Phone screen template

This phone screen question template is for a preliminary phone interview with a potential employee. It should take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete.

Date of interview

[Today’s date]

Name of interviewer

[Interviewer’s name]

Introduction

Introduce yourself, explaining your position at the company and how your role relates to the job they’re applying for.

Personal details

Make sure the details given in the interview match those in the resume:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Phone number

Company research

Get an idea of how invested in getting the role the candidate is by asking them what they know about your company:

• What do you know about the company?
• Why are you interested in working for us?
• What would make you proud about working here?

Role overview

Provide the interviewee with a brief overview of the job role you’re screening them for, outlining key responsibilities. Ask:

• Have you worked in a similar role?
• What unique skill set do you bring to the role?
• How do you plan to approach the role?

Experience and qualifications

Learn about their school, work and achievements:

• Talk me briefly through your work history.
• What’s your biggest achievement at work?
• Tell me about your educational background.
• What’s the best learning opportunity you’ve had outside school?

Hard skills

Find out which technical skills a candidate brings to the role:

• List the relevant tools and technologies you’re adept with.
• Tell me about your level of experience with each.

Soft skills

Try to learn how well they communicate and how easily they’ll adapt to the level of teamwork required in the role:

• Can you describe an instance where you helped a teammate?
• Tell me about a time you saw an opportunity for improvement and acted on it at work.
• Has an unexpected challenge ever arisen and you disagreed with a teammate/leader about how to solve it? How did you resolve the issue?

Culture add

These questions help you gauge what a potential employee can add to your company’s culture:

• How would previous coworkers describe you?
• What are you passionate about?
• What did you like and dislike about your previous company?
• Where do you see yourself in five years, and how will this role help you get there?

Candidate questions

Once you have a good understanding of the candidate’s motivations and eligibility for the role, open the floor up to them. If they have questions prepared, answer them as thoughtfully and comprehensively as possible.

Logistical questions

Ask these questions to make sure the candidate’s expectations about salary, location, working hours and scheduling are realistic and aligned with yours:

• Are you authorized to work in the state?
• Do you have reliable transportation?
• What is your expected base salary or rate per hour?
• What are your desired hours per week?
• Do you have preferred workdays?
• What are your hours of availability?

Next steps

Provide an overview of what the employee can expect from the hiring process and give them a timeline.

Overall adequacy

Rate the interviewer out of five in each area listed below:

• Answers match details in resume
• Attitude
• Employment skills
• Culture add
• Pay expectations aligned with job role
• Availability
• Overall outcome

Tips on phone screen conduct

Remember, every interaction you have with a candidate has an impact on your employer brand. Follow these tips to ensure you put your best foot forward and appeal to high-performing candidates during a phone screen interview:

• Consider using a platform that automates the process of posting jobs, asking prescreening questions and arranging phone interviews.
• Dedicate time to reviewing the candidate’s resume and job description immediately before the call so you can give informed, thoughtful answers.
• Find an interruption-free zone with an excellent phone connection and good acoustics.
• Avoid asking “yes” or “no” questions. Instead, stick to open-ended questions that encourage the candidate to reveal as much information as possible.
• Ask follow-up questions whenever possible—especially in promising candidates—but make sure you stay within the allotted timeframe.
• Avoid multitasking, and ensure you’re 100% present on the phone call, actively listening to the candidate and giving them time to formulate answers.
• Take brief notes during the interview, and flesh them out once you finish the call to avoid sounding distracted or disinterested.
• Be warm, speak clearly and take time to fully articulate your thoughts.
• Don’t fall into the trap of making false promises or guarantees at such an early stage of the interviewing process.
• Conclude with a structured and decisive ending to the call. This instills confidence and shows respect for the candidate’s commitment to applying for the role.

Phone interview candidate red flags

It’s important to focus explicitly on what candidates tell you during phone calls. However, look out for the following potential red flags and keep them in mind during phone screenings:

1. Inconsistency: The number one red flag to look out for is inconsistency between what the candidate says on the phone and their resume. Trust and honesty are two vital qualities for any job role.
2. Evasive answers: If the candidate can’t answer questions or gives vague replies, it could indicate that they don’t possess the skills they’ve listed on their resume.
3. Lack of research: Candidates who haven’t spent time researching your company might not be particularly interested—or, if they are, this could demonstrate a lack of initiative.

Sell your company to candidates

An interview is an opportunity to get to know candidates and for them to decide if they’d like to work with you. Be sure to speak with an engaging, positive tone during phone screening interviews and give a true representation of what to expect.

Use the phone screen question template for guidance, and aim to glean as much information as possible at this early stage. Compare each candidate’s notes, choose who you’re taking forward to the next stage and contact them as soon as possible.

FAQs about phone screen questions

Why do employers need phone screen question templates?

A phone interview template helps ensure you’re fair and consistent when screening candidates for a job role. Asking every applicant the same questions gives you a true point of comparison when assessing who moves forward. What’s more, it streamlines the process for you or your hiring team and enables interviewers to efficiently select qualified candidates.

How do you invite a candidate to a phone interview?

Most job boards provide an automated pipeline to move qualifying candidates through each stage of the application process. First, create screening questions for their initial online application; candidates who don’t meet your requirements are filtered out at this stage. Next, select who you’d like to invite to a phone screening interview, click the invite button and wait for them to select a day and time that suits them. The platform usually sends out an automated reminder to you and the candidate the day before and on the day of the interview.

How do you structure a phone interview?

Phone interviews begin with a brief introduction, followed by an invitation for the interviewee to provide personal details. Gauge what they know about your company and the role immediately after they provide their personal details. Then, explain the job description and segue into their proficiencies and qualifications. At this point, they’ve likely opened up, posing an ideal opportunity to ask questions about soft skills and culture add. Ask if they have any questions for you, pose mandatory logistical questions last and then outline next steps to round off the call naturally.