Whether you like using the phone or not, there are times when the phone is not your friend. One such time is when a job interviewer calls and wants to interview you over the phone. Run, don’t walk, from this situation.

Generally we think of a job interview as a face-to-face interaction with a company’s hiring decision maker. But sometimes unbeknownst to us we’re expected to respond on the spur of the moment to a disembodied voice on the telephone. While they may be “convenient” for companies, telephone interviews aren’t beneficial to anyone, but especially you.

First, you don’t have the opportunity to create that important first impression. No one’s going to see your dazzling smile, freshly polished shoes, beautifully-styled hair, confident walk, or dress-for-success outfit. No one will feel your firm handshake.

By the same token, you won’t be able to assess the interviewer and how you’re being received. You won’t be able to monitor the full range of nonverbal behaviors to tell you what the interviewer is really saying and adapt to its nuances. You won’t know to correct subtle misperceptions.

But perhaps more importantly, telephone interviews frequently don’t allow you to prepare yourself. This alone can create situational and free-floating anxiety. But if you’re telephonophobic, socially anxious, or just plain uncomfortable presenting yourself on the phone where your life hangs on whatever rolls trippingly off your tongue, then your anxiety can turn into paralysis…and seal your doom, leaving you looking as if you have delusions of adequacy.

Like many job hunters, I have experienced the telephone interview disaster. The interviewer hadn’t designated a specific time. I was caught off guard when the phone rang and it was the interviewer. All I could think was, “Huh? Ad? Which ad was that?” And the harder I thought, the worse things got.

Even when the caller described the position to me, it was only vaguely familiar because I’d recently applied to at least a dozen positions. I was still frantically pawing through my papers as the caller began the interview. But trying to read and listen at the same time only made things worse.

The anonymous caller was the one in control. He had defined the situation, determined when he would call, what he would ask, and how I would be able to respond. I felt compelled to blindly follow his lead – even to my own destruction. Imagine what would happen if you called Robin Williams, Steve Martin, or Dave Chappelle at 3 a.m., waking them, saying, “You claim to be funny. Okay, go ahead and prove it.” They can’t and you can’t either.

To prevent a recurrence I mapped out a game plan for myself. If I couldn’t have a scheduled in-office interview, I had to have a scheduled phone interview. If possible, I wanted to call them to give yourself a psychological edge. I posted a copy of my script over my desk and by the phones.

To prepare for the interview

– Know that you as a job seeker are going to have to carry the ball for 80 per cent of the interview
– Know what questions are likely to be asked and have your answers ready
– Have vignettes ready that show what you’ve accomplished and the results
– Know the company and job and ask carefully-targeted questions
– Have all your materials ready and on-hand, preferably in notes or keyword format so you don’t have to do a lot of reading to find what you want
– Sound friendly, courteous, and professional
– Follow up the call with a thank-you/summarization note, emphasizing your match with the position and the benefits you’ll bring to the company

When the phone isn’t your friend, you can at least keep it from becoming your enemy

As she gestured expansively, long wisps of blonde hair played around her tanned face. Julie Kurlan appeared to glow with vitality. Her blue eyes shone. “I realize now more than I did in the beginning that I’m in the one percentile and there’s a reason for it,” said the 51-year-old mother of three and part-time web designer. “When you’re dealt a hand like cancer, there are only two ways you can go: Positively or negatively.”

Sitting on her overstuffed living room couch, she leaned forward, rested her hands on her knees, and became more serious for a moment. “If you act as though you’re going to die, that’s the story you write for yourself. If you make the disease the end-all and be-all of your life, it’s like having a recurrence of it. You’re living it. You’re the one in charge of your body and mind. You’re the author of your story,” she said.

“Instinctively I knew I had to surround myself with positive people, my family and friends,” Kurlan continued. “So I laid down the ground rules. ‘If you cry, you don’t help me.’ So if friends cried, they cried at home. I set the tone and they followed my lead.”

The corners of her eyes crinkled again. She smiled broadly and fell back against the thick cushions. It was with this determination, openness, and life-affirming energy, said Kurlan, that she dealt with her own breast cancer two years ago.

What did Kurlan learn going through surgery, breast reconstruction, aggressive chemotherapy, and hair loss? “The stresses in life? Forget them. You don’t need to get upset when someone cuts in front of you in traffic. And why not enjoy a rainy day. You can do what you thought you couldn’t. You have to.”

