Tips for telephone and video conference interviews

Total views: 1706 With markets continually changing around the globe, legal secretaries are constantly reassessing their current location and whether or not to move to another part of the world.  This is especially true for legal secretaries in New Zealand.  The most common move for these secretaries is to find legal jobs in Australia closely followed by legal jobs in the UK and the Middle East.

When trying to obtain a job in an overseas location, it is likely that your interviews will occur over the telephone or via video conference.  Both of these are widely known as two of the toughest forms of interviewing. 

During a telephone interview, the only "picture" the firm will have of you as a person will be from what is projected through your voice.  These are our tips for a telephone intervew:

1. Make sure you are in a quiet room with no interruptions.  Do not have the TV or radio on in the background and make sure no friends or family members will interrupt you.
2. Try to be in a room that closely resembles a normal interview room for example a home office.  Some people even find they perform better if they dress in a suit as they would for a normal interview.
3. Conduct the interview sitting down, not moving around on a mobile phone.
4. Try to conduct the interview over a land line rather than a mobile phone as this will avoid the call dropping out which can be frustrating for yourself and the interviewer.
5. Be conscious of your tone of voice.  This is the only "vision" the interviewer will have of you as a person.  If you are whispering it will seem as though you aren't confident.  Sit up straight, hold your head high and speak with a strong tone of voice but not a loud voice.
6. At the end of the interview thank the interviewer for their time and let them know that you would love the opportunity to meet with them again either in person or via video conference (depending on your situation)

Interviewing over video conference can be a little bit easier than the phone as you can see who is interviewing you and they can see you.  There are some important factors to keep in mind though.  Our tips for video conference interviews are as follows:

1. Make sure your personal presentation is immaculate including a full suit and collared shirt.  For the ladies, make sure your hair and make up are top notch. After all, you will be appearing on tv!
2. Be aware that video conferences sometimes experience a delay so it's very important to be sure that the interviewer has finished speaking before you answer the question. If you are experiencing a delay let the interviewer know just so they are aware of that.
3. Try to minimise your movement.  A lot of movement on screen can be distracting when there is a delay.  Make sure you are always looking straight ahead, nodding and smiling when appropriate and use of one hand for hand gestures is fine.

There are many law firms in the Middle East who are once again looking to these types of interviews to bring talented legal secretaries into the market.  The same opportunities are starting to be on offer with Australian law firms.  If you are interested in international legal secretarial jobs please get in touch with GR Law to find out more.