Shadowing Practice: Phone Interview with a Recruiter - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hi.

My name is Jeff H.

Seid from PracticeInterviews .com, where we offer a host of services and we have a ton of free resources.

Check out our website.

In this video, we are going to cover the interview with the recruiter, There are so many questions that are coming up from our clients

and in our lives every week that ask a lot of questions about this interview and

I want to really focus on the fact that I have about 12 to 13 years of recruiting experience, I've done thousands of these initial candidate interviews,

and I want to give you a little bit more insight into what they look like.

And we're going to talk about everything.

We're going to talk about the preparation, considerations, logistics, what will be asked of you

and then finally what types of questions you should ask

and i'm going to dump a ton of information in the youtube description to really help

and guide you if you like my content please like

if you have any comments please comment below and if you like my overall content please subscribe.

Item one is prep.

And there's a few ways that you can prep for this conversation.

Item one, the job description.

So I'm actually going to pin a link down in the YouTube description where you can join

and get into our free course where we really walk through this exercise.

But a couple of things I want you to think about.

I want you to create a streamlined overview

and then I want you to identify key words

And I want you to go back through

and do this exercise a few times to just kind of identify what is most important.

What appear to be the most important skills and needs for the role.

Just going through this simplistic exercise is a

critical part of your prep and will help you feel more prepared for this recruiter conversation The second item is company research.

Some recruiters will literally ask you, "What do you know about our company?" or why this company, or what is your favorite product,

or name your three favorite product, or what happened recently in the news.

And we'll get back to this later on in our conversation, but Along with a JD, it's important that you've at least done some basic research.

Some recruiters will want to challenge your knowledge about the organization.

And it's just to see how much you've prepared, if you really, really care.

Because if you have, you'll have done just a little bit of research, not a ton.

The last is domain and technical knowledge.

And so When it comes to specific domain knowledge, I mean, that's going to be an area where either you really have it or you don't.

But there are some ways you can up your game just a little bit in terms of prep.

Let's say you spent the last three years working on AWS or with AWS technologies, and now you're interviewing for GCP.

Well, understand some of the basics, just the basics.

Remember, your recruiter is not supposed to be an expert in this space.

But if you learned a little bit about GCP, it could help your conversation.

You can also build up just a little bit of that specific product knowledge as well.

That's something else to consider.

And then lastly, on the technology side, and we're going to reference this later, but There are some interviews that are going to have some technical questions.

So just understanding some of the fundamentals that might be important for the role that can also be helpful.

Lastly, is questions.

We will deep dive into this section later on, but you're going to want to really prep those questions.

Here's the good news.

I've prepped those questions for you, and I'll put them in the YouTube description for you.

Item 2 is considerations.

So I want to take a little bit of a different lens here.

This is something that other people talk about, but I want to put it all together.

It's a pretty big item.

So let's dive in and talk through a few of these things.

So the purpose, why are we having this conversation with the recruiter?

It's really two items.

It's going to be skill alignment, and communication skills.

So they just want to check that you have the minimum qualifications needed to do this job

and specifically maybe the hiring manager has told them a few of their specific needs

based on what they want overall or based on what they've seen from the recent candidate pool.

Now, your communication skills, this is the bigger bucket.

So what are all the things we want to focus in on?

Things we've talked a lot about before, being positive and showing great gratitude.

But then there's more of the and excitement,

enthusiasm, engagement, even smiling, They can hear your smile over the phone if it's a phone conversation, which is a likely recruiter interview.

So make sure you smile a lot.

They can hear that in your voice.

and then Bring in that active listening piece.

Really let them lead and guide the conversation And that's a great segue into the brevity piece.

Okay.

You're going to have a limited time in this conversation, and I want you to ask a ton of questions.

So in your communication style, Less is more.

If they want more data, they'll ask follow -up questions.

So just make sure that you're being really brief.

Then let's talk about the partnership component.

Your relationship with your recruiter is a partnership.

You want the job? and their job is to fill the role.

So let them be an advocate for you.

Work with them, and remember that they do have influence and pull.

This is a win -win situation.

You want to build that strong relationship.

It will really help

The last kind of A little bit more random nuance I want you to think about is just roles.

let's say a recruiter reached out to for a role.

and /or you found another role that you really like or interested in, just be prepared to talk about that with them,

what the process would look like if you were going to interview for both roles, or if you wanted to switch over roles, do you need to switch recruiters,

etc, etc. So if there are or is another position or positions that you're interested in.

It's just another consideration to think about.

Item three: logistics.

