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Advice for Job Seekers: Sound Like You Mean Business
First impressions matter, and never more than when you're looking for a job. In many cases, your potential employer's first contact with you occurs through your telephone answering machine, when he or she calls to arrange an interview. Therefore, be sure that your recorded message conveys that you "mean business."
Following are a few general guidelines from employment specialists for creating an effective telephone message:
- Keep it simple. Use as few words as possible.
- Avoid using music, humor, slang and other extra features.
- Your message
can simply state: "You have reached 555-5555. Please clearly state
your name, number, and best time to call you back. Thank you."
- After
recording, call your machine and check how your message sounds. You
can also ask your job counselor or a working friend to screen the
message and give you feedback.