Phone anxiety..... is this a thing

[Firefightress1]

I'm prepared to be educated but I've been helping a friend recruit for a job in a hotel. She created a job advert and we posted it online and on social media.

It gave details about the job and she had put her phone number to call to apply or for further info. She wanted to talk to candidates as its the way she has always recruited. It might be old school, I don't know.

Anyway, She had a lot of responses on Facebook and through private messages but no calls.
I replied on the post just to say to call the phone number as its quicker and she might not monitor replies and I was met with a barrage of unkind comments.

A majority saying they cannot phone as they have phone anxiety, this is a recognised trait and I should be more understanding. The job involves answering the phone in occasion and making outgoing calls to suppliers.

I'm so confused, I've never heard of it!
Everyone has a mobile phone but does no one actually make calls anymore?
I'm only 40 so not ancient but I'm no spring chicken either.
Just wondering if I'm totally unreasonable? How can they do the a job if they can't even call to apply. I'm 😕

This. I don't even order takeaways from places that are phone only 😅

But at work, not a problem at all, use the phone constantly. I have younger team who do literally refuse to answer the phone at work, so I've had to build in phone training to my teams training schedule. Which I always inwardly chuckle at, as I avoid it like the plague out of work lol.

I'm 65. I have found a lot of my millennial staff really can't talk on the phone and many of them struggle to pick one up and initiate conversation. So yes it's a thing. However, if the job requires it, it's tough luck. I'd like to be an astronaut, but my age and disability are against me. Phones may not be the only method of communication, but they are still important, and some people are very uncomfortable with anything else. If you can't do the job there are no adjustments possible. They'll have to get over it.

BTW, all our millennials got over it when it was explained that we were fine with them not doing an essential part of their job because there were a dozen people waiting for employment. We did give some tuition in house to talk on a phone, but that was the extent of it. Suck it up or you'll be needing another job.

Yeah. It just feels incredibly old fashioned. And just not the way jobs are done anymore.

I hate making phone calls, even to people that I know. I always feel like I’m intruding or something. I don’t mind taking calls tho, well most of the time. It just depends on the person.

i have avoided any job that requires making/taking lots of calls. One of my friends has to make at least 15 calls a day and the thought of it makes me shudder. I send out about 50 emails a day and it doesn’t bother me at all.

Phone anxiety I can understand, I had to make myself get used to speaking on the phone for work as its an essential part of my job.
What I have found though, through recruitment processes, is how many people do not read job adverts and apply with none to very few of the essential requirements i.e. can't drive when job requires driving!

I wish it was recognised lol. I developed severe anxiety around making/ receiving phone calls after working in a call centre for John Lewis in my early twenties. You would either get lovely people or the most horrible people who would yell at you as if it was your fault. I know this is part of the job, I only lasted a year as I just couldn’t handle it.

In my current job the phone rings occasionally but I never answer (I don’t have to but when I’m right next to it it’s sometimes obvious that I’m just ignoring it). When I tell my boss ‘oh I just don’t like answering the phone’ I feel so silly. But I can’t describe how the fear just runs through me at the thought of answering.

Like others on here, for daily life I can put a brave face on to make appointments etc but only if I really have to. I need to wait til I’m having a ‘good’ day confidence wise, so it has impacted my life a lot. However I would never apply for a job now that involved answering the phone in any way. Mad world we live in eh? Fear of talking to people lol

I definitely have phone anxiety. Only strangers though, I literally pace the front room having to psych myself up just to ring the doctors for an appt. I then stutter when trying to talk which is bloody annoying! I normally get dh to make the calls 😊

I would never apply for a job that you had to phone for more information. It's sounds scammy and unprofessional.

I'd want to see a clearly written add with requirements, role outline, hours and salary.

I really hate speaking to anyone on the phone. Even in my job we require any internal informal calls to be followed up with an email confirming what was discussed. So much can be misunderstood or misinterpreted in a phone call.

I'd be suspicious if a job ad said call for more information. Why can't the information be clearly laid out in an ad so people know what it is they're enquiring about?

Between my ASD and not having the best hearing I hate using the phone, much prefer email where I can take the time to make sure I haven't picked up the wrong end of the stick or come across as rude.
I would never take a job which required lots of phone use. People often forget the word reasonable when saying employers must make adjustments, if there is no way an applicant with a disability can do a large part of the job that's not discrimination.

