Typically the topic of verbal crutches is something that people are coached on when they are improving their group presentation skills. Verbal crutches are those little “connector” words that all of us use from time to time. These are the ums, ahs, and even in the case of one candidate I interviewed—fabulous, that we unconsciously toss in while we’re thinking about the next sentence.
Let me tell you—this will KILL and I mean—RUIN your chances for a follow up interview, especially if your first interview is a phone interview.
As the interviewer on a phone interview, I have nothing else to focus on other than the sound of your voice. If that sound is constantly interrupted by an umm, or a ya know, I’m really going to notice it. If the job I’m considering hiring you for has a lot of phone work involved, I’m not going to subject the person on the other end of the phone to your poor verbal abilities. At this point, I don’t care if you are the most qualified person on paper—you’re out of the running because your message is being lost in a sea of these verbal crutches. It’s a very silly way to get eliminated.
Here’s how you clean up your act. First, you need to either ask your friends very seriously and honestly if you are a verbal crutch offender. Explain to them how important this is in your job search, and unless they want to hear you whine for an additional six months about not finding a new job—they should help you. Verbal crutches are bad habits that can become more apparent when you’re in stressful situations like job interviews, but are probably apparent when your guard is down like when you’re hanging out with friends. They don’t just appear when you pick up the phone for an interview.
Your other option is to record yourself while you practice for the interview. This can be trickier because you will of course know that you’re taping and will make more of an effort to clean up your act, but it could work.
Another option is to just make a conscious effort throughout the day to listen to what you are really saying. Too many times I find that if I’m not completely engaged in what I’m saying and am not truly “in the moment” that I will start umming and ahhing as my brain searches for the next coherent thought. When I focus on the message I’m trying to convey, my speech patterns clean up immediately and I’m back on track. I sound more professional and people have a tendency to not tune me out because they’re tired of trying to sort out the wheat from the umm and ahh chaff.
So bottom line, if this could be a problem for you—fix it NOW! Make an effort everytime you say something during the day to really listen to what you are saying—don’t tune out! If you want the interviewer to pay attention to you—you need to pay attention to you. For some people, this will be a hard habit to break, but it is well worth the effort, I guarantee it.
Phone interviews are pretty pointless and misleading anyways. Good candidates that can do the job can be passed up because they are not ‘phone gabbers’. Lets get back to being brave enough for face to face.
Actually as a hiring manager, I used the phone interview to quickly assess a candidate whose resume was interesting.
Typically in reviewing 50-75 resumes, I’d find probably 10-12 people whom I considered qualified. To bring in each of those candidates would take at least 1/2 hour of my time per candidate, vs. a phone interview where I was more likely to make my decision within 10 minutes to bring them in to be interviewed further. And the candidate could also assess if I was worth their time investment of pursuing the opportunity further.
A phone interview lets me gauge a candidate’s energy level and the real depth of their experience as depicted on their resume (i.e. did they really do this.) Is this person worth further consideration?
Someone who couldn’t focus their answers, gave me “resume-speak”, and couldn’t provide more information about the examples they alluded to on their resume were out. Why would I think they’d be any different in person? Also if you’re interviewing for a position where ANY phone contact is a component (internal clients across the country, vendors or external clients), it’s a critical skill.
As an I.T. Manager and a previous and current candidate for management positions, I agree with Melanie. I teach my children to leave out the “uhs”, “you know”, “and yeah” as part of their vocabulary especially with teachers and other grown ups/elders. I try, consciously to hold myself to the same standard. A short pause is better than “uhhh”. To me, it shows you are thinking and have had the formal education your resume states.
Hello,
Interesting topic though I think it’s a ‘tad’ overblown. For ‘most’ people, I do not believe the occasional verbal crutch is going to do them in. If it begins to approach being excessive then yes, it is an issue.
As with any role a person is being interviewed for, they’re being assessed based on their ability to perform. As with Melanie’s comments, if phone contact is part of their job, then verbal crutches are going to be an issue. If your job is to be a data analyst in the computer room, it may not be an issue at all. For the -job- that is.
For the past roles I’ve had to fill, HR has taken the brunt of first-round filtering by conducting phone interviews with all candidates. The candidate didn’t get to my desk unless they passed HR’s screening. Depending on the HR person’s experience conducting the interviews and an appreciation of the job being filled (e.g. they know verbal crutches are a non-issue for the role), whether you get through becomes a hit-or-miss proposition.
