As a recruiter I conducted over 200 phone interviews.  I have spoken to people from all ends of the career spectrum, from entry-level to senior management.  There have been people I’ve loved talking to and others who irritated me so much I couldn’t wait to get off the phone with them.

The one thing they all had in common?  They all had to get through me to score an interview.

The person who is conducting your phone interview is essentially the gatekeeper for the company.  If this person is not impressed by what you have to say you likely won’t get called back for an in-person interview.

Here are the top five ways to blow a phone interview and how you can avoid them:

1. Talk too much.  This is my personal number one pet peeve.  If the question is direct, answer it directly and be succinct.  A person who knows how to frame an answer cohesively will sound much more professional than a person who blabbers on for 20 minutes straight.  If the question is open-ended, think about your answer first and try to structure it into a clear beginning, middle, and end.  For example, if the interviewer asks you to talk about your career history, don’t divulge every detail from every job.  Limit your answer to key responsibilities and accomplishments in each job and try to avoid talking for longer than five minutes at a time.  If you have to, time yourself.  A recruiter who is zoning out while listening to you talk isn’t going to be impressed.
2. Talk first, think later.  Excessive um’s, uhh’s, and likes can have the effect of making you sound like you don’t know what you’re doing.  Be mindful of what you are saying and make sure that those filler words aren’t the first thing out of your mouth with every answer.
3. Complain.  Whether it’s about your current or ex boss, your classes in school, or your commute, don’t complain to your phone interviewer.  This person is not your therapist and is in fact looking to see how you mitigate problems.  If you elaborate all the problems in your life without supplying solutions you will not come across as a problem-solver.  If you must disclose a negative, do it on your terms.  Frame your answer in terms of problem-solution and you will sound like a much stronger candidate.
4. Interrupt.  The purpose of a phone interview is for the interviewer to find out about you what he or she couldn’t discern from your résumé.  This person probably won’t spend too much time talking but if they do, be polite and don’t interrupt.  Rude candidates don’t tend to get very far into the interview process.
5. Play hard to get.  As far as phone interviews go, there should never be a “bad time to talk”.  If you get a phone call from a recruiter and you are in the middle of something, answer the phone as if you were expecting the call and respectfully ask if you can call him or her back at a later time.  This will show that not only are you personable under pressure but that you can manage your time effectively as well.

The number one helpful hint that I can offer you for phone interviews is this: don’t be nervous.  Most people love talking about themselves and for the most part can do it fluidly.  A phone interview isn’t a pop quiz where you might not know the answers.  This is someone who is interested in you and what you’ve done so just relax and talk about yourself.  Avoid the pitfalls listed above and you’ll on your way to an in-person interview in no time!