Finding the right candidate for a role as a hiring manager can take some time.
Given the volume of applicants who express interest, it is easy to get overwhelmed. To avoid this, phone interviews have become an excellent option for initial screening.
A phone interview process is straight to the point and gives you a chance to screen a decent number of candidates. You also get to breeze through if you can wrap up each interview within 15 minutes or less.
In this article, we provide a list of questions to ask in phone interviews, along with the benefits of asking them. You’ll also find out how to end a successful interview, so read on to find out more.
Need to hire a freelancer?
Hire elite freelance talent with WeSellTalent. From single gigs to large projects, our freelancers are ready to help.
Benefits of a phone interview process
Phone interviews have their advantages and are a vital tool for top hiring managers. Depending on how you use the phone interview, these are some of the benefits you can expect:
1. Great for initial screening of candidates
Depending on the role you’re hiring for, you may have hundreds of applicants to screen. When this happens, a phone interview is a great option to thin out the numbers.
The goal of a phone interview is to get to know a candidate and determine whether they’ll be a good fit for the company culture. From the responses you get, you can quickly decide who moves on to the next job interview stage.
2. An inexpensive option for screening
Cost is one of the biggest challenges of hiring, and phone interviews help companies reduce it in various ways.
It eliminates the need to secure a large space to host hundreds of candidates. Plus, it reduces the time investment for other employees who may need to participate in the job interview process.
3. Time flexibility
Since you don’t need to do all the interviews at once, you have more time slots available when it comes to phone interviews. Many candidates and managers prefer a quick 20-30-minute call to a full-day interview, especially for an initial screening.
4. More focus on experience and skills
Since phone interviews only involve oral communication, how managers interact with applicants changes. Unlike walk-in interviews, where demeanor and outfit matter, there is no visual cue bias in a phone interview.
This often makes it easier to find individuals with the best skills for a new position.
How to get the best results from a job interview?
When preparing for a phone interview, many people focus on what they want out of the candidate. However, to hire the best, you also have to put in the effort.
In the same way you’re assessing a candidate’s preparedness and responses, they will also be assessing you to know if working for your organization is the right option. For the best results, these are some things you should do:
1. Go through the application
If you’re going to ask what an individual knows about your company, then you must at least take the time to go through their application.
The information you get from the application will give you an idea of a candidate’s level of experience, career path and growth, soft skills, career gaps, and signs of job-hopping.
Good managers also take the opportunity to run background checks and scan for red flags to narrow the list of ideal candidates that fit the team culture.
2. Prepare your interview questions
You already have some of the best interview questions to ask from this article, but you should also tailor them to the company values and needs.
The questions you ask during an interview must evoke the responses you need, and be sure to ask all candidates the same questions.
Consistency in your questions is key. This is crucial since you’re screening individuals with similar educational backgrounds, career growth, experiences, and skill levels.
3. Mutually convenient scheduling
Phone interviews are short, but this doesn’t mean they can be at any time. The best phone interviews are those in which you and the applicant are comfortable.
If you ask hiring managers from various companies, you’ll find out that Mondays and Fridays are usually not great for phone interview. You can pick any day from Tuesday to Thursday and any time from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
4. Pick a great spot for the call
Phone interviews are time sensitive, so clear communication is vital.
For this reason, having a quiet environment where you can avoid background noise helps a lot. This way, you can hear everything a candidate has to say without forcing them to repeat themselves. Plus, this is the least you can do as a professional.
5. Take notes
You’ll be assessing many candidates during the hiring process, so keeping notes on each individual will help.
These notes serve as comprehensive, direct reports on each job seeker’s character and performance. You can use these for comparison to ensure you’re selecting only the best during the job interview.
6. Have the right responses
While preparing questions to ask during an interview, you should also have responses to thoughtful questions you might get.
Some individuals will want to know the growth opportunities, company values, and management style to determine if employers care about them.
They will be gauging the interviewer’s response, so you want to provide accurate details that give them a better sense of how the company operates.
7. Arrive on time
Gone are the days when employers held all the power. Nowadays, potential employees demand the highest standards from companies.
If you set an interview for 10 a.m., then you must be available at that time. Rescheduling an interview without prior notice isn’t a good look for your company, and don’t be surprised if you get negative reviews from candidates on sites like Indeed or Glassdoor.
9 smart questions to ask during an interview
There are many questions to ask during a phone interview, but you’ll need to have a reasonable list if you want to complete the process within the stipulated time.
As a hiring manager, you must have a list of smart questions to ask to get the answers you need to decide whether a candidate is a good fit for the company and the role.
If you’re ready for the hiring process, these are some excellent questions you can ask applicants:
1. Can you talk a bit about your career?
A phone interview is the first opportunity to interact with a candidate, and asking about their career is a great way to get to know them.
The answer to this question usually gives you insight into their career progression, where they’ve worked, career achievements, and the skills they’ve developed over the years that will assist in the role you’re hiring for.
Some candidates go straight to the point with their answers, while others don’t.
So, if a candidate starts talking about things that don’t matter, it’s your role as the person interviewing them to steer the conversation in a direction that gets you what you need.
2. What can you tell me about the company?
One way to assess a candidate’s preparedness is to ask them what they know about the company they are applying to.
When hiring, you’re not just looking for an individual with a strong academic or professional record; you want someone who can demonstrate the same qualities in their daily work.
When a candidate provides detailed information about their potential employer, you can confirm that they’ve taken the time to research the company before the phone interview.