Unfortunately, like so many aspects of one’s search for work, there are few if any absolutes.
So….this means we all have to have a radio station’s DJ voice when we do phone interviews, right?
Hi,
Very interesting points on a touchy subject. My experience, from a Swedish point of view, is that phone interviews are used in a faulty manor (I haven’t had any hiring exp. from a employer’s point of view I should add). Faulty manor in that sense that the employer might catch the prosp. employee-to-be completely off guard or at an inconvient, unable to ask the caller to call back or to return the call at a later, more suitable time (at least from what I have heard that’s a big no-no to ask to return the call).
Seen in the light that the person who has sent the application might have 50-60 quite similar apps. out there, there’s not much room for being able to be prepared for answering questions about just the current position. Not all of us are “sales men” and able to “jibber” professionally enough to gain the time needed to get the ad in question out.
So my concern with this method of sorting out “suitable” applicants is whether the company in question gets the most fitting person or the person that are the best at marketing their personal skills and capabilities on the spot? Is that the way competence within companies should be built? Let’s say I have heavy concerns and some questions regard it. The major issue of concern is- what is the next step??
And yeah, verbal crutches is to be avoided in phone interviews. But should there be phone interviews as selection method at all?
Melanie,
This topic hits home in a very personal way, since from every since I can remember I had a studdering problem, which still plagues me from time to time even today. I have made enormous progress, but still succumb to the “you knows” more frequently, since I have been unemployed for an extended period of time.
From my perspective, hiring managers and interviewers don’t have much patience for anyone these days and can inject even more stress into the person being interviewed. From my perspective, it can be very humiliating subconsciously as I try to answer a question and fight the dreaded “you know” or “ah” connectors. The people interviewing me probably think I know less than I claim, and so there it goes. The thing is with me is that my problem is not consistent in every case, as I have good and bad days.
Many giant firms often assess the candidates on phone before calling them for a face-to-face interview. The post was really helpful. Thank you
I recently started interviewing candidates for technical support positions and didn’t really mind the verbal crutches too much. For example, we hired a guy who had a lot of “you know”s but had all the answers and was able to hit the ground running. At the same time, there were others who were very careful in what they said but did not have many answers. I believe this is a tricky subject with no right answer.
I agree 100% with Josie. Frequently these “phone interviews” border on the ridiculous.
I lost one potential “in-person” interview due to a “bad” phone interview. But considering the situation, I’m glad I lost the interview.
Why? The reason I did “poorly” on the phone interview was because the interviewer heard my kids in the background.
When did I receive the call? At 9:00am on a SATURDAY MORNING!! I told the interviewer that the time was inconvenient, as I was taking care of my kids (aged 2 and 5 at the time), and that I could call back at a better time.
However, the interviewer insisted that the phone interview had to be done at that moment and that it would only take 5 minutes. As I was the only adult in the house at the time, I still had to watch my kids.
I learned from the headhunter that I lost a potential in-person interview because the interviewer thought it “unprofessional” to hear children in the background.
My response? It was UNPROFESSIONAL of her to call me at 9:00 on a Saturday morning and expect a “business setting”, and that it was UNPROFESSIONAL of her to REFUSE a different time slot to conduct the interview.
Besides, if that company believes it is “unprofessional” to hear young children – at home on a Saturday morning – then that is most likely a company not even worh considering as it probably treats its employees unfairly.
Addressing Kurt’s point – my best friend has a stuttering problem. In normal conversation, you rarely notice the issue. However, if he is put into a very stressful situation, or if caught “off guard”, the stuttering becomes more pronounced.
He does poorly on phone interviews, but generally well with in-person interviews (he’s a computer programmer). So again, here’s a case where phone interviews are useless.
I agree 100% with Josie. Frequently these phone interviews border on the ridiculous.
I lost one potential in-person interview due to a “bad” phone interview. But considering the situation, I’m glad I lost the interview.
Why? The reason I did “poorly” on the phone interview was because the interviewer heard my kids in the background.
When did I receive the call? At 9:00am on a SATURDAY MORNING!! I told the interviewer that the time was inconvenient, as I was taking care of my kids (aged 2 and 5 at the time), and that I could call back at a better time.
