When looking for work, you may choose to do some ‘cold calling’ (ringing a business that has not advertised a job) to see if there are any jobs available. This is also called canvassing for work.
There are a number of things you can do before, during and after the phone call to make it a successful experience. This guide provides an outline of the key steps.
- It is important to be clear in your mind about the purpose of the phone call.
- Before making the call, find out as much as you can about the business you are calling.
- It is useful to make notes about the questions you will ask or the information you need to give. It is important to note your skills and personal qualities that would make you a valuable employee for their particular business.
- At the start of the call, be sure to say clearly both your name and the name of the person you would like to speak to (if they have not answered the phone). If you do not know the name of a particular person, ask to speak to the manager or the person responsible for staffing or recruitment.
- Be prepared for reaching an answering machine. Before the call, think about what you will say if that happens. It is good to have thought of a short message about your reason for calling and the number you will leave if you want them to call you back.
- Once speaking to the right person, be clear about what you have to say. After indicating that you are looking for work, there are many ways to continue the conversation. You may start with:
- details about why you have chosen to call that particular business (this will show what you already know about the business), and then follow with how your own skills, qualities and/or experience and are suited to that type of business
or
- a description of your abilities, qualities and experience followed by why you think they would add to the business (again will show that you know about their work).
- It is good to take notes while the person is talking. It is all right to ask them politely to slow down or to repeat something you have missed.
- When you have finished the discussion, it is useful to give a short summary of what you understand has happened. This makes sure that you and the other person are both clear about what has been said. Some ways to start this part of the conversation are:
- I just want to sum up what we have talked about today…
or
- My understanding of what we have decided is …
- If they agree with your summary, thank them for their time and finish the call.
- When you get off the phone, make any further notes about the conversation, especially the date and time of things you need to do, while they are fresh in your mind.
If things get tricky
- If you begin to feel agitated during the call, take some deep breaths and if necessary be quiet for a moment to gather your thoughts.
- If the understanding does not improve, it is good to say things like ‘I’m feeling frustrated, it feels as if you don’t understand what I’m trying to say’. If the situation doesn’t improve, it is all right to say:
- This phone call is not working very well, I’m going to hang up now and call back when I have had some time to think. Thank you for listening to me.
- If the person does not agree with your summary, ask them to be clear about the problem they have. This may make their position clearer and sort out any misunderstanding. If you think more discussion at the time is not helpful, it is all right to say that you will call back later after you have thought more about the issue or talked with someone else about it.
- At the end of any phone call, it is important to thank the person for their time.
Our online checklist
To help you prepare to phone an employer, we have developed an online checklist: