The phone screen
Usually fifteen to twenty minutes with a recruiter checking basics: are you real, are you available, what are your salary expectations, why did you leave. Take it somewhere quiet, stand up, have your resume and the posting in front of you, and treat it as the interview it is.
Answering behavioral questions
Most interviews now ask you to describe past situations. Structure the answer: the situation, your task, the actions you took, the result. Keep it under two minutes. Prepare six stories in advance covering a conflict, a mistake, a deadline, a difficult customer, a process you improved and a time you learned something fast. Those six stories answer about thirty standard questions.
The questions everybody gets
- Tell me about yourself: ninety seconds, professional only, ending at why you are here.
- Why did you leave: short, neutral, forward looking, never bitter about a former employer.
- What is your weakness: a real one, with what you do to manage it.
- Where do you see yourself: growth within this kind of role, not their job.
- Salary expectations: a researched range, with a willingness to discuss the whole package.
Questions to ask them
Always have four ready. What does success look like in the first ninety days? What does a typical week look like? Why is the role open? What is the team like? Asking nothing reads as not caring.
Practical details
Confirm the address and parking the day before, arrive ten minutes early and not thirty, bring printed copies of your resume, dress one level above the workplace norm, put the phone away entirely. For a video interview, test the camera and microphone in advance, sit with light in front of you rather than behind, and look at the camera when you speak.
Afterward
Send a thank you email within twenty four hours to everyone you met, referencing something specific from the conversation. It is a small effort that a surprising number of candidates skip, and hiring managers notice.