“You’d be surprised at some of the changes that came with this new perspective. My communication skills have actually improved. If I was a good listener before, I’m twice as good now. I really hear every little word. Also I’m more open. I’ve encouraged people to ask questions. I did such a good job that people don’t think of me as having had cancer.”

One of the biggest changes Kurlan has noted as a result of this process is being on a different level of thinking. “Now,” she said, “I would never think of postponing something until tomorrow. I was a champion procrastinator and squandered time. Now if I want to say something to my 22-year-old daughter, Sara, I say it. I don’t wait for the ‘right’ time, whatever that is. I think everyone who’s had cancer wants to get more intensely involved with life. There’s definitely a greater sensitivity to time and people. For me there’s also greater patience.”

Kurlan believes that whatever awareness you had before is heightened. Suddenly you’re more focused, particularly outside yourself. “Maybe,” she said, “that’s what allows you to eliminate all those small stresses. While coping with life and all its problems, especially cancer, is difficult, I’ve found, surprisingly, that it’s not as difficult as one may think.”

With an impish glint in her eye, she leaned forward again. “Look,” she said, “I’m here. I feel fine. I look fine.” Then she tossed her wheat-colored mane and laughed ebulliently. “And, I’m having a ball! How many others, with or without cancer, can say that.”

Imagine yourself dealing with the following situation: VanCleef Cosmetics has become one of the great business success stories of all time. Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy a mere three years ago, the company regained solid ground in one year, and since has pushed sales to $100 million.

VanCleef’s new CEO, Estee Rubinstein, pulled off this coup on the strength of a revolutionary new VanCleef product, “24K Glow” – high-priced, gold-infused liquid makeup designed to give the wearer the “look of elegant wealth.” “24K Glow” captured 38 per cent of the market.

That was until television’s hottest game-show personality, Vanna Gonn, awoke one morning to find her face splotched with green. The following day Gonn’s lawyer filed a $100 million suit against VanCleef, claiming the gold in her face makeup had reacted with her body chemistry and permanently dyed her skin, ruining her career.

As a problem solver brought in by VanCleef, what would you advise? Tell the National Inquirer that Vanna was abducted by extraterrestrials? Ignore Vanna, suggesting to the press that anyone who turns letters for a living is suspect?

Problems, problems, problems. We’re constantly bombarded by them. How do we deal with them? Unfortunately our natural tendency is to grab hold of the first thing that comes to mind and run with it. This is especially true if we feel less confidence in our judgment and decision making abilities.

The disadvantage of that approach is that our first thought is frequently a way we believe we can quickly dispose of the problem. It isn’t necessarily the best or even a good path. Good problem solving means generating many ideas and paths and selecting the best fit for the situation at hand.

But before we can generate ideas, we have to understand what the problem really is. We have to identify it, define it, and assess it. What is the core of the problem – that is, what makes it a problem? What factors are involved and must be addressed in reaching a solution? Who has responsibility for solving the problem? What resources are needed in order to solve it? We also have to commit ourselves to solving the problem.

Generating the list of alternatives is the most enjoyable part of the exercise because it allows us to let our imaginations run free. “What if this?” or “How about that?” It’s important that as we crank out these possible solutions we don’t judge them. Evaluation at this point, being told (by ourselves or others) “that’s a dumb idea” slows or stops the creative juices altogether.

It’s hard enough giving ourselves permission to be creative in the first place. There’s plenty of time for evaluating the alternative on its merits later. Now is the time to produce as many as possible to be evaluated.

Some of the criteria for judging alternatives include:

– Being concrete and specific
– Being observable and measurable
– Being achievable
– Having an acceptable risk level
– Having a likelihood of success
– Having a positive gut-level reaction.

Deciding on a solution isn’t as easy as it sounds. Many people don’t want to commit to a single course of action because doing so excludes the other alternatives. “Well, gee, maybe the other one is really better and once I decide I can’t go back.” This is a form of risk and many of us hate taking risks, no matter how small. Decision making is nothing if it’s not taking risks.

Decisions mean implementation and implementation means having a timeline in which to do it or procrastination may set in. Unfortunately, even as far as we’ve come, the process isn’t over yet.

Now we need to set it in motion and monitor what happens. Monitoring means actually observing, recording, measuring, and analyzing the outcomes of the decision action. Then it requires evaluating the problem’s solution over time to see if it really is working.

Using this problem solving process, how would YOU handle the Vanna Gonn situation if you were VanCleef’s PR person or lawyer?