Is your phone costing you your dream job?

Communicating with candidates is primarily done through the use of phones, with a few emails here and there, meaning you need to be ready to pick up the phone or receive that voicemail.

We’ve put together 4 things you can do today to ensure your phone is ready for your job hunt.

1. Keep your ringer on:

It’s understandable that you may want to keep your phone on silent like many people do… but as soon as you embark on your job hunt journey, get into the habit of keeping your ringer on. Especially remember to keep it at a volume where you can hear it, whenever possible.

Not hearing a call from a hiring manager could potentially cost you that opportunity you really, really want…

For example, according to new data provided by the UK’s leading independent job board, the administration sector has the highest level of competition with an average of 57 applicants per job! Coming in second was the customer service sector with an average of 37 applicants per job, closely followed by the distribution sector with an average of 36!

Don’t let your phone being on silent be the reason that you don’t secure your dream job.

2. Answer ALL the calls you receive:

Yes, we all love to ignore many calls we get when our caller ID hasn’t specified who is on the other end. However, during a job search you will receive calls from hiring managers using unknown numbers that you will need to answer.

Get into the habit of picking up your phone whenever you can, even if you have to hang up on a few robot calls here and there.

It’s also a great idea to set up your Bluetooth on your phone so that you are able to answer calls through a hand’s free device as you drive.

3. Clean up your voicemail box:

It is quite common that some hiring managers don’t even get the opportunity to speak to successful applicants about their job offer as their mail box is full.

Be aware that just because you have listened to the voicemail doesn’t mean it has been deleted from your mail box; you may have to do it manually.

It’s important not to rely on your smart phone to notify you that your mailbox is almost full, as those messages can get lost in a sea of notifications.

4. Create a professional outgoing voicemail message:

Most of our daily interactions are being completed via text, email or video chat meaning you may not have thought of your outgoing voicemail message for a while.

When you start your job hunt, make sure your message is formal and professional.

An example could be:

“Hi, this is Daisy Jones. I can’t answer the phone right now but please leave me your name and number and I will return your call as soon as possible”

Job searching can take time so don’t make the mistakes mentioned above… you would never forgive yourself! Take these points into consideration today in the hope of securing your dream job in the future.

Why not also take a look at our previous post on how to recruitment-proof your social media, it could also cost you your dream job.

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