{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fe3b2e7ff-4262-4ef5-a90e-d265f82a17bb","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Tips to Make Sure You Don\u2019t Mess Up Your Next Phone Interview","description":"Phone interviews are the pre-screening of choice for most sports employers, so we will all have to face them at some point. How do you nail the phone interview so you can get the face-to-face one? That's the subject of this weeks Q&A!Hi everybody I\u2019m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Last week on our private facebook group I asked everyone to post a GIF that exemplifies the status of their sports job search.43 people responded\u2026 and they were pretty darn hilarious, but at the same time kind of depressing. 81% of the respondents had negative themes to their current job search.The cat running up a slide and getting nowhere\u2026 kid crying during a TV interview\u2026 a justin timberlake or two\u2026I mean I laughed a lot\u2026but it was sad, man.I want better things for all of you, that\u2019s why I do this damn show. I\u2019m not here for the sponsors\u2026 psst, there aren\u2019t any.Unemployment is low thanks to Obama, and we have over 10,000 sports jobs available on our site right now, so what is going wrong?\u00a0 Where is the disconnect between your skills and their openings?Before we get into today\u2019s question, which is related to this subject, you\u2019ll see\u2026I want you to go through a little checklist:As yourself:* Am I being too specific? \u2013 Sometimes you need to broaden your search and change what you are willing to accept as an entry level position to get things started.* Am I being too rigid on where? I\u2019ve said it many times before, you often need to relocate for sports careers \u2013 go where the opportunities are, take some chances, sports isn\u2019t a passive industry, you can\u2019t wait for something to come to your door. Also, make this clear in your cover letter. Finish off by saying something like \u2013 \u201cWhile I am not currently local to the Pittsburgh area, I am willing and anxious to relocate for an opportunity like yours.\u201d Phrase it better, but let it be known relocating is not an issue.* Are you lacking primary skills? You need the tangibles! What do you have that they need \u2013 if you can\u2019t answer that question, you have work to do.* Have you done a personal audit? Check yourself and your skill set against job descriptions. Where are the gaps?* Are you networking? If you aren\u2019t connecting with all of the gueests on this show \u2013 if you are active on LinkedIn sharing, commenting and liking, if you aren\u2019t going to your career center and finding out about alumni in your area of expertise \u2013 you are not working hard enough at getting a job. It\u2019s work \u2013 put in the time.Alright let\u2019s get on to today\u2019s question \u2013 this one comes from Morgan in South Bend \u2013 I have known Morgans who are men, and Morgan\u2019s who are women, so I will not specify gender and I will not judge.\u00a0Morgan asks \u2013I\u2019ve been binge listening to your podcast and I have to say I love it, I can\u2019t believe how much advice you give that motivates and inspires me to take action.[thanks morgan]You\u2019ve talked a lot about interview techniques including video interviews\u2026 but I have a phone interview next week that I am very nervous about. Do you have any tips?YES! I\u2019ll tell you this, I hate phone interviews. They always feel off-rhythm to me. I know for me personally I feed off of body language and reading the room\u2026 without that I feel like I\u2019m trying to play basketball with both my hands tied behind my back.Which means I dribble with my face. Which is awkward.That said, phone interviews are a reality of our world and the most common pre-screening used before bringing someone in for an in person interview\u2026 so we all must deal.Here are a few tips to help smooth out this phone conversation:Let\u2019s start with a couple easy logistical issues that are pre-interview \u2013 remember someone has to call you first to set up the interview:1: Check your voicemail outgoing message.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4ee5839c-5df6-4a6b-8f99-d9ef5931a580/wispod-cover.png"}