Interviewing Skills: Starting with the Phone

Quick quiz:  When searching for a job in medical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, pharmaceutical sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, medical device sales, cellular products sales, molecular products sales, or biotechnology sales, which of these greetings are appropriate for your voicemail?

a)  “In case you have forgotten, this is a machine — my owner does not want siding, the newspaper, or the carpets cleaned. He donates to charity through hiss office and does not want his picture taken. If you’re still with me, leave a message and we’ll see if he calls you back.”

b)  “Hello… Do you ever get the ones where someone says ‘Hello!’, and there’s a long pause, so you think you’re talking to an actual person. Then you begin speaking, and after you say about two words you hear, ‘We can’t come to the phone right now.’ I really hate that!”

c)  “How do you leave an idiot in suspense? Leave a message and I’ll get back to you…”

Go on, guess…

While funny greetings can be more entertaining than the standard, “You have reached 555-1234, please leave a message,” they are obviously not appropriate for someone who might be receiving calls from medical sales recruiters or potential employers. 

Equally bad:

ME: Hello, may I speak with Melissa?

THEM: Ummm, (short pause) she’s not here.

(silence)

ME: Well, do you know when I might be able to reach her?

THEM: Nope.

(more silence)

ME: Could I leave a message for her?

THEM: I guess.

ME: Can you please have her call Joy at (555) 55…

THEM: (exasperated sigh) Hang on, I don’t have a pencil. (Sound of phone dropping and papers rustling. What seems like several minutes pass, the phone is picked up, and they say…) OK.

ME: Please have her call Joy at (555) 555-5555.

THEM: (just silence)

ME: Did you get it?

THEM: Umm, yeah.

ME: Thanks.

THEM: (quickly hangs up)

This is from a great article on Telephone Skills which offers critical advice for how to train your children to answer the phone.  However, one mom I know bypasses this altogether by forbidding the children to answer.  They listen to the answering machine first to see if it’s for them before they pick it up.

When you record your voicemail greeting, you’re marketing and didn’t even know it. 

This is a prime opportunity to give people a 10 second screen shot of your personality. Your voicemail greeting should include, without fail, your name, a thank you to the caller, instructions to leave a name and number, and a timeframe in which you’ll return their call (I like within 24 hours). Infuse some personality. Be happy they called. Then call them back.

No music, rhyming, or quirky statements.  Your voicemail greeting is often the first contact people have with you, so you should be mindful of what kind of impression you’re giving them. 

I found some Tips to Improve Your Company’s Image through E-mails and Voicemails that you can use on your personal phone.  Things like:  keep it to 30 seconds or less, eliminate background noise, and offer an alternative way to contact you, such as a website or e-mail.

Why is this so important?  According to Top Ten Reasons I Rejected Your Resume, #2 is:  Okay, so I liked your resume, and called you for an interview, but your voicemail greeting was highly unprofessional.

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