The Telephone Screen

The telephone screen is not an interview and shouldn't be confused with one. It should be used to clarify information on the r sum and the qualification of a potential interview. A telephone screen is a friendly, brief, fact-finding conversation designed to determine whether someone is qualified to do the job. A face-to-face interview is for determining whether this is the actual person you want to hire.

Key Questions

There are questions that are appropriate for a telephone screen and questions that are best left for a face-to-face interview. How do you distinguish between the two? Here are some examples.

• Phone screen question: What is your current salary situation?

• Interview question: What are you looking to earn?

  • This question should be left until the end of the interview process. Asking a candidate to commit himself to a number before he has been fully briefed on what your company has to offer and the specifics of the position doesn't benefit you or the potential hire. You want a chance to sell them on the position and your company before asking what salary they are looking for.

• Phone screen question: I see that you used C++ at your last employer. How many years have you programmed in C++? How would your rate your skill level with C++?

  • The candidate can answer this type of concise question with just a few words. The answer speaks directly to whether the individual is qualified to perform the essential duties of the position.

• Interview question: Where do you see yourself in five years?

  • This question pre-supposes that the candidate has the necessary skills for the position and is probing big-picture considerations such as ambition and motivation. These traits are difficult to detect over the telephone and are best gauged in a face to face setting.

• Phone screen question: How many people do you currently have reporting to you? Or what is the most number of direct reports you have had?

  • The answer to this question can be as brief as one word and still give insight and context to management skills described on the resume.

• Interview question: Describe your typical workday or workweek.

  • Asking this question during a personal interview allows the interviewer to watch for changes in the candidate's enthusiasm level and demeanor while he describes different daily tasks. This can tell you which tasks he enjoys or feels confident at and which he doesn't.