# my telephonic interview experiences



## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

I would like to share my experiences of a few telephonic interviews I went through.

Interview 1 and 2 were scheduled by a consultant in Australia. He just jumped on me out of the blue and told me that he had interesting openings and if I would be interested. I wouldnt have asked for more so he arranged two interviews for me.

*Interview 1.*
I was interviewed by 2 guys. They told me resume was impressive and they wanted a developer/lead with a similar profile.
Interview went on as usual and I pretty much answered all their queries.
Questions were 100% technical and none on behavioral. The had presumed that i knew 'X' tool but when I said that I am still learning that and do not have knowledge on 'X' tool but I have worked on the underlying technology of which 'X' tool is made up. They were really upset. 
I think I blew the job offer at this point. Well nevertheless, the guys were really good technically. The position was for Brisbane.


*Interview 2.*
This was for a company in Sydney and they wanted very good integrators(IT). I had some solid integration experience and thought that I was a perfect match.
The interview turned out to be more of Behavioral than Technical.
questions asked were:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why Australia? 
3. Tell me 5 things you love about your job?
4. Tell me about your management experience?
5. Why leave a big company back home and settle for a small company at here in Australia?
6. If we are to offer you a position, by when do you think you can join?

Well I think I have answered these questions fairly reasonably but since I was not well prepared for the behavioral questions, I think I might have lagged the edge over this scenario.


*Interview 3.*
Armed with the experience of the previous 2 interviews, I prepared well both technical and behavioral. This time this was from a NZ based company. I was interviewed by 2 architects who were a pleasure to speak with and I felt very comfortable in the discussion.

Questions asked were:
1. My current project. It was of interest to them as they were working on the product which I was leading.
2. About myself. (I made sure that I asked them what is the position/technologies they were looking for)
3. Greatest Strengths
4. Greatest Weakness.
5. Management Style(ratio of how much IT:non IT)
6. consulting experience.
7. Salary expectations
8. How much time I would require to join.

To be honest, I really felt very confident in the third interview as no body had asked me salary expectation prior to this. Only problem with the 3rd one is that I dont have sufficient consulting experience. I am from a big IT product development company and I am into core product dev. So the weak link might be this one.

I got the 3rd reference from a networking portal and not through any consultancy.
FYI, all the above jobs were not posted in any job site. So according to me, networking is very critical in these times.

Hope this helps and I wish everybody luck. 
( I have got around 7 yrs of experience and have skilled independent 175 visa)


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Thanks Royen, really good info. I wonder why the Interview 1 guys were so upset. Maybe the recruiter should only send those with exact skill of tool X.



royen said:


> I would like to share my experiences of a few telephonic interviews I went through.
> 
> Interview 1 and 2 were scheduled by a consultant in Australia. He just jumped on me out of the blue and told me that he had interesting openings and if I would be interested. I wouldnt have asked for more so he arranged two interviews for me.
> 
> ...


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## mrmsml (May 28, 2009)

Good information royen. Thank you very much.




royen said:


> I would like to share my experiences of a few telephonic interviews I went through.
> 
> Interview 1 and 2 were scheduled by a consultant in Australia. He just jumped on me out of the blue and told me that he had interesting openings and if I would be interested. I wouldnt have asked for more so he arranged two interviews for me.
> 
> ...


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

amaslam said:


> Thanks Royen, really good info. I wonder why the Interview 1 guys were so upset. Maybe the recruiter should only send those with exact skill of tool X.


Hi Amaslam, I think its the consultant who might have confused both of us. For example , yesterday again I got a call for tool 'Y' because my resume sounded very much like tool 'Y'. Luckily I had a good friend/colleague working in tool 'Y' whom I recommended.


I could understand this because my company is kind of buying other companies like crazy. So they have redundant names unfortunately.

Anyways, I now make sure that I clarify that my resume matches their expectations. I tend to mail them what technologies/tools they are looking for in a candidate, and only then I proceed.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

thanks for sharing royen..


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi again, 

u said networking sites, which ones are these? Are we talking about linkedin or the like? I was telling my husband about your interview exp right now, thought might as well ask this also 

cheers
anj


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

anj1976 said:


> Hi again,
> 
> u said networking sites, which ones are these? Are we talking about linkedin or the like? I was telling my husband about your interview exp right now, thought might as well ask this also
> 
> ...


