How I Helped Courtney Finally Ace the Recruiter Phone Screen
The Struggle 😣
Courtney came to me incredibly frustrated. Despite being qualified for the roles she was applying for, she couldn't seem to make it past the recruiter phone screen to get an actual interview with the hiring manager. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she told me. "The jobs seem like a perfect fit for my background, but I never get called back after speaking with the recruiter."
As an experienced career coach, I see this issue plague job seekers all the time. They have the right skills and experience on paper, but something isn't clicking in those crucial phone screens with recruiters. I knew if I could help Courtney crack the code, she'd finally start landing interviews.
Finding the Root Cause
The first thing I did was dig deeper into exactly what was happening on those recruiter calls that was causing her to fall short. Were there particular questions she struggled with? Did her personality and communication style come across poorly?
What I realized is that Courtney made a common mistake many qualified candidates make - she simply listed out her credentials like a resume walking through her work history. While that tells the recruiter she is qualified, it doesn't prove she is the must-have, top candidate.
The Two-Part Solution ✌️
I explained to Courtney that to wow recruiters, she needed to showcase two key things: 1) Her powerful, fitting personality for the role and 2) Her ability to understand the need and convey her value as the solution.
Part 1: Unleashing Her Personality
I had Courtney take a professional strengths assessment, so we could identify her unique personality and communication traits. Once she had clarity around her workplace persona, I showed her how to lean into it.
Courtney has a very direct, fast-paced communication style. Instead of trying to mask it, I encouraged her to embrace it for the right roles. The key was helping her see which environments and careers appreciated her personality type rather than seeing it as a negative.
Part 2: Translating Skills Into Value
The other critical piece was revamping how Courtney spoke about her skills and experience. Instead of just listing out her qualifications, I taught her to position herself as the painkiller, not the vitamin.
We practiced taking her core strengths and spelling out the specific benefits they provided to an employer. Instead of saying, "I have great project management skills," she started saying, "With my proven project management expertise, I can lead initiatives that will increase productivity by X% and ensure all deliverables are on time and on budget."
The Payoff: Landing Interviews 🙌
Armed with her new phone screen strategy, Courtney started receiving feedback like, "Wow, you really seem to get what we need!" and "I'd love for you to meet the hiring manager."
Within a couple weeks, she had multiple interviews lined up. Once she could get in front of the decision makers, her stellar skills and experience shone through.
Courtney ended up receiving two great job offers to choose from. She's now in a role she's incredibly excited about - all because she learned how to nail those make-or-break recruiter calls.
Your Next Step
If you're struggling to get past the recruiter phone screen like Courtney was, I invite you to sign up for Work It DAILY's FREE 7-day trial. You'll get access to the same professional assessment tools and expert coaching that helped transform Courtney's job search success. Don't let another opportunity slip by! Enroll today.
Go get ‘em!
J.T. O’Donnell
