Here’s how you can nail the pre-application phone call

We share how picking up the phone before you hit send on your job application will get you ahead of the pack

Cold calling a stranger isn’t something many people enjoy. But as a job seeker, using the contact number listed at the bottom of most job ads is a really important part of the application process.  

It’s not only useful to find out any information that might not be listed in the job ad, but to build rapport with management and gauge whether or not you’re a good fit for the company. 

But there is a right, and a wrong, way to go about the call. 

That’s why we asked Nina Mapson Bone from Beaumont People for some advice. 

Hey Nina! So should a job seeker always call before applying for a role?    

That’s definitely my advice, because if you can make a connection and you can talk to the person, it’s going to make you stand out from other people.

That said, you shouldn’t get upset if you don’t get a response, because they might have a lot of people calling up, or the organisation might have a policy of not taking calls until they’ve screened resumes.

What kinds of questions should you be asking? 

Questions should be around determining whether or not it’s a good idea for the job seeker to apply for the job. So asking if the organisation requires any specific experience, and how you can tailor your application to make sure it’s aligned with what the organisation is looking for is a good place to start. It’s also a good idea to ask questions such as what the culture of the workplace is like, and what they are looking for in terms of a cultural fit. 

Is it a bad idea to bring up salaries in the phone chat? 

It may or may not be appropriate to ask about salary. You don’t want it to be the first thing you ask someone on the phone because you don’t want it to seem like that’s what you’re interested in. 

If you’re getting along with the person and having a good chat, you can really ask as much as you want, and asking about salary is important sometimes because you want to make sure you’re not getting priced out.

But what you’ve got to do is really judge that you’re not asking questions to a point where you’re annoying them or being rude.