Because surely everyone skills and experience is different. The hours are clearly listed but it says open to alternate hours if agreed. If someone can only work school hours then surely its better to call and explain that then see if the employer can accommodate it then waste your time going through a full application.
I really don't think that's scammy at all, it gives the person applying full control.

I didn’t mention anything. I’m not pp.

However, if it says ‘call to apply or for more details’ then you are asking people to call for more info. As has been stated by multiple posters, people find that dodgy. As you state that you’re having issues recruiting, I think you should take that on board.

A proper, above board application process for this sort of job would involve:

• An advert that clearly stated ALL relevant info. Also that the
• An email address for people to apply via. As it seems unlikely you have an application form, ask for CVs and a short cover letter stating why they consider themselves suitable.
• Sift based on suitability.
• Hold interviews. You can do formal interviews questions AND the soft skills ‘getting to know you’ chat.
• As part of the interview, set them tasks based on the role they will be performing. This can include talking on the phone.

Things need to be clear, standardised, documented and professional.

Imagine needing phone tuition

How can that even be a thing?

Every single job advert I've posted/applied for has had please call x for more info.

When interviewing I would mark down people who had not been in contact prior to the interview

It shows a complete lack of interest and I'd find it disrespectful

Phone anxiety aside, I do think it’s dated and unusual to ask for a phone call to apply for the job. If 50 people phone in, will she genuinely have time to speak to them all, have the initial chat about the overview of the job, why they’re interested, what experience they have, answer any number of questions? If she’s in the middle of admin, a walk in, dealing with another colleague etc, then she will either have lots of missed calls to deal with or she won’t be able to focus on the caller.

Over 100 people applied for a very part time admin job I was involved with recently. 100+ phone calls would have meant a lot of time wasted tbh.

It’s much more usual to apply via email or website (cv+cover letter, if no application form is available) then the recruiter calls back to talk about these things.

It's a thing, but you can't have a reasonable adjustment not to use the phone if it's a core part of the job. I get anxious on the phone (I previously had very bad social anxiety, now mild), especially in an open plan office when I find myself stumbling over my words😶. I will always email over call if possible but sometimes I just have to suck it up because the nature of my job requires it.

🧐

I've only called about one job I applied for (my current job). That was only because it was a very specialist area and the exact role sounded unclear (it has multiple parts so made sense when explained). I've got almost every job I've applied for. If I read an advert and fully understand what it entails, I'm not going to waste their time or my time by calling for the sake of it.

I'm old school and I'm only 40yrs. I'd much prefer to pick up the phone!

Honestly, it really is. And I'm fine with that if people take it on board and move forward. It didn't matter what your age or background is, sometimes it's just a step to move forward.

I had dinner with an ex staff member the other week, and she told me one of her new - redeployed - staff is 60 and says she can't use a computer despite having worked in admin all her life. She says it's her age. I'm 65 and I can run things around many youngsters...

I recognise that some people with significant disabilities may not be able to do some things. That's sad, but reality - don't apply for a job you can't do. But I think there's an awful lot of "I can't be arsed trying"... and I have no patience with that.

At that needs to be spelled out. ND people bed to know what to expect. You're being blase about it because you don't understand. But she is showing poor recruitment and won't get a good diversity of applicants this way.

So she could put in the advert:
Email to book a time to apply by phone.
The call will last x minutes.
We will discuss: your experience, the expertise you will bring to this role, why you want to apply.

And she needs to have questions in mind. Otherwise the process doesn't sound very transparent or equitable (I mean it doesn't anyway, but she's leaving herself wide open to discrimination claims doing it this way at the moment).

I absolutely suck at making calls to do things like applying for jobs, but, once I'm in the work place and making calls as part of my role, I'm really good at it. I think it's because I'm in the work zone and it's not "me" making the calls, it's "work me".

I completely agree. The OP and friend sound incredibly unprofessional and in need of training on a number of subjects.

I'm 52, I have always hated using the phone, it's caused so many problems for Mr. I get so upset, my heart beats faster and I feel dizzy. I'm so much happier being able to communicate without speaking on the phone. I think it's because my overbearing family used to push me to grow up quicker than I was comfortable with.I had no confidence.

How is asking for a phone call unprofessional, we are in the highlands of Scotland, this is totally normal up here due to the tiny number of applicants and urgency to fill roles.

Bollocks

It is part of social anxiety and panic disorder for people of all ages.

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon while some older people may also have phone anxiety I still maintain that it is mainly the younger generation who tend to let their fingers do the talking rather than their voices.