10 Phone Interview Questions You Should Ask!

Why start with a Phone Interview?

Trust us, telephone interviews are invaluable!

And I’m not just talking about the current global climate where face-to face meetings are off the agenda, but in all recruitment projects.

The Pros!

1. Logistical benefits
2. Highly efficient and insightful
3. Easy to incorporate into your schedule
4. Negates delay
5. Can occur irrespective of yours or the candidate’s location.
6. Unearth a lot in a short space of time
7. Ensure candidate fits technical criteria for the role
8. Assess personality fit for the team/company
9. And most importantly their motivation to join you!
10. Telephone interviews are a solid investment of time (there are no cons).

A CV is just one piece of the candidate puzzle!

When you’re initially reviewing CVs, you don’t have the full picture yet. If lucky, there will be some further notes from a recruiter and/or a well written cover letter (yay a few more puzzle pieces!)

You may choose to look them up on LinkedIn and other social media; all are pieces you can add to the puzzle, but it’s nowhere near complete yet! ☹

Are you confident you have the full picture now? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few more pieces before committing hours of your time (& theirs!) to interview face to face?

The Candidate!

Let’s not forget, they’re evaluating too!

All they really know about the role so far is the job description (which in my experience can vary from a few bullet points to a full-length novel, crammed with internal corporate jargon), information they can gather from your website and any blanks your recruiter is able to fill in.

An initial call helps the candidate assess the role in full too, ensuring they’re committed before progressing.

10 questions to cover in a telephone interview

Firstly;

• Typically aim for a maximum 30-minute call
• Introduce yourself and any other colleagues on the call
• Include their relationship to the position being discussed

...for a candidate it can be alarming when a new person starts speaking and you didn’t know they were there!

1. Talk Me Through Your CV

• This should have a confident delivery. Ok, interviews will make some nervous, but this is the topic they know best!
• Having their CV bought to life by them really helps you better understand them - intonation and context are wonderful things!
• This question also provides a platform for you to query any anomalies and for them to emphasise relevant career highlights
• NB this question is not the same as “Tell me about yourself"

2. What do you know about our Company?

• Have they researched your company or are they just reading your “about us” page over the phone?
• A candidate should confidently talk about what they have researched, it demonstrates they have done their homework and are committed to the opportunity

3. Tell me what you know about the role?

• Again, have they prepared for the interview?
• But also, this is an opportunity for you to inform them more about the position; fill in the gaps for them, job descriptions only go so far
• Hopefully you’re interviewing high-calibre candidates – sell your role!!

4. Why are you interested in this role?

• Now it’s their time to sell themselves, and a good opportunity for you to ensure they understand & possess the qualities required to fulfil it

5. Ask any technical deal breakers

• Ask questions around the role’s key skills
• Ensure their capabilities align with the demands of your role
• Their answer should fill you with confidence!

6. Tell me about yourself? / Describe your personality?

• Their answer should hopefully have a much more personal tone to it than point 4
• Aimed to help you get a better ‘feel’ for their personality and for company/cultural fit

7. Why did you leave/are looking to move on?

• This should have a well thought out and confident answer which tallies with what you have to offer
• Ensures both parties’ expectations align

8. Do you have any questions for me?

• An opportunity for the candidate to get any of their deal-breakers answered
• Also, it’s always interesting to see what is asked, as it can reveal their drivers and what they deem important

9. Double check the logistics!

• Salary, location, commute, relocation, notice period, non-compete clauses, etc. Anything that will ensure no hurdles arise down the line

10. If we were to invite you forward to the next stage, would you be keen to progress?

• Are they enthusiastic?
• Are they genuinely interested & excited by the opportunity?
• Again, better to flush this out now than progress with someone luke-warm who’ll drop out down the line

Now, how’s your puzzle looking? Hopefully you’re seeing the picture more clearly and you can confidently move forward to the next stage!

To learn more regarding phone screening, next stage interviews and how to best utilise video interviewing, follow VRS Recruitment on LinkedIn, follow the blog, call or email anyone of our excellent team members, all will be more than happy to help!

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