Online Facilitating Interview U must read this

Hi guys have just been scheduled for a job interview (facilitating)
for an online university. This is my first experience if I become
successful. The interviewer informed me by e-mail that he is going to
have a 30 minutes phone interview with me. I am wondering what I
should get myself prepared for. Please does anybody out there know?
Please let me know. This is surprising to me after a lot of trials and
rejections. I am currently working on my PhD

 

Keep a stiff upper lip. Be prepared to explain why the individual ought to hire you. This is your chance to make a sales pitch, so to speak. Often interviewers like to throw an open-ended question at you like, "Tell me your whole life story from your earliest memories." Most of all, the interviewer is interested to know that you are capable of doing the job. Attitude is everything. Persistence and determination are everything. Knock 'em dead!

 

When I was involved in hiring four adjunct faculty to be US facilitators for the University of Leicester's DL Masters in Training, we made a 30-minute-or-so phone call to 20 people on the short list from 450 applicants.

Our British colleagues said they pay attention to the three 'disqualifiers' in the splendid parlor game "Just a Minute" -- deviation, repetition, and hesitation. This was good advice.

We had a list of a dozen or so questions. The first variable we noticed was a wide variation in how long they talked, and whether they rambled. We had some 'motor mouths' who spend 10 minutes responding to question #1.

Be sure not to ask how's the weather in Monrovia.

 

Thanks guys

 

A few more generic phone interview tips...

Most of this will be common sense, but based on years of interviewing candidates by phone, some of these things certainly bear repeating.

Prior to the time of the scheduled phone interview, prepare yourself as though you would be preparing for an in-person interview. You, obviously, don't really need to be in a suit and tie, but if they will be calling you at home, get dressed and out of the pj's or sweats. Believe it or not, it really makes a difference in the way candidates tend to present themselves by phone.

If possible, try to schedule it for the time of day that you are normally at your peak.

Make sure you are in a very quiet room and that you will have no interruptions. Turn off cell phones and pagers, let the dog out, shuffle the kids off to nana's and turn off the TV or radio. A colleague of mine did a phone interview with a guy once who had Roadrunner (me..meep!) cartoons blaring in the background.

Keep a copy of your resume in front of you so that you may refer to it during the interview. Jot down a list of your accomplishments and career highlights. Also, prepare a short list of questions that you want to cover with the interviewer, should the opportunity arise. (Make sure these are quiet papers, as no interview wants to 'hear' a candidate referring to his or her notes and cheat sheets -- rustling and shuffling of papers is not good.)

Make sure you have a bottle of water within reach and feel free to take a quiet drink so that your throat doesn't get dry and your voice doesn't crack during the interview.

And, finally...SMILE (people really CAN hear you smile on the phone)...speak slowly and relax!

Good luck...

Mary