I have interviewed a number of candidates over the phone in the past. In my case, being good on the phone to customers was a hard job requirement. But if the jo

I have interviewed a number of candidates over the phone in the past. In my case, being good on the phone to customers was a hard job requirement. But if the job hadn't required the successful candidate to use the phone at all, then I don't think I would have had a problem with the candidate suggesting alternatives. The hardest thing though is that interviewers are generally all different, and they have to be opinionated in order to be able to make hiring decisions. So you're taking a risk regardless, and have to judge the trade-off in going off the standard path for yourself. In this situation I would have expected the candidate to offer suggestions in what to do instead, particularly because I cannot expect to understand his or her reasons in detail. If you want to seek an alternative, you should ask questions to find out exactly what the interviewer is hoping to gain from a phone interview, and be prepared with an appropriate set of alternatives to suggest with the interviewer's goals in mind. Use email, online chat, or whatever else you want that isn't too inconvenient for the interviewer. Try not to stretch out the conversation too long out in time.