Career Talk JDR

How many voice messages have not been returned because you could not understand the message?  How many because they rambled on and on and on…?  Please think about what you are going to say before the beep. 

In today’s economy, it is more important than ever to have people return your calls.  If you want a call back, why would you speak like a snail trying to move through quicksand when leaving your name and then, speak like someone on the highway trying to break the sound barrier when leaving your telephone number? 

People generally decide in the first 15 seconds of listening to a voice message if they are going to return the call.  Fifteen seconds is not much time for your first impression.  Take time to have something in mind to say when you hear the beep.  A voice message that says, “Hi, my name is LeAnn Willard and I would like to speak to you about the Business Analyst position.  My contact number is 999-999-9999.  Thank you,” in a nice, steady voice would be a good message.  A message that would not get much attention might say, “Hi, uuuuuhhhhhh my name is uhhhhh LeAnn uuuuuuh Willard and number uuuuuuh 99-999 and uuuuuh I might want to talk about the uuuuhhhh BA position if it is still open uuuuh call me uuuuuhhh bye.”   Did I mention that one of the main qualifications for this position is communication?!? 

When you leave your next voice message, think about how you want your first impression to sound.

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