This will be nice and sweet.

The number one item is beyond time.

This is a super big challenge that I've found for candidates, is the lack of respect coming in to this recruiter interview.

They're not on time, they miss it, they say they had another important meeting.

recruiters are treated with very little respect.

And so this was always something that I noted.

Did they miss the call?

Were they not on time?

Did they pretend like I wasn't important?

Being on time is a courtesy item.

Be on time.

100

You'd be shocked at how many people are missed or late for recruiter interviews.

101

Secondly, stand.

102

I'm standing right now for this video and if it's a phone interview again, which is the likely scenario, Your voice will just have a little bit more energy.

103

It will come through a little bit better if you stand.

104

be somewhere quiet.

105

Again, this goes back to the respect thing.

106

If you're just going to be in a noisy area and treat it casually, The recruiter is going to note that in their mind and say, this person isn't that serious.

107

And then the last piece from a logistics perspective is If you are considering interviewing for a more technical role,

108

you'll want to reach out to them beforehand and just kind of understand, "Hey, I'm looking forward to our conversation.

109

Will any technical questions be covered?" So I can tell you, I used to hire customer engineers in my last year at Google, and I would hire technical solutions engineers,

110

and I would give them like 10 or 15 technical questions.

111

And if they had a little bit of time to prepare on the fundamentals, like we mentioned earlier, they would have done better.

112

Sometimes they just came in not really knowing that that was going to be a focus area.

113

Okay, let's dive in to the questions that you should anticipate.

114

So item four is the recruiter's questions.

115

In no way, shape or form do these questions encapsulate all of what you might face in this recruiter interview,

116

but These are going to be the high level themes.

117

What we just see most commonly and most classically in these types of interviews

118

And I want to kind of just take a step back for a second

119

There are three types of questions that I would always ask and do always ask.

120

When I'm doing and on the recruiting side of things.

121

So the number one question I ask is why I?

122

Why did you apply?

123

Or why did you respond to me reaching out to you?

124

This why will really help me uncover and gather a lot of data, so that's always my first question.

125

My second question is also always the same what's most important to you This helps me determine motivations,

126

drivers, And these initial two questions are very open -ended.

127

I can learn a lot about the candidate with just these two questions.

128

Number three: I would always ask my hiring manager Hey, Sue.

129

What are the questions that this candidate absolutely needs to be able to answer to do well in this job, to be qualified for this job? and I would always try and get those questions,

130

at least two or three.

131

and those would be my role related questions.

132

Now of course depending on the domain that could go in a lot of different areas.

133

Now, Let's dive over to the commonly asked questions.

134

Number one, Tell me about yourself.

135

What's the one piece of advice, one minute or less?

136

Walk me through your resume, one minute to 90 seconds, a little bit more time for walking through the resume.

137

Why this company?

138

one minute or less.

139

Think about three items.

140

The rule of three on these types of questions can be really powerful.

141

Why are you looking to leave your current job?

142

Focus on their job, their opportunity.

143

Make it super positive.

144

How would your current manager or teammates describe you?

145

This is essentially the strengths question, so just be thinking about your top three skills or strengths, especially as they correlate to the role, and that's how you'd answer that question.

146

What do you know about our company?

147

You can actually ask follow -up questions to that.

148

I can tell you what's going on in the news, about my favorite products, etc. So just do your research.

149

What are you looking for in your next opportunity?

150

Again, go back to the job description, think about the key skills for this job, the culture of the organization, and really align it there.

151

That will help you have success.

152

What is your current situation or timing?

153

The timing question is almost always going to be coming up, so be prepared to answer that.

154

what is your current compensation, That can still be asked in a number of countries, still a number of states.

155

If it can't be asked, they're going to ask for your salary expectations, My advice: is never give them any data.

156

People will disagree with that.

157

They'll say, "How do you know if it's aligned?"

158

You should have done some research on comp and know that it's going to at least hit close to your target number.

159

but I say deflect, deflect, deflect, and I'll throw a card up there just so you can see my philosophy here.

160

And then The last question is, Are you actively interviewing?

161

and you should provide that data because that data is going to be helpful for them.

162

It goes back to the partnership item.

163

Lots of times, especially at Google, I would have candidates, I would say, "Are you interviewing anywhere else?" and then we'd be at the phone interview stage and they'd say, "Hey, I just got two offers."

164

and say good luck i can't help you you didn't provide this information for me up front it's critical

165

that you are providing massive clarity there not only in the beginning in this initial conversation but throughout

166

Let them know what's going on.

