I’ve conducted my fair share of phone interviews, not as applicant but as interviewer prior to inviting them for a face to face.
Now ok this was for CFI positions but same principle applies.
You can tell the difference between somebody who is nervous and eager to answer and somebody who is not listening or just simply rude as they interrupt you.
Or great credentials and everything is whine whine whine.
If they ask you a TMAAT question and you go off on a tangent HR is not likely to sit there and let you know how they really feel.
Once you’re done with your conspiracy theories they’ll nod and say thank you let’s move on shall we?
Meanwhile you’re sitting there thinking you did A-OK.
Im obviously partially joking here but that’s kinda how it goes.
I’m not going to sit there and argue with an applicant as to why I think they’re wrong.
I’m just making a note that they do t know a particular subject very well.
During a little break I’d walk downstairs and ask the ladies behind the front desk about their first impression and their opinion weighed really heavily. They pretty much had a veto.
You come in as a potential coworker and give them an attitude as if you’re Gods gift to aviation.
Now most of the time the applicant wasn’t really doing well independently of getting the thumbs down from the front desk.
You got both barrels you’re outta here.
When you interview treat everybody like they have a veto. Hotel staff, van driver, HR assistant signing you in, the cleaner you pass in the hallway.
Not that they’ll ask the cleaner about you but somebody walking by might just catch you being a d!ck.
When you’re in a group of applicants be polite and don’t try and be the top monkey on the hill.
Immediately grabbing the alpha male role in a group and starting with your war stories won’t go over well when observed.
Bad mouthing your present or past employers doesn’t go over well either.
In my last interview we had a guy who looked like his blind mother picked out his clothes.
Like he’s literally wearing a suit where nothing matches, jacket doesn’t match the pants doesn’t match the shirt doesn’t match the shoes. Here’s another guy who in a room full of strangers immediately starts talking Air Force stories and him flying his lawn dart. Cool story brah....

Theres more to an interview then showing up on time and having an answer to everything.