3 Tips to Help Put a Professional Face on Your Voicemail When Job Searching
Voice Mail. Does anyone even use it anymore?
Here is one secret of a hiring manager and three steps you can take to put your best foot (voice) forward.
In addition to emails and texts, hiring managers and recruiters still use the phone to schedule phone screens and face-to-face interviews.
It might seem straightforward what they are doing … calling to schedule time with you. But if you dig deeper into the mind of savvy hiring manager you will find an additional motive.
Let’s explore this little-known secret.
Savvy hiring managers will use differentiators to separate the candidates they interview. A simple voicemail greeting is one they may use. Let’s face it, people don't use voicemail anymore, and if you do not recognize the number calling, you are not going to answer your phone. This results in the hiring manager having to leave a message.
The hiring manager is anticipating leaving a voicemail, but are you ready for it?
Probably not, thus the hiring manager may walk away with a bad impression and you are out of the game.
The following three tips can help you put a professional face on your voicemail.
1. Change that unprofessional greeting.
No hiring manager should be subjected to weird unrecognizable music or other distracting background noise on your voicemail recording. You have every right to be proud of your college’s fight song but during a job search remove it from your voicemail. Keep it simple and professional – hiring managers don't care about your musical tastes but they do care about the impression it may make. Will they hang up the phone if they hear your greeting? Think about this…. they may literally not leave a message based on your voicemail greeting. Worse yet, they may actually be offended by the lyrics of some music that is on your voicemail. Yikes! Another impact of an unprofessional greeting is that you most likely will not call back an unrecognizable phone number (who does, right?) so your goofy greeting may have kicked you right out of the interview process.
2. State your actual name on the voice mail recording.
Who did the hiring manager call? Calling and leaving a voicemail with someone that only has a phone number for their greeting is not something a hiring manager wants to do. They are left wondering if they dialed the correct number, so they have to take the time to look back on the resume to confirm. Hearing just the phone number may leave them guessing and annoyed. Clearly say your name (first and last) and request the caller to leave their name and number assuring them you will promptly return the call. Sounds old school but first impressions can be made from the littlest things.
3. Smile!
Smiling while recording your voicemail helps you sound polite and friendly! Your smile will come across the phone lines leaving a positive impression in the mind of the hiring manager. They do not know what you look like, so they envision each candidate and hearing your voice starts that process. It all begins with your first impression - your voicemail greeting.
Even though many people don’t utilize voicemail anymore, there are times when it may be the beginning of your interview journey.
Don’t forget to take care of this seemingly little thing…. getting the interview may actually depend on it.