Phone Screening Interview Questions And Answers

When you've narrowed the applicant pool, call each candidate for a brief phone screen interview. This can eliminate time-consuming meetings with those who, despite strong resumes, don't meet all your needs. Even hearing the answers to quick phone screen interview questions often provides a sense of whether the person is likely to fit in with your team. Because these discussions are relatively, they may provide a more accurate idea of the candidate's interpersonal skills than a formal, rehearsed interview.

Be sure to raise any concerns you jotted down when you first reviewed the candidate's resume, such as the omission of an important technical skill or a mysterious employment gap. If the candidate's answers to your phone screen interview questions don't resolve your concerns, you've saved yourself the time involved with an in-person interview.

Typically takes between 15 and 30 minutes to ask all pertinent phone screening interview questions. The key is to be consistent with your questions so that you can fairly compare job hopefuls. Overall, using phone screen interview questions to evaluate candidates is a great next step once you've narrowed the resume pool.

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☛ You have the specific technical skills needed to do the job well.
☛ You have a problem-prevention-and-solution mindset.
☛ You are fully aware that the product of your work (that sale, that accounting report) in turn becomes part of someone else's work. You understand your work is one small but important cog in the complex machinery that helps the company make money.

The answer should never be more money!!! Even if that is the real answer! The correct answer should be; a new challenge with an opportunity for growth and development. Employers truly want candidates that can offer an immediate impact on their business, including applicable skills, education and experience, but also candidates that are interested in new challenges and want to continue to develop and grow within new work environments.

☛ Will I have to work overtime?
☛ Are the working hours flexible?
☛ Can I work from home?
☛ Does this job require that I pass a Drug and Background check?
☛ How much does this position pay?
☛ What type of health insurance does the company offer?
☛ Is there public transportation in the company's area?
☛ How many weeks of vacation time/ sick time do you offer?

This is a question to see how comfortable you working with other people. It is always best to be honest, with the employer and yourself. If you really don't like working in larger groups or around lots of people then let them know… Maybe the job isn't an exact fit for you and that's OK because there will be many other opportunities out there that may provide you with your ideal work environment. Phone interviews and in person interviews are also a perfect opportunity for you the candidate to be interviewing the employer, to verify if their company/job is best for you!

Follow these steps to phone screen success:
☛ Make sure you have a professional sounding outgoing voice mail message.
☛ Express appriciation for the call.
☛ Make sure it is the right time and place.
☛ Be sure you are speaking on a landline.
☛ HAVE your resume, notes and date book in front of you.
☛ Be an active listener.
☛ Expect elimination questions to come first.
☛ Avoid verbal tics.
☛ Earn your 15 minutes in the spot light.
☛ Inquire about next step.

Imagine you are an employer looking to find a responsible employee to fulfill a management position. How do you think you would react to an outgoing message of your promising candidate singing, can not get to the phone? You probably would not even bother leaving a message. The moral of this story: Record a professional-sounding message on your voicemail with no singing, no gimmicks and no slang.

Even if you are caught completely off guard by the call, be welcoming and enthusiastic. Hello, I am so glad you called. Smile when you say it, the person at the other end of the phone can not see your expression but will be able to hear the warmth in your voice.

A poor cell phone connection can leave both parties feeling frustrated and you do not want to inadvertently hang up on your interviewer. If you are speaking on your cell phone, ask if you can call your interviewer right back on your land line.

Your interviewer may ask you specific questions about your work history and giving vague answers will not make a good impression. The phone screen is like an open-book exam.

Hear out your interviewer's questions in full, without interrupting and make sure you ask follow-up questions for clarification if need be. Your interviewer cannot see you nod and may interpret your silence at the end of the phone as a dropped line, so be sure to interject the occasional active listening cues, such as: "I see," "right," "okay," "that is interesting," and "absolutely."

Maybe you get the call while you are at work, with your boss breathing down your neck or the phone rings when you are out with friends or walking home from class. If the interviewer catches you at a bad time and asks, Is this a good time to talk? your response should be something along these lines: "Actually, is there a time I can reach you tomorrow or the day after? I am very interested in the position and I want to give you my undivided attention but I am afraid now is not the best time. Make plans so you can receive the call in a quiet place where you will not be interrupted.

Unlike in-person interviews, phone interviews often cut right to the chase, without a lot of preliminary chitchat. Prepare for tough, awkward questions to be asked right away, such as:
☛ Why do you want to work for us?
☛ Why did you leave your previous job(s)?
☛ What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
☛ What is one problem you wish you had handled differently at your last job?
☛ What traits do you like most and least in a supervisor?
☛ What salary would you expect in this position?

You know how some people, when they are, like, all nervous and stuff, say things in a way that, ummm, makes them sound, you know, kind of, well, less than professional? Be aware of your verbal mannerisms on the phone since your interviewer will have few other cues by which to judge your professionalism.
Another verbal tic that interviewers tend to associate with younger, less experienced candidates is "upswing," a tendency to have the cadence of the voice rise as though every sentence (or portion of a sentence) ends in a question mark. With upswing, this statement sounds much more dubious and less impressive than if you said it using a more factual, even cadence.

With in-person interviews, most interviewers will grant you at least 15 minutes out of sheer politeness but over the phone, interviewers feel much freer to abruptly terminate interviews that do not seem promising. So do not save your best stories for last-make a favorable impression early on.