The purpose of a phone screen is to determine whether a candidate is worth bringing in for an interview. It seems like an easy goal to meet, and yet we see several bad practices come up again and again.
The top nine ways to conduct a terrible phone screen fall into three categories: common courtesy, professionalism, and OH NO, NO NO NO, JUST NO.
Courtesy!
We technologists can be a bit brusque….brash….and other b words, I’m sure. Even so, there are some very basic “common courtesy” directives that are especially important for phone screens…so if you’re looking to run a bad phone screen, do this:
Be late. There are few things that will make a terrible first impression than wasting your candidate’s time.
Conduct the phone screen somewhere noisy. Phone and web communication is hard enough as it is. Please, make sure your door is closed and the dishwasher’s off before your call starts.
Ignore normal, everyday manners. I’m looking at you, phone screener who couldn’t be bothered to say a simple “hello”, “good day” or “goodbye”.
Like, professionalism, man…
There are some grey areas to what’s considered “professional”. These, though, are crystal clear.
Deliver a long, long speech. Lots of interviewers have a tradition of giving a long expository talk about what the company does, their initiatives, social consciousness, favorite markets, etc etc. This is not the time for that speech. Remember the point of this call: to determine whether the candidate should advance to a full interview. So, let’s keep the screen brief.
Gather a big team for the phone screen. A phone screen, screens. You’re just weeding out the people who have never heard of the technology you’re hiring for, the folks who can’t be bothered to show up, and those who can’t pretend to be reasonable humans for 15 minutes. If you have more than two people on the call to screen the candidate, you have lost sight of the call’s purpose.
Don’t read the candidate’s resume. I mean, wow. Seriously. If you do this, you’re wasting your time AND theirs, but mostly yours. I am reminded of the time a candidate was “matched” to “the perfect job”…it was me, a SQL Server DBA, matched to an Oracle position. I’d rather have spent that time waiting on hold with “Girl from Ipanema” musak.
OH NO, NO NO NO, JUST…NO
These OH MY STARS NO! directives are all related to getting yourself into hot water. Do you want trouble? Because this is how you get trouble.
Discuss other candidates. You’re not high-pressure selling a house, friend. You’re checking candidates for the bare bones requirements. If you talk about other candidates on this call, you’re very likely going to alienate the person you’re currently talking to.
Attempt to discern their personality. I do agree that there are some traits you want to check for, like being able to answer a question and has at least heard of the technology in question. However, trying to find someone who’s a “culture fit” can be, ah, problematic. And again, this isn’t the place to do that in any case.
Ask about their personal lives and plans! Again, this is a phone screen. Keep it short (but polite!) and to the point, and keep out of trouble. After all, “Any questions that reveal [the candidate’s] age, race, national origin, gender, religion, marital status and sexual orientation are off-limits.” – Business Insider.
Bonus: Real Life Examples
Among the more notable phone screen failures in my many years of IT were…
…the time I was subjected to a full 8 person, 70 minute “phone screen” with no agenda and a lot of awkward pauses.
…the time the interviewer wouldn’t switch off of speakerphone, and was therefore impossible to understand.
…the time a recruiter insisted I jump on a phone screen for a job that was perfect for me, which turned out to be primarily for a technology I had never even heard of, much less claimed to have experience with. (I really wish the phone screeners, at least, would have noticed the complete lack of Technology X on my resume.)
Now that you know the 9 worst ways, I’m hoping your phone screens will go much more smoothly.
Want to work with us? Contact us here!