I found an article today meant to prepare hiring managers for conducting a phone interview. So using the steps outlined in the article, here are suggestions for job seekers for responding to a phone interview.

Step 1:  Introduction. This is when the hiring manager will introduce himself / herself and let you know how the interview will progress.

A lot of times, phone interviews can come as a surprise - the hiring manager may not schedule the phone interview ahead of time to see how you react to the situation. My first tip: answer the phone! If you let the call go to voicemail because you don't recognize the number or you want more time to prepare, then you're prompting the hiring manager to immediately call the next person on their list. If that person does pick up, you may have just lost your shot at moving to the next round of interviews. My second tip: If you don't recognize a number that shows up on your Caller ID, answer with "so-and-so speaking." Even if it's not a hiring manager on the other end, you'll still come off as professional and put-together. Which is never a bad thing.

Step 2: Provide a Brief Company Commerical. The hiring manager will give you some background information about the company with which you're interviewing.

If you weren't expecting the call, you might use this brief window to mentally prepare yourself for the question round and start thinking up some killer answers. Don't. What you should be doing is carefully listening to everything the hiring manager says. During any interview round, your questions are evaluated just as much as your answers. So even if you feel you aced the hiring manager's questions, a lack of intelligent, comprehensive questions on your end about the position or the company itself may be your downfall.

Step 3: Provide a Brief Job Description. The hiring manager will fill you in on some of the details of the position.

If you found this job particularly interesting, you probably have a good handle on what the job entails. But if you are desperate for a job and have applied to many in a short amount of time, you may have confused the details of each. Regardless of what bucket you fall under, pay attention. Listening carefully to the job description will help you know which areas of your background and experience to highlight when the hiring manager (finally) starts to ask you some questions. Just as with your resume, you want to make sure your responses are similar in wording to the job description. So if you can take notes, do it.

Step 4: Get the Facts First. This is when the hiring manager will verify your current employment information and may ask about your income requirements / expectations.

Income is a tricky subject. If you send your resume and cover letter electronically, it is easy enough to ignore the topic altogether - although it may not be in your favor to do so. But when asked directly over the phone, you have to respond. How you phrase your answer depends on how comfortable you are with the subject and how confident you are in your qualifications for this position. Generally speaking, it is best to be rather vague - unless you truly have an income requirement, in which case you should be upfront about it. If not, stick with something like, "At my current position my income is in *this* range, and I would like to, at the very least, stay towards the top of that range. However, I am very interested in this position and am willing to be flexible."

Step 5: Ask Basic Questions. The hiring manager will ask you the usual, "What skills do you think someone in this type of role must have to succeed?" or, "What is your greatest professional weakness?"

When on the responding-side of a phone interview, these questions seem anything but basic. The upside: there's usually nothing too shocking in a phone or first-round interview. Chances are that if you've prepared answers for these types of questions in the past (and have been successful!), you'll be just fine. If not, you'll need to think on your feet. Don't buy yourself time with "Ummmm...Uhhh." Try to be creative while stalling! It may seem like poor advice to stall in your interview, but if you can take a few seconds to collect your ideas and give a thoughtful response, it's worth it. Use something like, "Hmm. I was actually just thinking about this the other day."

Step 6: Conclusion. This is where the hiring manager will wrap things up.

This is a great time to ask those intelligent, comprehensive questions you thought up! You don't want to take up too much more time (and you probably want to save some for the next interview), so try not to ask more than two questions. And remember to thank your interviewer at the end and remind them that it was very nice to speak with them. Even if you felt the interview didn't go very well, leaving a positive, polite impression is always in your favor. If the next candidate seems like he/she might be a good fit for the position but is rude and difficult to speak with, you may just get called back.