You have applied for a job and you have given all your detailed contacts. It is possible to happen that the employer chooses to interview you through the phone. Phone interview method is very common in hiring and it is among 4 successful interview techniques. It might be the first step before giving you an appointment to another meeting. Here is an article about the common phone interview questions that usually happen to every job seeker.

But first, they will call you to check your identity and your application. Don’t be hesitant or stressful. It’s just a simple inquiry. They need to valid some information. So you have to go in a quiet place and concentrate on the question. There are many typical questions asked during a phone interview. They can be considered as some general questions as well. This is a guide including samples of these telephone interview questions to ask with their example answers.

1. Tell me about yourself/introduce yourself to me.

In this question, hiring managers usually start their phone interview by asking about you. So, you have to know how to introduce yourself. You can include some personal details, giving the employer an idea about your situation

A sample answer: “I am a 22 years old fresh graduate. I am interested in software engineering job in Pakistan and I saw a post on website, requiring experienced engineers. But I have a good academic level and an extensive educational background.

2. Describe yourself.

This question is similar to the first one, but the employer wants to know how you visualize yourself. Instead of taking about your qualifications, you can talk about your skills and qualities that make you perfect for the job.

A sample answer: “I am a creative person. I can speak more than 3 languages and I interested in making new discoveries. I am also very sociable and can maintain good ties with others. 

3. Why are you applying for this position?

This is a very common telephone intervieew question that every employer asks. It is meant for seeking a genuine purpose in you for choosing this position. To answer this question, you should use the details listed in the job description and persuade the interviews that the description of the job matches with your skills.”

4. Why do you want this job?

Recruiters ask such a phone interview question to see how much this job means to you. In this situation, you should explain why you want this specific job.

A sample answer: “compared to my previous working experience, this job is very specific and includes many interesting offers. This position offers facilities such as transport and foreign exchange. That’s why I want to be hired for that position in particular.

5. Tell me what you know about the role that seems interesting for you.

Employers ask this question to see if you are acquainted with the different job departments or the basics of the position you’re applying for. It would reveal to them if you have carefully read the job description and if you are serious in maintaining a long-term working experience with them.

A sample answer: “the role in your firm consists of maintaining finances and I saw in the job description that you are looking for a software engineer to provide support to the department’s financial activities. That’s why I have filled the company’s form in my online application.  

6. What motivates you to work here?                           

Your phone interviewer wants to see the motives behind your application. This sounds very close to the question related to your application choices. To answer this question, you should give positive reviews about this position.

Know How to Keep your employees Motivated on Job with Job Enrichment technique

A sample answer: What motivates me in this job is the ability to work from home. This feature enables me to earn time and efforts and to work in my comfort zone

7. What are your future contributions to the job?

Employers might ask this question during your phone interview to see if you are going to stick to your future promises.

A sample answer: “I’m looking for opportunities to develop my skills. Working inside your company would give me abundant experience in managing and organizing schedules. So my future contributions would be employing this experience in achieving better results.

8. What can you do other than your professional experience?

This phone interview question seeks to determine your extra efforts that can be interesting to the company. Your answer depends of what kind of extra work you can offer.

A sample answer: I can set an extra plan for an online working team and supervise them in order to earn space and energy inside the company.

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9. What are your salary expectations?

This is a very recursive question that wants to know the candidate’s target salary. They want to see if the salary you expect aligns with what they have budgeted for the role. To answer this question, it is best to give examples of what you or your colleagues used to earn, by working in similar conditions. You can also negotiate your salary in an acceptable and normal part of the hiring process.

A sample answer: “For this position my ideal salary would fall in the range of $55,000 to $65,000. I feel that this is a very common in other companies.  

10. Are you interviewing with other companies?

Employers want to see whether you have applied to many companies or you are just committed to them. If you are already interviewing for other positions, for example, you might be a higher-risk candidate than those simply in the searching phase. To answer this question, be honest about your application and inform them if you have applied for other positions.

A sample answer:  “I applied to other job positions and am waiting for their response. But I am looking forward to calling me again for the next  hiring level.

These are top 10 commonly telepehone interview questions to ask any candidate. If you want to make the most from an interview then learn some Interview skills. In addition, you need to get ready for subject specific interview questions from your hiring manager. For example, if you are a computer science professional then some questions may be related to PHP, programming or OOP.

Prepare Well for Job Interview in Pakistan !