Ring, Ring! Be Sure Your Phone Supports Your Job Search
Posted By Amanda Collins on May 30, 2012
I don’t know about you, but I’m not much of a phone person. I always feel like I’m intruding on people when I call them. So when I call someone and hear, “Please enjoy this music while your party is reached,” I’m ready to hang up. What generally follows is some loud, hard-to-decipher music (using that term loosely) that makes my ears hurt. If you’re a job seeker, this little ringback tone may lose you an opportunity before the employer even has the chance to speak with you.
If you’re over the age of 35, you might think this is an issue for the teens and 20-somethings. You’d be wrong. In fact, I recently called a client who is in her late 40s, and she had a ringback tone on her phone. I almost hung up—and she’s planning to give me money. What if I were looking at a pile of resumes and one of the people I called had a ringback tone? Yep, I’d probably hang up and go to the next one.
When you’re on the job search, be sure that your phone reflects your professionalism. Get rid of the ringback tone. Change your voicemail message to something simple and direct (“Thanks for calling; I’m not available right now, but please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”). And of course, call people back promptly.
You may not have even thought about the phone—especially if you’re more of an email person—but you’ll come across those who will pick up the phone to call you, and you need to maintain the same professional tone across your job-search campaign.