Do Your Homework to Get Work

You've sent out résumés and applied for numerous job openings. If you're fortunate, you've received acknowledgements, and a long period of silence has followed.

Suddenly, finally, it comes—an e-mail or phone call: "Can we talk about your interest in the job?"

Perhaps no call provokes as much elation and anxiety as an invitation to interview. In today's challenging economy with rising unemployment, just receiving an interview is a cause for celebration. Sure, this is the call all job hunters await anxiously; but now what should you do?

Handling the Initial Phone Conversation
Employers may want to speak with you on the phone before inviting you into their offices. Their calls may be simply to confirm your interest and to schedule an in-person interview, or they may give you a rigorous screening interview.

If the employer wants the initial interview to be over the phone, don't feel obligated to launch right into the conversation unprepared. You don't want the recruiter to think you've been sitting waiting for a call. It’s perfectly fine to say, "I don't have the time for a lengthy conversation right now, but I am available later today or tomorrow morning." 

Use the time you've requested to prepare some questions. When you call the employer for the first time, be prepared to ask the following:

1. What about my application prompted your interest?
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