Phone Interviews

So as I alluded to in a earlier post, I'm (painstakingly) going through the summer job search right now. Pretty much the only thing I've determined so far is that phone interviews have to be one of the most awkward forms of human interaction ever invented. First of all, I'm a guy. And as a guy, the majority of my phone conversations go something like this:

Me: hey
Friend: hey
Me: Where you at?
Friend: the law school, in the lobby.
Me: Oh ok, see you soon.
Friend: Yup. Bye.

I'm pretty sure if someone were to transcribe my phone calls, at least 95% would go something like the above. The other 5% would be calls to my mom.

And anyhow, I like face-to-face interviews. I like to make liberal use of hand gestures. I like seeing someone's face. If they nod and smile vigorously while I'm talking, I'll know to continue. If they sit there with an icy glare (not uncommon in legal interviews, I've learned) then I should either try to wrap things up or pursue a different angle.

Unfortunately, this all goes out the window in a phone interview. It's just me talking into my phone for minutes at a time, with no feedback whatsoever. Without any guidance, I'm liable to talk myself into huge holes, because I don't know when to stop talking. Is my answer too short? Too long? Who knows? It's not like I can stop in the middle of my answer and say "How am I doing on this one?" By the end of most of my answers, I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, or how I even got to talking about what I did. I feel like a crazy person who's been rambling to himself for far too long.

With that, I have to go prepare for the phone interview I have later today. Wish me luck.