167

it will allow them to push the process.

168

Okay, I know that this just scratched the surface, but these are some very common questions that I want you to be prepared for.

169

Now, Your questions, item five.

170

The item that's really critical here is I want you to set the stage, meaning I recommend 32 questions.

171

It is a ton of questions.

172

So how do you not annoy your recruiter?

173

You just tell them, Hey, Jane.

174

I have a ton of questions that I want to ask you

175

and I have them outlined and organized and I want to be very respectful of your time.

176

So if it's cool with you, I just love to dive in.

177

I really want to get through all these questions.

178

as much as it's not running into any other meetings for you.

179

So you've set a really good communication tone And so here's where we're going to start personal.

180

I think we do this in every single interview.

181

We ask a few personal questions.

182

People like talking about themselves.

183

They'll feel more comfortable with you.

184

So what do you love the most about your company?

185

What do you love the most about your job?

186

Is there something really cool or fun or unique

187

that I should know about the culture that maybe I didn't read about or I should know about?

188

This will get them engaged, show your engagement, your excitement.

189

Then foundational questions.

190

Why is the position open?

191

We need to know if it's brand new, if it's growth, Half the team quit, there was a layoff, etc. How long has the position been open?

192

That will tell you how much difficulty they are having hiring the position.

193

Can you tell me about the level of the role?

194

So for the bigger companies, they will have an idea.

195

They should be able to share that information with you.

196

Can you tell me how many people are currently interviewing for the role?

197

Now this is a question I would absolutely answer.

198

It's not confidential.

199

I would tell you, hey, you're the only one.

200

We have five, we have 10.

201

It's just a good data point.

202

And then lastly, can you tell me if you're considering internal or external candidates?

203

It's a data point.

204

I saw this somewhere else.

205

I think it's an okay question, but it might just be good knowledge for the future to know if internal candidates,

206

especially those who are contracting, have the opportunity to be converted.

207

It's an okay question.

208

Now, we're going to do some data gathering.

209

Why do you think my position is a good fit?

210

So we're trying to uncover what is really what our strengths are

211

and why there's alignment there that can be powerful as you go into the interview.

212

What are maybe some of the most critical skills needed to have success?

213

They might have that data from the hiring manager.

214

Thank you.

215

Are there any gaps?

216

Any skills you see that are missing that I maybe don't have that I need to have success in this role?

217

Those are maybe can be some learned skills as you're preparing for the interviews if you move forward.

218

Are there any themes coming up from others where things are falling short or just missing?

219

Again, this is a huge data point.

220

If there's one or two pieces that have just been missing from everybody else, you're going to want to focus on those items in your prep.

221

Can you tell me a little bit more about the team structure?

222

Like how many people are on the team?

223

Is this hybrid roles, all this one role?

224

Who's the hiring manager?

225

Just a little bit more data on the team if you can gather it.

226

It's not as important at this time, but it's a good question.

227

And then a last great question would be, What's the culture of this team?

228

Anything I should be aware of from a cultural perspective.

229

Teams can function very differently within organizations.

230

So it's a great question.

231

Then, the process.

232

This is a huge item.

233

Can you tell me more about the specific steps?

234

Specifically, we're trying to uncover the number of interviews, the stages, like how they're conducted, phone, video, and hopefully in the near future in person,

235

What is the total number of interviews?

236

A great question.

237

What are the focus areas?

238

Do I have a coding interview?

239

Do I have a system design interview?

240

Do I have a leadership interview?

241

We really want to know the focus areas and then types of questions.

242

Do these interviews, are they open -ended?

243

Are they behavioral?

244

Are they both?

245

Are there certain types of questions I should prepare for?

246

That is a question that very few people ask and actually you can uncover a ton of data there.

247

Do not skip that question.

248

It's a critical question.

249

Sometimes you can uncover a lot of great information.

250

Then there's a little bit more about the process.

251

So can you tell me more about the end of the process and who's the final decision maker?

252

Sometimes it's just the hiring manager.

253

Sometimes it's a collection of everybody getting together and deciding.

254

Sometimes it's hiring committee, executive committee, etc. And then length of the process.

255

How long does it typically take?

256

Sometimes startups take a week.

257

Google takes like three months.

258

So just trying to determine that will be a helpful data point as well.

259

Now communication.

260

You want to create this cadence with them.

261

"How often will I hear back from you?

262

"Or should I proactively be reaching out to you?

263

"If I'm reaching out to you, what do you prefer?

264

"Call, text, email?" And then this last question is a great question.

