What Is A Screening Interview? A Comprehensive Guide

As a recruiter, sifting through resumes for viable candidates is a chore. With the clock ticking and the talent universe being vast, applications aren’t going to assess themselves. But fear not! You can avoid your needle-in-a-haystack search with this vital talent assessment step: the screening interview.

This article reveals how mastering this process streamlines your hiring journey, bringing you the best-fit talent faster than ever.

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Article Roadmap

• What Is a Screening Interview?
• Types
• Importance
• Steps To Take Before Screening
• Steps To Take After Screening
• Next Steps

What Is a Screening Interview?

Screening interviews are preliminary assessments conducted to evaluate a potential candidate’s suitability. These brief interviews typically involve asking applicants to introduce themselves and explain their qualifications, allowing employers opportunities to shortlist the most promising candidates for further consideration. Screening candidates help employers save time and resources by identifying individuals who align best with the job requirements.

Types

Pre-employment screening sets the stage for identifying ideal candidates in the talent pool. Considering the unique talent demands for different roles, let’s explore various methods to screen candidates, each serving a distinct role and purpose.

1. Phone

As the term suggests, phone screening interviews are brief conversations over the phone, serving as the initial filter for candidate pools and promising applicants. The purpose is to determine whether or not potential candidates match the basic qualifications and exhibit enthusiasm for the position.

The interviewer inquires about the candidate’s background, experience, skills and interest in the job.

Person in Charge: HR professionals or recruiters typically conduct these interviews. Sometimes, hiring managers also participate in this process.

2. Video

Video screening interviews are the bridge between distance and personal interaction, utilizing video conferencing platforms or video interview tools. With audio and visual elements, they provide deeper insight into candidates’ personalities, empowering better-informed decisions.

There are two main types of video interviews:

1. Recorded Video Interviews: Let candidates record responses to preset questions, enabling asynchronous reviewing at a convenient time.
2. Live Interviews: Remotely interact with candidates in real-time. This technique offers immediate follow-up questions and clarifications, letting you gauge what candidates say and how they say it.

Person in Charge: HR folks, recruiters or hiring managers conduct these interviews. AI proctoring offered by video interview platforms helps conduct the pre-recorded interviews.

3. Questionnaire

Questionnaire screening interviews delve into candidates’ competencies and experiences in a structured manner. This method involves carefully crafted questions to extract targeted information about the role’s requirements.

Employing pre-employment assessment tools ensures fair and consistent candidate evaluations and attains valuable data to shortlist suitable individuals.

Person in Charge: HR professionals, recruiters, hiring managers or assessment specialists are responsible for designing and conducting the questionnaire screening process.

4. Technical

Roles that demand specialized knowledge and expertise require a different screening process. Technical screening interviews typically involve posing technical challenges and problem-solving scenarios to determine whether candidates possess the know-how to navigate real-world situations and excel in the open role.

Person in Charge: Subject matter experts, technical leads or hiring managers with expertise in the specific domain design these interviews.

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Importance

The perfect match is the difference between success and struggle. Screening interviews take center stage as the guiding stars of pre-employment assessments. Below, we’ll spotlight the top reasons why it’s time to amp up this process:

Reduce Time-To-Hire

The longer a position remains open, the more your company’s productivity levels dip and the higher the recruitment advertising costs run. According to SHRM, hiring costs can easily escalate to $4,700 per hire. For most businesses, that simply won’t do.

Screening interviews turbocharge the hiring process, slashing the time it takes to find the perfect candidate. By swiftly weeding out unsuitable applicants, you can expedite the talent search and onboard new talent without additional delay.

Identify Top Candidates

According to a report by Monster, the top methods that help determine matches are conducting in-person interviews, scanning resumes and reviewing work experience. The same report notes that a candidate’s interview presence is the top factor that makes them stand out.

In this context, screening interviews act as a talent sieve, separating the diamonds from the rough and zeroing in on those with exceptional potential and qualifications.

Assess Required Skills

Competency assessments usually occur later in the hiring process because of the time and consideration it takes to develop these tests and evaluate responses. Today, skill-based hiring is on the rise. In fact, 76% of recruiters prioritize skill alignment.

The earlier you incorporate skill assessments in your hiring process, the better. Screening interviews are a skill-testing arena, evaluating critical thinking, technical prowess and other essential abilities. This way, you can quickly determine if applicants have what it takes to excel in the role right from the get-go.

