Phone Interview Tomorrow - Some Questions

AltLikeIts2011

Hey guys! I figured these questions would be best asked incognito, so this is an Alt.


Edit: removed the long post.


tl;dr - Final phone interview tomorrow for entry-level position.


Would it be a bad idea to accept their hourly rate without negotiation, even though it's an entry-level position?

Is it okay to ask how often they pay employees?

Any questions I should absolutely avoid, or absolutely ask?

Raekreu

Would it be a bad idea to accept their hourly rate without negotiation, even though it's an entry-level position?
This is tricky. Because this sounds more or less like a temp job with a chance of hiring, you probably won't have a lot of wiggle room to negotiate a higher salary/hourly rate off of the bat. That's what the 'after 6 months we may hire you fulltime' interview will be for.

Is it okay to ask how often they pay employees?
This is probably ok. Just don't ask about pay rates of other employees. Most positions will be a biweekly pay period though it's a good idea to ask. Once a month pay is usually reserved for salaried positions in my experience.

Any questions I should absolutely avoid, or absolutely ask?

Do ask/express interest about: overtime pay, holiday pay, sick days/PTO, interest in working as a full time employee, length of training period

Might wanna avoid: asking about likelihood of being hired fulltime point blank, employee turnover rate

Do not ask about: employee fight club, employee sex parties, executive fight club, the secretary with big boobs and a lowcut top, custodial staff fight club, etc.

Basically, a phone interview is a good chance for the manager to assess your performance without any type of visual prompting. If you express curiosity, alacrity, and generally show a lot of enthusiasm then things should probably go your way.

AltLikeIts2011

Okay, great! Thank you for the response.

EggyToast

Make sure you sound interested and engaged on the phone. Not fawning like a puppy, but have a pad of paper handy and write down a note when they ask questions to help you focus on it.

It is OK to ask about pay rates, generally in the form of "This is an entry level position; I assume the current pay rate is non-negotiable?" Usually they'll say "yes" because those types of positions usually aren't. Especially considering it's outlined that it's temp-to-hire stuff.

It is definitely OK to ask what the pay schedule is. Again, this question should be phrased in a way that lets them answer simply. "Do you pay bi-monthly or every two weeks?"

In general, you don't need to ask a lot of questions for entry-level phone interviews. But as mentioned above, your questions should imply that you already know something about what the answer could be. So when asking about, say, "What operating system do you use?" you also say "Windows, mac, linux?" These types of questions show that you're asking because you're curious but would be fine with any answer, versus something more vague like "When should I show up?" Much better to ask "When is the usual start time, 8 or 9?"

Deebaser

AltLikeIts2011 wrote: »

Would it be a bad idea to accept their hourly rate without negotiation, even though it's an entry-level position?

In this case, yes. It sounds like that in the best case scenario they're offering you a six month extended interview more than a job.

Is it okay to ask how often they pay employees?

Yes.

captaink

Definitely keep a pad of paper around to jot down questions or thought as you go through the interview. Several questions at the end of an interview is good, it shows you are interested. Raekreu's examples were good ones. Don't ask about your chances of becoming full time, but do ask what the standard procedure or process is for transition from part to full.


It's a phone interview, so remember that all your visual conversation cues are gone. Particularly important is to let them know if you need to think about an answer for a few moments.