265

Do you have a backup?

266

Is there another POC that I can get their information?

267

Just in case you're out of the office or anything happens, I would love a backup person's info.

268

I think a lot of people would find this valuable at some points.

269

If you can get that, that's great.

270

Now, let's talk about the important logistics questions.

271

like the whiteboard.

272

So in some of these video interviews now, They're being told you can't use a whiteboard.

273

Some you can.

274

So you want to find out that data.

275

You want to find out once it's in person, if you're actually going to have a whiteboard in that room.

276

It just might help with your prep strategy.

277

What should you wear?

278

I get asked that question a lot.

279

That's a question for your recruiter.

280

You always want to ask them.

281

And then anything else that you should be aware of, like any like tricks or tips with the video platform, if you're less familiar with it.

282

When we do go back on site, anything about the location, should I use the front door?

283

The side door?

284

Is parking tricky?

285

Is there somewhere where people continually get lost when they come to this office?

286

That's a great, great question.

287

Now let's focus on some optional logistics questions.

288

This depends on rapport and basically what you need to uncover So you might want to find out about location, like let's say it's the location San Francisco,

289

but you live in San Diego.

290

And you want to see if you can work remote, is that something that they're open to?

291

If the job doesn't call out travel, but you think it might have some travel or it says 25 % travel, you might want to uncover a couple of details about how much travel,

292

if that declines over time, grows over time.

293

What is the salary range?

294

You can actually ask that question and they have to answer it in California.

295

Now, for like a big tech company, it's not that great because they can give you the salary range, but they don't have to give you bonus or stock information.

296

"Can you share the benefits package with me?" I would share that with prospective candidates at Google.

297

There's no confidential information in there, so you can share that.

298

The reason why all these are optional is sometimes they're going to be important, sometimes they're not going to be important.

299

When it comes to benefits and comp, you just want to be careful in those initial conversations.

300

It might be too much.

301

The last question.

302

"Is there anything that I didn't ask?

303

"Is there typically a question or questions "that you hear from other candidates "that you don't think I asked?" Now, if you ask all these questions, chances are you've asked everything,

304

but it's just a great catch -all question.

305

We just don't know.

306

I really hope this video helps.

307

I know we went into the weeds, we covered a ton in this video.

308

But if you're thinking about all these items, you'll have massive success.

309

And I'm going to put it all in the YouTube description so you don't have to do as much thinking.

310

These are pretty simplistic conversations, but you do want to be prepared for them.

311

I hope this helps.

312

Thanks.

📺 Zelfde Kanaal

Googleyness and Leadership Interview Question

University StudentsBusiness English+2

Tell Me About Yourself? A Different Approach - Question and Answer

University StudentsBusiness English+2

✨ Aanbevolen Video

14 zinnen

PHONE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (A Real ‘LIVE’ Telephone Job Interview Example!)

University StudentsBusiness English+2

10 zinnen

Hiring Event: What to Expect

University StudentsBusiness English+2

113 zinnen

Google Interview Tips That Actually Get You Hired

University StudentsBusiness English+2

281 zinnen

How to succeed in your JOB INTERVIEW: Situational Questions

University StudentsBusiness English+2

258 zinnen

Operations Manager Interview Questions & Winning Answers (Complete Guide)

University StudentsBusiness English+2

How To Answer The TOP Marketing Interview Questions Like a PRO?

249

35 zinnen

How To Answer The TOP Marketing Interview Questions Like a PRO?

University StudentsBusiness English+2

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →

Shadowing Practice: Phone Interview with a Recruiter - Learn English Speaking with Video

Googleyness and Leadership Interview Question

Tell Me About Yourself? A Different Approach - Question and Answer

Job Interview English 🇬🇧 | Real Conversation Practice (B1–B2 Level)

I'm an ex-Google interviewer. You're doing LeetCode wrong.

10 CRUCIAL Questions You MUST Ask Your Interviewer (as a UX/UI Designer)

How to be a RECRUITER with no EXPERIENCE?! Explained by Recruiter

Tell Me About Yourself (The BEST Way to Answer this Interview Question)

CABIN CREW Interview Questions & Answers!

PHONE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (A Real ‘LIVE’ Telephone Job Interview Example!)

Hiring Event: What to Expect

Google Interview Tips That Actually Get You Hired

How to succeed in your JOB INTERVIEW: Situational Questions

Operations Manager Interview Questions & Winning Answers (Complete Guide)

How To Answer The TOP Marketing Interview Questions Like a PRO?

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?