When hiring , you can spend a lot of time interviewing candidates who don’t quite meet your needs before you find one that meets them. One way to speed up your research is to use the proven phone interview. Answers to key phone interview questions can help you narrow your list and quickly identify the most promising candidates.

What is a telephone interview? This is a brief call, usually 30 minutes or less, which can save you the time and hassle of meeting face-to-face with candidates who, despite strong resumes, are unlikely to have what they need. The process is simple: Once you’ve finished reviewing CVs and narrowed down the number of candidates for your position, schedule an appointment for the first interview in the recruitment process with each of these candidates.

An applicant’s answers to a telephone interview can tell you a lot about the combination of skills and experience they have for the job and about the style of work that is right for your office. Also, a relatively informal phone call can give you a better idea of ​​the candidate’s interpersonal skills than a formal, repeated interview.

Rather than asking open-ended or probing questions, consider the following categories of questions for each applicant.

1. The essential

Be simple and start with phone interview questions that verify the information.

• Can you describe your background?
• Why are you looking for a new job ?
• Where are you in your job search?
• When could you start working ?

TIP: Stay focused. Be sure to block out noise and distractions from your office during phone calls .

2. Salary expectations

It is important to ask this question early on because it helps you understand the candidate’s expectations and whether they are earning more than you hope to offer them.

• What is your salary for your current position?
• How much would you like to earn in this position?
• Are there any specific benefits that are important to you?
• Could this be a breach of contract for you if we don’t offer _____ benefit?

TIP: If you cannot get a clear idea of ​​financial adequacy, you can come back to the topic of salary later .

3. Interest in the position

Evaluate their working style and interest in this job, as well as their motivation to quit their last job.

• What are the reasons that prompted you to quit your last job?
• What makes you prompted to apply for this position?
• Describe your current job responsibilities.
• What makes you motivated in a job?
• Do you have specific questions about this post?

TIP: Apply follow-up questions if you need clarification, but remember this is a preliminary interview and you need to deal with each question fairly quickly .

4. Knowledge of the company

Those – here let you know if the interviewee has taken the time to research the company.

• What is what attracted you to our organization?
• What do you know about our products or services?
• Do you use our products or services?
• What is the size of the companies in which ones you have worked on (small, medium, large) and do you have a preference?

TIP: Take notes in order to be able to compare their answers with those of other candidates .

5. Problems related to the curriculum vitae

Don’t forget to share any concerns or warning signs that appeared when you read the candidate’s CV and cover letter.

• What are the skills that you recently acquired or strengthened?
• How do your skills match at this job?
• What did you do during the period of interruption of your employment of one year? (If there is a gap in employment)
• Did your internship at _____ allow you to acquire specific experience to apply for this job? (If this is a recent university graduate)

TIP: Listen to the tone and assess communication skills .

Planning of the preliminary telephone interview

You can choose to schedule shorter or longer calls, but many employers estimate that it typically takes 15-30 minutes to ask all the relevant questions in a phone interview. List your questions and be consistent with what you ask each candidate to make fair comparisons.

Be willing to offer telephone interviews outside of normal business hours for the convenience of the candidate, particularly if they are a currently employed passive job seeker.

Prepare to be attentive to critical thinking, interpersonal skills and correspondence with the culture of your company. Listen for negative attitudes, lack of energy, lack of preparation and inconsistencies between what they say and what is on their CV.

Most of the same tips for face-to-face interviews can be used for telephone interviews. But, in general, you will have fewer questions to ask during the telephone interview and you will keep more in-depth questions for the in-person interview, when you have more time to spend with the candidate and can use the language. body to help interpret and evaluate responses.

Here are some additional questions to ask during the phone interview, in case you want more examples:

• What does a typical day at your current job?
• How do you see yourself contributing to this post?
• What do you hope to acquire in this job?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What questions do you have for me to ask?

Observe the rules of etiquette during the phone interview – and remember that the candidate evaluates you too. When you have several phone interviews in a row, it’s easy to rush into the questions you ask each person. However, it’s important to appear to be fully engaged in every conversation. Remember to sell your business when talking about your organizational culture, and also respect the interviewee’s time on schedule.

Warning signs of a telephone interview

During the interview, it is important to listen for warning signs that the candidate may not be right for your company. Here are some potential indicators:

• A lack of enthusiasm – Does the candidate seem enthusiastic about working in your company, or does he seem to just make an effort during the interview?
• No questions – If the interviewee has no questions for you about the team, the position or company, this may be a sign that they are not very interested in the position.
• Looking distracted during the interview – If the candidate seems to be browsing Instagram or multitasking when talking to you probably means he’s not focused on maintaining or getting the job.
• Negative comments on former employers – It’s never a good sign when a respondent disparages a current or previous employer. This may mean that he takes no responsibility for his own role in the dynamics of the workplace and is unprofessional.
• The emphasis on money – The fact of coming back several times to the theme of salary or fringe benefits during the phone interview, before a candidate gets to the next round, may be a sign that their focus is primarily on the money and the benefits – not the job and the company.
• Insults – It’s not that name-calling never happens at work (it really depends on the culture company), but no one should use bad language in an interview. This is unprofessional and one wonders if the person would do the same when they introduce themselves to management or to clients.