Hiring Managers still primarily use phones to communicate with candidates, and you need to be ready to pick up the phone and receive voicemail. Here are four things you can do today to get your phone ready for your search.

Turn On Your Ringer

Many people keep their phone on silent. As you embark on your job search, though, get into the habit of keeping your ringer on, and at a volume where you can hear it, whenever possible. Things move quickly in the Hiring world, and not hearing a call from a Hiring Manager may cost you an opportunity. In other words: don’t miss the call because you didn’t know it was happening in the first place!

Get Into the Habit of Picking Up the Phone

Because of the “wealth” of phone calls we get on a daily basis from random phone numbers (especially if you ever even thought of visiting a time-share), there is a tendency to let unknown numbers go to voicemail. During a job search, though, you will get calls from Hiring Managers using out-of-state, or even blocked, numbers. Get into a habit of picking up your phone whenever you can, even if you have to hang-up on a couple of Robocalls here and there. Also, this is a great time to set up your Bluetooth so you can answer calls through a hand’s free device as you drive.

Regularly Clean Up Your Voicemail Box; You’ll Need The Room

We shudder to tell you how many times we have called to extend somebody a job offer and had to hang up because their voice mailbox was full. Often, since you rarely call yourself, you may not even realize it is full. Call now to check and delete any old message you know you will not need in the future.. Also, be aware that just because you have listened to a voicemail doesn’t mean that it has been deleted from the mailbox; you may have to do it manually. Do not rely on your smart phone to remind you that your voicemail is almost full as those messages can get lost in a sea of notifications.

Keep Your Outgoing Voicemail Message Professional

As many of our daily interactions are being done via text, e-mail, or video chat, you may not have thought of your outgoing voicemail message for a while. For your job search make sure your message is formal and professional. For example:

“Hi. This is Jane Smith. I can’t answer the phone right now, but if you leave me a message with your name and phone number, I will return your call as soon as possible.”