When trying to get in contact with a potential employer or recruiter, it is likely you’ll end up reaching their voicemail. It is surprisingly more difficult to connect with a busy decision-maker for a phone call than you may think. If you can’t seem to reach who you are trying to call, you must be prepared to leave a strong, professional voicemail in order to receive a call back. To make a lasting impression, take a glance at these basics to focus on when leaving a professional voicemail message.

Practice

Anytime you make a phone call, there is no guarantee that the person on the other end will answer. Take some time before picking up the phone and rehearse what you will address to prevent being caught off-guard. In a few, short sentences, address the purpose of your call. It is crucial to avoid rambling.  Be as concise as possible. You do not want to waste anyone’s time, this applies to both phone connects as well as voicemails. Also, while you are preparing, make sure you know how to properly pronounce the recipient’s name. The last thing you want to do is unintentionally insult them right off the bat. 

Introduce yourself

Every voicemail message should begin by introducing yourself. It is important that the recipient knows right away who and what the message is about so that the rest of the context makes sense. Include your full name and how you know each other or the purpose of your call. For example, “Hi Jane, this is Kelly Murphy calling. We spoke last week regarding the Administrator position at company XYZ.  I’ve been doing this type of work for the past 3 years.” Using an opening statement like this will provide a strong foundation to build the rest of your message.

Speak clearly

When leaving a voicemail, it is important to speak slowly and clearly. You want to make sure the recipient can understand your message in its entirety. Speaking too fast may jumble words together and makes it rather difficult to understand, especially because phones slightly distort voices as it is. This can become frustrating for whoever is listening on the other end. Speaking slowly allows the listener to understand all pieces of information the first time around. Also, if you are leaving a call-back number, be sure to speak slowly. The recipient will likely need to copy the number down and it will become a hassle if they have to replay the message multiple times in order to catch what you are saying.

Keep it short and concise

Instead of hanging up right after the call, most of the time you are able to press the ‘#’ key on phone systems to replay your message and rerecord if necessary. Always replay (if possible) to make sure you can understand the message clearly and you hit all the points you needed to. Do not be afraid to practice multiple times and rerecord, it could be what decides if you get that call back or not.

Remember, it is imperative to keep the voicemail short and to the point. The ultimate goal of leaving a voicemail is to get a call back, which will lead to a real-time phone call. It is during this conversation that you can go over details that were left out of the voicemail. Every voicemail should include an introduction to yourself, the purpose of the call in one to two sentences, your contact information, something special about you that makes you the right person for the job, and a thank you for their time. Keep it short, sweet and sharp!