The hiring market is challenging and you need to get any advantage you can. The phone interview is best way to save time, reach higher quality candidates faster, and save money.
Here are 4 steps that can help you maximize your recruiting program, and get the most out of conducting pre-screen phone interviews.
step 1
Be prepared with all the information you need to answer questions. This should include the ad, list of benefits, and a written job description. Be ready to email this to candidates if you decide to move forward to the in-person interview.
Many candidates apply for positions, prior to having a full understanding of the job. You can avoid a lot of poor interviews, and mistake hires by spending just a couple minutes on the phone fully disclosing the job and responsibilities.
step 2
Have a uniform set of questions for all candidates. Get 10 to 15 questions together that can quickly identify people that are a basic fit. Value your time and the interviewee's by keep the call down to 10 to 15 minutes.
The whole idea behind the phone interview is to save time for everyone by establishing who meets basic criteria, not identify a hire to be confirmed in person. Use standard questions to compare one candidate to another quickly.
step 3
Sell the job and your company. Give qualified candidates a real reason to meet in person. Talk about culture, benefits, community involvement, and ownership.
Ghosting interviews is an epidemic. It really is a job seekers market, and they need to be convinced to show up and meet your interviewer. Otherwise you are going to have a lot of missed appointments.
step 4
Load notes into an applicant tracking system (if you do not have one, sign up for one now). The key to saving time and effort is making sure you do not have to waste time re-interviewing the same candidate multiple times.
By saving notes it allows you to skip going through a full interview and move right on to asking about new information that might improve their candidacy. Plus it will impress that candidate that you already know them.
We hope these tips help you get the most out of your hiring program. For more help recruiting check out the rest of our site. We have tons of articles and content to help employers like you.