Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
Eric Wilinski, Wetfeet
Some recruiters and hiring managers underestimate the importance of the phone screen in making good hires, when in fact it can be a key component of the recruiting process.
Of course, the phone screen is an opportunity to weed out candidates who are looking for more salary than a position pays, or non-local candidates who are unwilling to relocate.
But good recruiters and hiring managers also know that the phone screen is an opportunity to learn more about a candidate than you can from his or her resume. You can determine, for example, whether the candidate is worth bringing in for a face-to-face interview. And if you do, you won't be starting from zero.
To get the most out of a phone screen, though, you'll need to avoid these common mistakes:
Not understanding the job you're talking to the candidate about
Writing off seemingly unenthusiastic candidates too quickly
Being overly critical of candidates who speak English as a second language
Missing scheduled phone interviews
Not being aware of open positions at your company other than the one for which you're recruiting
Understand the Job You're Trying to Fill
The phone screen is your chance to get a better idea of how well a candidate has the specific skill set required for the opening you're trying to fill. If you don't understand the job and don't know what skills it requires, you can't conduct an effective phone screen.
If you are a hiring manager, take the time to define precisely what skills the job requires before posting the job opening.
If you're a recruiter, make sure you get thorough job descriptions of the positions for which you're recruiting. If you still don't have a strong grasp of a job and the skills it requires, take some time to speak with the hiring manager to get answers to your questions about the job and what skills the ideal candidate would possess.
Don't Write Off Seemingly Unenthusiastic Candidates
Candidates who are actively looking for a job can be dealing with a barrage of phone calls. For those who are working full time—as most good candidates are—coping with all those phone calls can be exhausting.
The key in such a situation is to take the next step. If you're having a hard time filling a position and a candidate's resume makes it clear that he or she has the skills needed to do the job for which you're recruiting, invite him or her in for a face-to-face interview.
In today's difficult hiring market, give candidates a chance to research your company and work up enthusiasm—and give yourself a chance at getting the best candidates available.
Be Patient With People Who Speak English as a Second Language
Make sure you don't unnecessarily write off candidates who don't speak English well.
In some cases, the job you're trying to fill will not require excellent communication skills. Many technical positions, for instance, do not require people who are fluent speakers of English.
In other cases, the phone screen may not provide you with a fair assessment of a candidate's communication skills. Eye contact and gestures can do a lot of the work in communicating, and you'd be foolish to eliminate, on the basis of a phone call, candidates who may later impress you in person.
Don't Miss Scheduled Phone Calls
Good candidates are usually busy people who have gone out of their way to block out time to speak to you. It's quite likely they'll lose interest in working for your company if you neglect to call them as scheduled.
To avoid this problem, treat phone screens as important as in-person interviews.
Be Aware of All the Areas in Which Your Company is Hiring
Often, during a phone screen, it will become apparent that a candidate does not have the right skill set for the position you're discussing. While he or she might not fit into that position, though, there could be another place in the company where the same candidate would fit in well.
Before recruiting for an open position, take the time to learn about other positions your company is hiring for. That way, if you speak to a high performer who is not quite suitable for your open position, but would fit in at another open position, you won't miss an opportunity to bring a quality hire on board.
Articles
Finding Candidates
- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule