Usually you will have no advance warning before you receive a call. You may answer the telephone perhaps expecting to hear your mother, your date, or a persistent salesperson only to find yourself speaking with a recruiter who holds your future in his or her hands. Keep a copy of your cover letter and resume handy. Keep paper and pencil near the telephone at all times. Be sure that everyone who answers your telephone understands you may receive an important, employment-related call at any time.
All Recruiters recognize that an unexpected call places some stress on the job applicant.
Among other things, interviewers want to evaluate your ability to handle the situation in a calm, mature manner. If you have an answering machine, be sure your message is clear, concise and reasonably businesslike. Once you realize the call relates to your job search, make every effort to put yourself into the proper frame of mind to be interviewed. If there are distracting background noises, ask the caller for permission to leave the line while you close the door, turn off the stereo, tell others who may be present that you have an important call, or do whatever is necessary to give yourself privacy and quiet. If the telephone rings at a time when it truly is impossible to hold a meaningful conversation, tell the caller that although you are eager to talk, you cannot speak freely at the moment.