
• What is the potential for the company’s future development?
• What will my tasks be in detail? (description of a working day, work in a team or individually, any particular responsibilities)
• Is there a dress code?
• Do I have to bring a laptop?
• Will my job include interaction with clients/customers?

The best strategy for a job interview is to prepare well. In this way you can be sure to impress and get the information that is important to you. And when you get the job after all, the research you have done will sure put you ahead.

The Beijing Hutong School wishes you good luck!