Such candidates will likely showcase the same level of commitment on the job, so you can consider them for the next stage.
3. What are your salary expectations?
This is an important question you want to ask later in the interview.
You can ask this after providing details of the day-to-day responsibilities the candidate will be expected to handle upon joining the company. By doing so, the candidate is likely to provide a range rather than delay or give an ambiguous answer.
Many candidates might delay to avoid locking themselves out of a great salary, while others may be trying to avoid sounding too greedy.
If the original hiring advert didn’t specify a salary, then this is a question you cannot afford to miss. As you prepare for the interview, you should also be sure of the role’s budget. This helps you find a candidate who can handle the role and maintain employee satisfaction.
4. Why did you apply for this position?
People change jobs for various reasons, and it’s crucial to find out why.
When a candidate answers this question genuinely, you’ll get insight on their motivation behind the application, if their values align with the goals of the company, and if they actually understand the responsibilities of the role.
The right job seekers will highlight the specific skills they have that can help them in this role, so this is a great time to learn more about them and what they don’t mention in their application.
However, you should look for answers that let you know what the candidate can add to the team, and not a simple readout of what you can already find in the CV.
5. How did you find out about this role?
Asking this question can help you determine the best options for placing job ads when hiring. Are many of the top candidates finding out about roles on LinkedIn, job boards, or the company website?
Plus, when a candidate finds a job through the company’s website, it shows a level of interest that goes beyond job seeking.
You can also use this question to determine whether the individual received a reference from someone already working with your company.
While an official assessment of an individual is still crucial, this is a great way to vet a candidate’s character and work ethic if they’ve already made a positive impression.
6. Can you describe your responsibilities at your current job?
If you want to see how well an individual can transition into the role you’re hiring for without training, then this is one question you should ask. Allow the candidate to explain what they do, and, if possible, let them elaborate using projects they’ve completed as examples.
Experienced candidates will typically break down the various skills they use in completing specific tasks and how these skills can be applied in the role you’re hiring for.
If a candidate has trouble describing a typical day at work, it raises red flags.
7. How soon can you start if hired?
Many good candidates are already working at another company while interviewing with yours, so they will need time to complete a proper handover.
However, their answer to this question can help assess their willingness to follow procedures and their overall professionalism. While most immediate projects may require you to find replacements fast, this is one of the smart questions to ask.
When leaving a company, there is usually a notice period, during which an employee can hand over projects and explain certain things to anyone who will be taking over their job.
If a candidate tells you they can resume immediately, even though they say they are currently with another company, this might be a problem.
8. How do you handle challenges and failures?
A lot of times, the ability to perform a job excellently depends on an individual’s ability to solve problems and own up to mistakes.
When a candidate answers this question, you’ll get the opportunity to assess their skills to effectively problem-solve on the spot and ability to adapt and deal with changes within the work environment.
Failures at work come in various forms, and there is no way to prevent things from going wrong on the job. However, what matters is how people handle these failures. When getting an answer, these are some things to note:
- Do they stay professional while they figure things out?
- Do they own up to mistakes?
- Are they in the habit of blaming others?
- Is there a sign that they try to learn from what went wrong to avoid a repeat?
You can also take this opportunity to ask about the most challenging aspect of their typical day or the role they are applying to. Paying attention to their responses can help you identify areas where training may be necessary for successful employees.
9. Do you have any requirements for our work environment?
As you already know, some individuals search for a new job to find a more conducive work environment. In this case, knowing what they expect from your company is important.
Some candidates want an environment that offers chances for growth, excellent collaboration, and recognition for excellence. There might be other requirements, such as remote work options, proper structure, and so on.
When listening to a candidate, you should determine whether your company offers all of these. It won’t do you much good to reply affirmatively if you can’t provide the environment they want.
In some cases, candidates are willing to overlook certain things, as long as they don’t end up in what they consider a toxic work environment.
Providing professional development opportunities, a management style that aligns with them, and strong team dynamics are often enough to ensure job satisfaction.
How to successfully end a phone interview?
Once you’re through asking all the questions you prepared, you should also spend some time answering questions from job seekers. This is a great way to put a candidate’s mind at ease by promoting a proper conversation.
You can initiate this process with a simple question you ask at the end of the interview. This is usually after you’ve gone through all the other questions on the list, but applicants love it when an interviewer answers their questions.
When candidates have a chance to ask questions, they see your company as transparent and open to assessment during the interview process.
You’re giving them a chance to clarify anything they don’t understand or to get information you may have failed to provide before the end of an interview.
While the goal is to answer the candidate’s questions, this process still provides an opportunity for assessment.
The questions you get can highlight a candidate’s understanding of the role, their drive for professional growth, and their desire to learn more about the kind of projects the company handles on a regular basis.
When a candidate fails to ask genuine or smart questions, it can indicate a lack of proper research before the interview or a lack of interest in the role.
However, this isn’t always the case, so be sure to make sound judgment.
Conclusion
A great way to end the phone interview is to explain the next steps. You can provide a timeline for when candidates might receive a response from your company, but it should account for other pending phone interviews and the time needed to assess the results.
As you already know, the phone interview is just an initial screening process, and there will be more interview stages.
So, it’s a good idea to avoid telling a candidate whether they will proceed to the next stage. However, you can still explain what to expect at other stages of the interview without revealing the interview results or providing a job offer.
You can confirm with each candidate that the email address they provided is correct, so they won’t miss any updates from the company.
Once you’re done, thank them for taking the time to participate in the phone interview.