How to Conduct a Telephone Screen: Top Tips

To save your business time and money while recruiting, consider adding an extra step into your recruitment process: the telephone screen. If you’ve ever interviewed a candidate who looked perfect on paper, but later turned out to be a dud during the interview, telephone screening will stop your business wasting time on interviews with candidates who just aren’t right.

A telephone screen is essentially a short telephone interview, designed as a time-efficient way to narrow down a candidate pool. Like a face-to-face interview, a telephone screen allows you to assess the candidate’s skills, particularly those that you can’t evaluate just by looking at a resume.

However, screening takes only five to thirty minutes per candidate, allowing you to eliminate those who aren’t right early on - before investing your valuable time in a face-to-face interview. While telephone screening does take extra time early on, it’s a much smaller time investment than a full face-to-face interview, making it an essential part of any effective recruitment process.

Here are Recruitment Coach’s top tips for conducting short, effective telephone screens:

5 Tips to Conduct Effective Telephone Screens

1.    Keep it short

The right amount of time for a telephone screen will vary, depending on the importance or seniority of the position. For example, 5-10 minutes may be more than enough for a junior role, while up to 30 minutes may be suitable for a great candidate applying for a senior position. Once you’ve determined that they are suitable (or unsuitable) for the next stage, you can end the phone screen.

2.    Be prepared

Prepare a set of 3-6 simple questions to ask each candidate during the telephone so you can compare each candidate on an equal level.

Your first major question should just ask the candidate to describe their skills and experience. This question will allow you to assess their communication skills straight away, while learning more about what they can bring to the position. Your other questions should assess motivation, communication skills, and verify any ‘must-haves’, such as whether the candidate has a driver’s licence or if they are willing to work on weekends.

3.    Set the scene

When you first speak to the candidate, it’s important to set the scene to make a great first impression. Introduce yourself and your reasons for calling, and make sure to ask if it’s a good time to talk. The candidate could be at work, and may not be able to talk in the office. Once you know it’s a good time to talk, briefly discuss the position and its main responsibilities to remind the candidate of the role itself.

4.    Take notes and score candidates

To ensure you can compare each candidate to another, take notes on their answers during the screen. Create a simple table/spreadsheet, where you can list the qualities that you’re looking for, and describe the candidate’s compatibility with those criteria. This way, you can compare apples to apples and select the best candidates to move forward based on unbiased information.

5.    Inform every candidate about their progress

Once you’ve selected the top candidates for interviews, it’s essential to get back to every applicant to let them know of their progress – even if they are not being progressed. A simple, personalised email or brief phone call to thank a candidate for their time goes a long way in building a positive reputation as a great employer. While the applicant may not be right now, they might be a great employee one day, or know someone who would be.

After your telephone screening has been completed, you’ll know a lot more about every candidate and have a much better idea of whether they could fit in to your business. Adding an extra step into your recruitment process will save you time and money – dramatically reducing the time spent in interviews with candidates who just aren’t right for the position.

Share these Tips: