Strategies for Making the Cut

As you seek your first full-time position, you may frequently be telephoned for screening interviews. These are brief phone interviews that help companies pare down a large number of applicants to a small list of candidates to invite for in-person meetings.

The hiring manager screening applicants is concerned mainly with how closely your skills and qualifications match the job description. Other key factors -- such as your "fit" with the organization -- are less important at this stage.

Since the "screener's" task is to eliminate all but the top candidates, your objective is to stay in the running and move ahead to the next phase of the interviewing process. Here are some tips:

• Be prepared to describe skills you've acquired and projects you've completed that match the job description. Use examples, also, to verify the information in your resume. You'll want to communicate your high level of interest in the field and the company. Express your motivation to work in the field, cite courses that proved exceptionally helpful and mention relevant internships, work experience and extracurricular activities.
• Respond to questions in an open, direct manner that communicates how eager you are to work hard and learn as much as possible about the field.
• If possible, gather information about the position that can provide a clearer picture of the job's responsibilities, and then focus your responses on aspects of your background that demonstrate your ability to fulfill these requirements.
• Even though the person screening applicants may be a mid-level employee with little influence on the final hiring decision, don't say or do anything that shows disrespect or impatience. Don't forget your objective: To convince the screener that you should be brought in for an in-person interview. Remember, too, that he or she is looking for a reason to eliminate you from the running in order to cut the field of candidates to a manageable number.

Occasionally, screening interviews are conducted in person by someone in the company's human resources department. The following pointers will help you put your best foot forward during these meetings, as well as interviews with hiring managers.

• Get off to a good start. First impressions are lasting; psychologists call this the "halo effect" -- a tendency to reconcile future judgements with initial impressions. If you're lucky, the interviewer will make things easy for you. He or she will either come out promptly to welcome you in the reception area or will make the initial overture when you walk into the office, shaking your hand and politely indicating where the interview is going to take place. If not, don't let a late start or a harried interviewer faze you. What you're encountering isn't necessarily rudeness; it's usually a busy person who would benefit from an able person such as yourself joining the team.
• The handshake is important. Once you meet the interviewer, let him or her take the lead. The one exception to this is when the interviewer is standing when you walk into the room and doesn't initiate the greeting. In this case, walk over, introduce yourself and extend your hand. Your handshake should be firm, but not bone-crushing.
• Break the ice, relax and focus. The first moments of an interview can be awkward. Experienced interviewers know this and will ask friendly questions about traffic or your trip to the office as a prelude to more serious inquiries. Ease into the meeting accordingly. Small talk at the beginning will give you a few moments to become comfortable.

To review, your ultimate goal in the screening interview is to make the cut while the interviewer's goal is to eliminate a majority of the candidates. To make the best possible case for yourself and advance to the next stage, be clear, direct and professional -- and stay focused on communicating how you meet the qualifications for the position.

-- Article courtesy of Accountemps, which has more than 240 offices in North America, Europe and Australia, and offers online job search services.