Yes exactly. I was talking about Linked-In. What I did is search the linked in for people with similar set of skills in Australia. And directly pinged them whether they have any openings in their companies or not. 

So it is a kind of benefit both ways, even if you dont get any openings, you would get a connection. And from them you could know the market know how, and their working projects/technologies. Atleast this is what I followed and its my opinion.


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## andreaz (Sep 24, 2009)

thank you very much for this


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

An update. 
I have finished the second round of interview 3 and am awaiting results. The guy mainly asked questions regarding the work I am currently doing and also some of the questions were repeated. I tried to prove that I was the best match. I was told to wait for 2 weeks.

Also I have two more interviews lined up one for tomorrow with a Melbourne based company and on monday and the position is Sydney based. 

This time it was the recruiters(requirements were for their own consltancy) who checked my linkedin profile and called me directly. 

One interesting pattern is all these jobs were permanent jobs and not contract ones. 

I m keeping my fingers crossed at the same time I m being upbeat that surely I ll make it. 

Will keep you updated regarding the latest developments on my side.


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## eva-usa (May 14, 2009)

Hi Royen,

Thanks for sharing all information. I am just curiose, u r working on which technology platform in IT? & are you pinging people directy on linkedin? 

Will keep you updated regarding the latest developments on my side.[/QUOTE]


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

royen said:


> Yes exactly. I was talking about Linked-In. What I did is search the linked in for people with similar set of skills in Australia. And directly pinged them whether they have any openings in their companies or not.
> 
> So it is a kind of benefit both ways, even if you dont get any openings, you would get a connection. And from them you could know the market know how, and their working projects/technologies. Atleast this is what I followed and its my opinion.


Hi 

congrts , keep the good work.

Do we need to be paid member to contact other connections in Linked-In or what was the other way you have used


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## LoveOz (Aug 12, 2008)

Hi Royen, congrats. Way to go..

By the way, are you attending these interviews from India ?


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

LoveOz said:


> Hi Royen, congrats. Way to go..
> 
> By the way, are you attending these interviews from India ?


Thanks Guys. Yes I have been attending all these interviews while in India itself.

No, I m not a paid member of linked in. My approach so far is join my technology group in the area and start contributing articles about performance, technology, job etc. This ONE thing creates instant visibility as compared to the person who consistently posts advertisements that 'I have PR and would be available'(Infact this might irritate most guys and they might blacklist your profile). At the end of your article just mention that you have a PR visa and would be available immediately.

The secret is make the employers want you and see that you stand ahead of the crowd.

Luckily for me my company has sold the product which I am developing to many clients in Australia/Nz, so I think this would also contribute.

So this boils down to: You need specialist skills to stand ahead of the other job candidates. One research I did is I tried Seek to see which advertisements are being repeatedly posted. If they are repeatedly posted, then this means they are not finding the right candidates for the profile.

Some miscellaneous tips.
1. Put a profile photo
2. Search in google for your skill sets, see that your linked in profile appears in the first page.
3. Make sure you get adequate recommendations from your managers in your profile.
4. Seek every opportunity to network. For me I generally spend 1 to 2 hrs daily for networking. Its tough.

Hope this helps.

Will keep you updated


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

eva-usa said:


> Hi Royen,
> 
> Thanks for sharing all information. I am just curiose, u r working on which technology platform in IT? & are you pinging people directy on linkedin?
> 
> Will keep you updated regarding the latest developments on my side.


I am working on the Content Management Domain(4 years). I have 3 years of experience in Finance domain as well.


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## RachaelK (Oct 14, 2008)

Royen,

Thanks for the tips and practical advice for online networking. I'm starting my job search now (also a 175 but in the construction management/civil engineering field) and it's rather helpful. Good luck with your interview results!

~Rachael


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

Things have slowed down a bit but I have got some very interesting news.

