As Maxted Neal, a psychology and management professor at Hult International Business School, explains to Fortune, phone calls today are usually reserved for important occasions where a text won’t suffice; yes, that could be landing a job offer, yet more often than not, it’s bad news about loved ones.
“This builds an association with phone calls of being high-stakes, ‘serious’, or for delivery of bad news, and therefore an aversion of just picking up the phone and calling,” he says.
But learning to pick up the phone might be easier—and more essential—than they think.
Having grown up in an environment where texting (or rather, TikToking, Snapchatting and Instagramming) is the default. Gen Zers are used to being able to carefully curate a message and self-edit. So the only way to get comfortable speaking off the cuff, is to do it.
“Getting more confident and comfortable speaking on the phone is a matter of doing it more often, and reflecting on how you did.”
Career coach Kyle Elliott agrees—and says starting small is key. “Practice calling friends and family members to get used to speaking on the phone,” he says. “Try developing a habit of calling rather than texting until you’re more comfortable. Your future self will thank you.”
“Remember that you only get one first impression with an employer, and this is often during the phone screen, so you must ensure your phone skills are up to par,” Elliott says, while adding that employers still hold phone interviews to test for this very skill. Afterall, if you land the job, you will probably need the confidence to call clients from time to time.
“Ultimately, as a job seeker, you must tailor your communication style to employers,” he adds. “This is especially true in the current employer-driven job market, where other job seekers aren’t afraid to pick up the phone to check in with a recruiter or hiring manager about the status of their application.”
