Help me sound professional in a phone interview

In addition to considering standing and/or taking the call in front of a mirror, I would also recommend dressing in interview attire just as you would for an in-person.

Ask the group to introduce themselves so that you know which voice belongs to whom. It's always impressive when someone in your circumstance can correctly address each participant by name. Be prepared with opening and closing statements so you can start and end strong. Use notepaper to cue yourself to include points you want to convey and to take notes on the questions so you can be certain you address them completely. If there's any doubt, ask if you answered the question; there's no bad outcome here because an affirmative response re-enforces your credentials and a followup question lets you fill gaps. Good luck!

Definitely smile. And stand up! These things will make you sound more engaged and personable. If you don't feel too weird, you could even do it in front of a mirror. Have a cheat sheet on hand. Don't be afraid to practice the answers to questions they will almost certainly ask you. Some typical questions/prompts to practice: - Tell us about what you're doing now. - Why are you interested in this position? - What do you know about what we do? Practice shorter and concise answers. Write some key words down that you want to be sure you work into some of your answers. Consider mentally counting to three before answering any questions. A brief pause is MUCH better than that awkward talking-over-someone-else thing that tends to happen. I've been in big group phone interviews before. They're not particularly unusual. Chances are that one main person will ask most of the questions and the others will leap in with questions here or there, but there's no way to predict that. Be sure to have a good question or two on hand as well - they'll ask you if you have questions and it is good to have them. DON'T ask about salary, timing or when you'll hear back - something more general about the company or position itself. Good luck!

A conference call is no big deal. The caller will set the agenda, listen actively, let them talk, answer questions as they pose them. They want to like you, and you want to like them. Speak to them as though you already work there. Smiling on your face can be heard through the phone so smile. If you're stumped by a question, say, "Gosh! That's a great question!" Then turn it around to something you know or ask them why they're asking it. I get multiple intervews all the time. They're maximizing their time and that's a good sign. Etiquette is use a land line, not your cell phone, if possible, it will reduce the static and noise. Do some basic research on the agency you're interviewing with, understand the mission, think about how you can fit in with the folks. Some good questions to ask are: 1. What kind of person are you looking for to fill this position? 2. What kind of people fit into your agency? 3. What is your culture there? This will give them a chance to open up and really tell you things you want to know. The more they talk, the better it is for you! Don't worry about vomiting your awesomeness on them, let them dazzle you with theirs!

One of the toughest aspects of phone interviews is that you can't use your interviewer's non-verbal reactions as cues for crafting your answers. As a result there's an unfortunate tendency for phone interviewees to drone on... and on... with an answer that is somewhat oblique to the question... before the interviewer can finally butt in and try to clarify. So I would definitely emphasize the advice already given to be concise in your answers, and also when possible to make your interview more a conversation and less of a short question-long answer-short question-long answer exchange. Definitely stand, smile, for God's sake keep your laptop closed the whole time, and if you tend to gesticulate with your hands in real life, do that too -- use a reliable headset rather than holding your handset/cell phone the whole time. I'm sure this goes without saying but if you're supposed to initiate the call, do it on time; if you're supposed to receive the call, be there to answer it. If you need to, hang a sign on your door that says "Do Not Disturb". Unless you think someone might be dying, do not accept a call waiting call. You think this is unnecessary advice; I've had phone interviewees do all of these (and worse)!

I think it's a good sign. These are all presumably busy people who have other things that they could be doing. The fact that they're taking time out of their schedules for this sounds like a potentially big deal. Be prepared for the unexpected. When I had a phone interview, they told me when I called that the head of the organization was also on the call. Yikes. Definitely smile! When I was dealing with lots of calls at work, I tried to pause before picking up the phone and smile. Smiling tells your body that you're happy and you can tell the difference on the phone between someone who is excited. Don't worry about pauses. Try to talk slowly. Prepare some questions that you would like to ask them. Think about closing lines. Relax. Good luck!

Speak slower than you think sounds normal. I'm the person at my company who organizes all the back and forth between candidates and our interviewers, and the number 2 complaint (number 1 is "this person is an idiot and is completely unqualified for the position") is that folks talk too fast. 90% of the feedback we have is "guy talked too fast." Speak slowly.

Call from a landline and use a corded phone. Cell phone + conference phone gets tricky. Do NOT use a speakerphone. Yes, stand up and act as if the people were in the room with you. Speak loudly, at the same volume you would if they were across the table from you. Do not breathe into the phone. Wait for people to finish speaking. There is a delay in conference calls and conference phones that there often isn't in a normal one on one conversation, so be aware of not jumping in too early. Try your best to speak in complete thoughts and in compact and complete blocks of speech. (If you leave a space in what you are saying before you are done, the others may interpret this as you being finished and they may interrupt you.) Unpack acronyms unless they are unambiguous. "SCUBA" can really only be SCUBA. But things like AD and DI and COO can be hard for the listener to parse on a weak connection. At least, introduce acronyms before using them. Also, try to lay out what you are going to say so people can follow along. If you have two points to make, say "I have two points to make on that. First.... And secondly..."

I survived! Thanks for all the advice, everyone. (Interestingly, they actually went though a list of questions in turn, all three people participating equally)