prescreen interview questions?

As I mentioned before there has been an uptick in sales at a lot of my clients which triggered a release of the tight grip on expenses.  As such, some open headcount positions that were previously on hold are being actively recruited for and, of course, given that everyone is looking for work we are being inundated with resumes.

how do we make the candidate selection process as efficient as possible?

The typical steps in the recruiting/selection process are:

1. post positions on your careers page, craigslist, eluta, and local technical sites (e.g. in British Columbia T-Net is very popular) and local post-secondary sites (if applicable);
2. review resumes that come in and pull out the ones that meet the “must have” criteria;
3. next prescreen the applicants (via phone);
4. set up the initial selection interviews to probe skill set and culture fit;
5. if applicable set up skills testing assessments;
6. if they are still in the game then it is time to meet the senior manager(s);
7. meanwhile you can be doing reference checks (both formal and informal);
8. finally, if you still think they are a rock star then offer them a job!

Now, many people know what they want in a hire, can write the job description and post to the sites mentioned above but struggle with #3 - the prescreen.

What should I be asking during the prescreen interview?

The prescreen is used to verify information on the resume, confirm the candidate is still interested in the opportunity, verify what their salary expectations are and any other quick questions that would obviously eliminate the candidate early in the process.  Why should you do this? The prescreen saves both the company and the candidate time and money.  Some candidates whose resumes look great,come across as clearly poor fits after speaking to them on the phone.  There is definitely a trend out there to make one’s resume sound more impressive than one’s real experience.  A phone screen can weed a lot of those people out.  As a reminder, please treat them with the utmost courtesy and respect - it’s a brief call but it is also the first point of contact and sets the tone for company and applicant.

I typically like to create a grid and ask each candidate five questions:

1. how did you hear about us? - this question is two fold: (a) self-serving - as an HR professional it is good to know where they saw your posting so you know for future posting effectiveness; and (b) it is a soft question to start the candidate talking.  I’ve noticed lately that they need some prompting because they have applied to numerous positions!
2. can you tell me a little about what you were doing at your last/current job? - again, soft question to make them feel more comfortable and to help you determine if they will fit your opportunity.
3. why are you leaving/left your last/current job? - these days the most likely answer was that they were laid off which prompts me to ask what have they been doing since then?  learning a new skill? taking care of the kids? attending conferences? travelling? probe why they want to leave or have left.
4. when can you be available to work at a new opportunity? - try to figure out how much notice they have to give their current employer (is two weeks enough?).
5. what are your salary expectations? - many people struggle with this question so early in the process.  If they don’t know, or do not want to say, I typically follow with: “fair enough, do you mind telling me what you are currently making? because we know everyone likes to have a raise.” they usually laugh and open up a bit.  This is an important question for small companies - you may have the best candidate in the world and they want $100K/year but you know you only have budget for $60K.  Do you walk?

If all goes well in your brief call then ask what their availability is like over the next week to come in for an interview.  Tell them you will send a follow up email [repeat their email address from their resume] to confirm the date, time, location and interviewer. 

If it doesn’t go well don’t get their hopes up.  Simply say:

thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.  We are prescreening many candidates and short-listing by [Friday].  Is the best way to reach you via email at [repeat their email address from their resume]?

When you go to send out your “no thank-you” emails include the prescreen candidates that you passed on.

The summary grid also helps the interviewer (step 4) do a quick glance on the candidates and sets a good tone for making comparisons.

I hope this helps with the prescreen interview questions.  Because they are so basic, really, anyone can do them in the company - just in case you are swamped.

Good luck!