However, the interviewer insisted that the phone interview had to be done at that moment and that it would only take 5 minutes. As I was the only adult in the house at the time, I still had to watch my kids.
I learned from the headhunter that I lost a potential in-person interview because the interviewer thought it “unprofessional” to hear children in the background.
My response? It was UNPROFESSIONAL of her to call me at 9:00 on a Saturday morning and expect a “business setting”, and that it was UNPROFESSIONAL of her to REFUSE a different time slot to conduct the interview.
Besides, if that company believes it is “unprofessional” to hear young children – at home on a Saturday morning – then that is most likely a company not even worh considering as it probably treats its employees unfairly.
Addressing Kurt’s point – my best friend has a stuttering problem. In normal conversation, you rarely notice the issue. However, if he is put into a very stressful situation, or if caught off guard, the stuttering becomes more pronounced.
He does poorly on phone interviews, but generally well with in-person interviews (he’s a computer programmer). So again, here’s a case where phone interviews are useless.
Companies lose excellect candidates due to phone interviews!
Phone interviews aren’t a way to a good job.
However, you should check the depth and width of your vocabulary in any circumstances. My mind turns blank during an itnerview when I hear words like: stuff, things, situation, huh, etc… If you are unable to express verbally what you are about and how you use your skills I am inclined to think that you will not be a great addition to a team and workplace.
In my experience as a hiring Manager, any repetitivive behaviour is a distraction to core content of the discussion. It takes a certain level of professionalism for the interviewer not to fixate on such behaviours. this is pertinant to both Telephony based scenarios and face to face.
What the candidate must display if they do carry these traits is charisma, energy and a good working knowledge of their subject matter. The worst case scenario for any interviewer is a dull , uninspiriing candidate.
For the record, one of the best interviewee\’s I ever had was a 17 year old boy applying for a Helpdesk job. the interview was solely competancy based. This kid was so prepared he was able to relate professional questions to his school and personal life. He interviewed better than guys twice his age with much more experience. Needless to say, he got the job and continues to perform well 18 months on.
Problems with Crutch words can be easily resolved for candidates
“Join Toastmasters, and Practice, Practice, Practice.”
A phone interview might be influenced by different aspects:
1. whether the questions designed are adapted to specific position, some position may not need instant fluent verbal ability.
2. whether the chosen time is suitable for interviewee. Interviewer might choose a time that interviewee is at a very noise place or other inconvenient circumstances.
A valuable phone interview is necessary but not all phones are valuable.
Great article, and important to note that these point apply not only to phone interviews, but to ANY phone conversation!
I’ve been through many conference calls with clients and vendors, and had to listen to a speaker hem and haw their way through a meeting… It gives the impression that they don’t really understand what they are conveying.
I’ve never encountered someone that objects to speaking slowly, or pausing (briefly) before answering a question. In my experience, it is always better to pause and organize your response mentally before answering — and that applies to phone interviews, conference calls, and even face-to-face interactions.
Slightly different avenue from the main discussion chain, but still relevant I believe – some candidates use surrogates to pass the telephone interview stage. Perhaps, like me, you may have been bemused by a candidate who sounded great then mysteriously seemed to be a different person at the face to face! I suppose this falls into the category of caveat emptor…
Good post. Phone interview is somehow more difficult than face-to-face interview with less cues. But principles still work. I agree with Steve that one shall pause and organize thoughts rather than giving incomplete and mumbling answers. Thanks Chris, I never knew that there are surrogates for phone interviews. That’s unethical.
A friend of mine pointed out that a real professional would make an appointment for a phone interview, instead of calling somebody at an inconvenient time and then complaining if they aren’t “prepared”.
Phone interviews generally seem like a seance where the psychic powers of the interviewer are used to “see the future” capabilities, skills, “fit”, etc.
I’ve been interviewed and interviewed others. Your voice will be all that the interviewer hears, the tone, grammer and technical content will make you or break you.
There are people who handle a phone conversation incredibily well but lack the technical expertise, it’s a questions of what you need a recepcionist or an inventory analyst? Each has it’s sole requirements. The art is in establishing the traits needed ana wether they are met or not.
Someone can have a great voice but lack the technical knowledge. Or have the technical knowledge but an annoying voice??? What do you want is the question.