This is the dreaded “telephone interview” which alone is enough to frighten anyone but is made worse by the fact the call comes when you least expect it. You had plans for the evening; if you agree to this phone interview, you’ll miss out on a good time, but if you decline, you might blow your chances of getting the job. Or will you?

The Traditional System of job hunting will tell you that you definitely will and nothing is more important than taking this next step towards getting hired. Forget the evening; take this call or forget the job.

There’s tons of “advice” from the Traditional System on how to handle this call, which is nearly always placed by a recruiter or HR person who is acting as a “screener” for the “hiring manager.” But the Traditional System will never tell you that this screener has no authority to hire you and their opinion as to who could be hired, who should be hired and who would be hired does not count.

These phone calls are often considered to be “pre-interview” interviews, and the unspoken assumption is that you have to get through this hurdle in order to be granted a face-to-face interview with the screener. This meeting will determine if you have what it takes to meet with the person who can actually hire you, who we will call “Mr. Bigg.”

Mr. Bigg is your future boss and is either the owner of the company, a corporate executive or a department manager. Mr. Bigg’s time is extremely valuable, which is why the process of screening candidates is often is delegated to intermediaries whose time is not as valuable as his is.

Now, you would think that because these screeners are acting on behalf of Mr. Bigg that they can speak for him and make decisions for him. In fact, the Traditional System will have you believe that you must win the approval of HR and/or a recruiter screener in order to get to Mr. Bigg. This is not correct.

Mr. Bigg is paid enormous amounts of money simply because he thinks for himself and makes his own decisions. He will choose whoever he wants to work for and with him, regardless of what HR and/or a recruiter says, who they recommend or what anyone else thinks. This is why you can bypass all intermediaries with ease.

But back to the phone call. It’s HR on the line and they want to ask you some questions. Now that you know only Mr. Bigg can hire you, talking to anyone else is a waste of time. HR’s questions are predictable (“Tell me about a time when you failed,” “What is your greatest weakness,” “Why should we hire you?” etc.) and irrelevant.

In the Traditional System, an interview – on the phone or in person – is a personal interrogation and has nothing to do with the real reason you’ll be hired.

The truth is that you will not be hired because of how you answered ridiculous questions like, “What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?” that have no correct answers.

You actually will be hired because Mr. Bigg believes you can help him solve a problem and/or address an opportunity he, his department and/or his company is facing, and because he likes you. That’s it.

So your phone call needs to be about Mr. Bigg’s problem or opportunity which, if you’ve done your homework, you will have identified or “guesstimated” before you ever contacted this company. This problem and/or opportunity is probably what you’ll be working on when you’re hired.

Understand that the HR person or recruiter will be unable to discuss this issue with you, so if they call, here’s how you handle it:

HR: “I’m calling about the job at Ajax Industries you applied for. Sorry about calling on the weekend, but I’m catching up on paperwork.”

You: “Yes, I’m glad you called, but I’m on my way out. I’d be happy to talk with you during business hours. I’m very interested in Ajax Industries’ new line of stainless steel bedside commodes.

“From what I’ve seen, these products are going to blow the competition away. Will you be able to discuss with me the company’s preliminary marketing and promotional plans as you expand your product line into patient care?”

HR: “Uh, no. I had some questions about your work history.”

You: “Well, as I said, I’m on my way out. Why don’t you email your questions to me? I’ll be speaking with Mr. Bigg next week anyway and if he wants to know more about what I did for other companies, I’ll have my portfolio to show him when I meet with him. Thanks for calling. Goodbye.”

You have now responded to HR as a professional who knows who makes the real decisions in that company, and so you head on out the door for your evening of fun, confident, composed and totally in control of your job-getting campaign.

And the next time you have anything to with Human Resources, it will be to sign the paperwork when you start your new job.