After you mail your applications and while you are waiting for the phone to ring is a good time to create a mini-job log to have near the phone. My advice to job-searchers without photographic memory is to make a list of the companies at which they've applied and the titles of the positions applied for. Some people even list qualifications requested for each position. (See a Sample Phone Interview Log.) Thus, if you are called by hiring staff, you will have some idea of which job they're calling about. This week of phone interviewing has really sensitized our staff to this issue. Ideally, the interviewer would like to think his or her company is the only employer to which you've applied. But this hope dies quickly when you say something to the effect of "now what job is this again; I've applied for so many….?" At best, it makes you look disorganised and at worst as if you are sending out hundreds of resumes desperately.

When You Miss the Contact
If the hiring staff leaves a message for you, return the call as soon as you can. As you are returning the call, remember that the recruiter may have called 10 other people that day about the same or a different position. When you return the call, give your full first name and last name and indicate that you are returning the recruiter's call regarding the xxx position.

If the message was left for you at 1 pm, and you didn't get it until you returned home at 7:30, call and leave a voicemail then. In this circumstance, voicemail is your friend. Again, give your full first name, last name, specific position and your contact information for the next business day. Caution! Be prepared in case the recruiter is still there at 7:30 and wants to do a phone interview right then!

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Read our other article on Telephone Interviews Part 1 & Part 2

Next week, the interview and what you do after

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