To recap I had given interviews for 3 companies. 

company1 might have rejected me. Last what I have heard from the recruiters that they are still to find people and they are still searching for guys. Good luck to them..By the way I have updated myself to the tool X and currently developing a product based on tool X.

company2 kept me waiting for 2 months and I soon found out from my network and some of my contacts that they found a local candidate from company4(which i would talk in a min). But they have told me that my candidature is still under consideration as this guy has half the years of my experience. 

company3 is keeping me suspended animation till Christmas. I called them up about whats up and the hiring manager told me that I have been selected but my papers are in the VPs desk for approval. Dont know what would be the outcome? I might turn into Santa Claus. For company 3 there were 3 rounds of interviews by their Architects.

well I think this is where I had paused.

enter company 4, company 5 

company4: Had a grueling round of interview where they asked questions right upto my college. To add to that I was sick but they wanted to hire within a week and wanted me to fly within 15 days. I just couldnt stop the HR lady. 

I answered them somehow but my voice was weak as I had been suffering from 2 viral fevers back to back. But somehow answered them satisfactorily. There were 4 guys together on the telecon. The voice of the main guy was kind of rough and had a rough accent(like sore throat kind) so couldnt pick his accent. I had difficulty in understanding what he wanted so I had to ask him twice.
They gave the green signal and then the HR told me to write an online test within an hour. The questions were pretty very basic, fit for a college graduate. I answered most of them by technical code(Java).
The HR then writes to me that the manager is not comfortable with your answers so we ll get back to you. Didnt understand whether they were serious? 

Again with my network and a bit of research I found out that they had dropped the idea of working with the product and took on another product from a similar vendor. Now they are looking for guys with experience of the new product.


Company5:
The company is based in Melb and they have branch in Bangalore. So they were ready to offer me a job but I have to get trained on another product Z in their office in bangalore and then they would move me to melbourne.

Gave the telephonic interview and I think I did well. I was a bit rustic because the questions were from the technology which I had worked 6 years back. 
Well somehow gave the answers and I felt that they were happy.
Then came the big holiday season here in India. Its 2 weeks now and when I contacted the HR they told they would give me some assignment/pseudo code for me to design and based on that they will decide.

That is where I am today and I have decided to try again with double enthusiasm and I am dead sure I will get through something or the other.
BTW there are still Companies 6 , 7 and 8 which are still in the pipeline which I ll give the details later because this message is now very long.



In short: 

Company6: Got an offer from US but rejected it because of my (grand) Australian Plans
Company7: Architect position for a Dubai based Company
Company8: Another dubai based position.

I will share more developments with you guys after a couple of days. I hope to go with company3 if they are to offer me.


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

Thanks for that Royen, good stuff.

I've always wondered about the Dubai based positions and how they treat people from sub-continent. Sometimes I hear the companies there try to exploit and others are good, but how does one even know. And with Dubai your job is your visa, without it you get kicked out of the country really quick. 

Also depending on where you're from they have different pay scales (best for Western expats and lowest for Asian expats). Is that really how it goes?

Keep giving the updates, with the number of interviews you're getting looks like some of the companies are quite serious and I don't think it will be long now.



royen said:


> Things have slowed down a bit but I have got some very interesting news.
> 
> To recap I had given interviews for 3 companies.
> 
> ...


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## mrmsml (May 28, 2009)

Good to share your experience. All the best for your company 3.



royen said:


> Things have slowed down a bit but I have got some very interesting news.
> 
> To recap I had given interviews for 3 companies.
> 
> ...


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## royen (Mar 21, 2009)

amaslam said:


> Thanks for that Royen, good stuff.
> 
> I've always wondered about the Dubai based positions and how they treat people from sub-continent. Sometimes I hear the companies there try to exploit and others are good, but how does one even know. And with Dubai your job is your visa, without it you get kicked out of the country really quick.
> 
> ...


Thank you Amaslam. Regarding the Dubai based job, I dont have much idea of the work environment, and its sad to know how they treat the guys from the subcontinent.

Well, from the initial talks they said that they were going to pay $500 USD/day and apart from that they would take care of the accommodation, flight, paid vacation, tickets to my home country. Dont know whether it is enough or not but Dubai was never my priority .

Will definitely give updates regarding my progress. Somehow I am having a strong gut feeling that something is around the corner(say within 2 weeks). I am keeping my fingers crossed. 



Regards,
Royen


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

hi royen

thanks for sharing. very descriptive  keep writing..


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