Steps To Take Before Screening

Setting the stage before the spotlight shines on potential candidates is essential. Taking the right steps beforehand sets you on the right course to finding top-tier talent. Here’s what you need to do:

Develop Hiring Criteria

Crafting clear and focused hiring criteria lays the foundation for success. Define the essential skills, qualifications, and traits your ideal candidate should possess. With a well-defined roadmap, you’ll confidently navigate the screening process, knowing precisely what to assess.

Software To Use: Driven by AI-based hiring science, talent assessment tools offer tailored benchmarks for targeted talent evaluations.

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For 70% of companies, quality of hire (QoH) drives their investment in hiring tech. Another report by ModernHire emphasized that quality of hire is the top recruitment metric and that AI-based, scientifically designed selection procedures are the means to achieve quality hires.

Talent assessment tools use AI-generated hiring targets verified by I/O psychologists.

Review Resumes

Assess applicants’ accomplishments through their resumes. Scan for relevant experience, educational background and critical achievements, and note any ambiguous aspects or details requiring clarification.

A careful resume review will help you identify worthy candidates to invite for screening interviews.

Software To Use: Your existing applicant tracking systems (ATS) automatically scan and filter submitted applications and qualify those that hit every mark on your checklist.

Generate Interview Questions

Curate a captivating set of questions that dig deep into candidates’ expertise and experiences. Craft inquiries that reveal their problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and cultural fit. The right questions will unlock valuable insights, guiding you to the most promising contenders.

Software To Use: Talent intelligence software offers built-in interview toolkits with targeted questions on specific strengths and weaknesses.

Schedule Interviews

Next, decide the time slots to conduct interviews. Coordinate time zones, availability and preferences internally and with candidates to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Software To Use: Interview scheduling software simplifies communication and ensures a hassle-free experience for both recruiters and candidates.

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Steps To Take After Screening

The journey isn’t over just yet. After conducting interviews, it’s time to deep dive into evaluating candidate responses, mining for untapped potential and hidden gems:

Review Interview Notes

After the screening interviews, relive those insightful conversations by reviewing jotted-down notes. These notes serve as your guiding light in the next stages of the hiring process, helping you highlight noteworthy skills, experiences, and qualities that align with your company’s needs.

Software To Use: Store vital information with candidate profiles in your existing recruiting software. You can also create a shareable spreadsheet or document to write meeting notes.

Analyze Responses

At this stage, you might encounter applicants with the required skills but lacking the right energy or individuals with potential and less technical skills. Navigating these conflicting situations requires answering tough questions like:

• If the candidate doesn’t have all the required qualifications or skills, can we cover the missing skills during training/onboarding?
• Will the shortlisted candidates take to their roles like ducks to water?
• Can our organization provide the work setting this candidate needs to succeed?
• Can we evaluate past experience to determine whether this candidate is receptive to our leadership style?

Software To Use: Consider using behavioral assessment tools to decipher true candidate potential by scientifically assessing their abilities, personality traits and cultural fit.

Conduct Reference and Background Checks

You’re almost at the finish line, but verifying your top candidate’s authenticity is essential before you cross it. This stage presents the opportunity to conduct an initial background check.

Uncover essential information to gain a clearer picture, ensuring a secure and trustworthy addition to your team.

Still, not all background checks occur at the screening stage. Some organizations may delay checks like criminal history checks until after extending the final offer or when the candidate moves to the final interview stage.

The specific background checks conducted during the screening process vary based on internal policies and the job nature.

Software To Use: Background check software to compliantly conduct background verification searches and review references.

Keep Candidates Informed

Whether or not your quest leads you to the chosen ones, always update candidates about their hiring status. Provide timely feedback and appreciation for their time and effort. Shortlisted candidates will be thrilled to move forward, and those who didn’t will remember the respect you showed them.

Software To Use: Recruiting CRM helps keep everyone in the loop. Send each candidate automated updates, personalized messages, rejection emails and timely feedback.

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Next Steps

Implementing screening interviews brings a bouquet of benefits to the table, from swiftly identifying top talent to assessing essential skills to streamlining decision-making. However, the right tools are crucial to pave the way for exceptional hires. Leverage our free comparison report to see how different talent assessment tools stack up against your needs.

What are some specific ways screening interviews can help your hiring process? Let us know in the comments!