First impressions aren’t just visual. Sometimes a first impression is entirely auditory. Take your home, cell or office voice mail for instance. As a recruiter, I’ve left my fair share of messages on all sorts of voice mail systems. Most of the time, when I call someone who is unable to answer, I receive a fairly clear and straightforward automated greeting. At times, however, some of the greetings leave me speechless, and I’ve heard the same feedback from employers. Here are a few of my all time favorites…
“It’s Greg, you know what to do – so do it.” (This was preceded by a 60 second on-hold music clip of “Baby Got Back”.)
“This is the Jones Family (all five of them, one after another, in their own voice) John! Sarah! William! Laura! Bob! We’re sorry to be away, but leave your message and we’ll return it some day”!
“I’m on vacation this week and won’t be checking my voice mail until I return on January 15th.” (Well, that’s interesting since I’m calling you on February 2nd.)
The lesson here: If you want to come off as a true professional, leave greetings on your various voice mail systems that suggest you are a smart and responsible person.
Often, the best way to manage your risk, in this particular area, is to only include your cell phone number on your resume or within your resume postings.
But voice mail greetings aren’t the only problem. Let’s think about how you, your family, or even a roommate should answer the phone. If you’re in job search mode, have an instructive talk with anyone in your household who might answer the phone. Let them know how critical it is they answer the phone in a professional manner, and the importance of taking detailed messages. While you’re at it, make sure to leave out some paper and pencils for easy message taking when the time comes.
Prepare for the employer’s phone call. It might mean the difference between landing a position, today – versus two months from now.
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