Phone interviews - Advice needed

[drosophilist]

All,

I was wondering what I should expect from a phone interview. I'm an international in Australia and I have just been invited by my DREAM SCHOOL so I'm really very excited and that excitement is channeling itself into nervous impulses.

1: Are the sorts of things discussed during phone interviews different to those discussed during in-person interviews, the whole what is each person interested in and then looking for a fit. For some reason, I seem to associate them with more sell-yourself requirement. Is this an incorrect assumption?

2: What are the normal rates of acceptance from phone interviews? I suspect, but again I could be wrong, that the phone interviews reach a larger pool of candidates than in-person interview weekends. If anyone can cast any light on this, it would be great.

3: Would it be bad to ask the administrator who is scheduling the call any of these things?

4: Any advice generally about phone interviews?

Thanks muchly!

[rising_star]

I would say that phone interviews are kinda similar to in-person interviews. You need to have questions to ask them and they'll have questions to ask you. Definitely be prepared. As for acceptance rates and all that, I think it varies depending on the program.

General advice: Be somewhere quiet and on a stable landline. Take a notepad with you that you've jotted down important things on but also so you can make notes (write your questions down here). Don't let anything interrupt you. Never interrupt the person asking you a question. Be polite. Say Thank You at the end.

[frankdux]

Answer the phone like Kramer by either picking up and saying "Go!" or by pretending to be MovieFone. Then, when asked about your research interests go off on a tangent about your friend Bob Sacamano. Also, you should take the call while in the middle of an hour long shower where you are preparing a meal for elaine and puddy.

[rollinson]

Answer the phone like Kramer by either picking up and saying "Go!" or by pretending to be MovieFone. Then, when asked about your research interests go off on a tangent about your friend Bob Sacamano. Also, you should take the call while in the middle of an hour long shower where you are preparing a meal for elaine and puddy.

As testament to how this whole process can get to your head, or perhaps merely to my own insanity:

When I first read your suggestion, I glanced at it quickly. In this quick glance, I thought you said "in the shower with Elaine," which somehow put my brain into action debating the sexual prowess/abilities of the four main cast members. Thank you for that spur.