jsync | Java Staffing Specialist

The Art of the Phone Screen

01/31/2005

by Dave Fecak

It is a fairly common practice for a hiring company to request a phone screen before inviting a candidate in for a face-to-face interview. Most companies feel they can save time by having a screener spend twenty to thirty minutes on the phone before taking up the time of other developers and managers in a group interview. A phone screen is often taken a bit too lightly by candidates as it is sometimes considered a bit of a formality, but lately we have seen many phone interviews resulting in the beginning and end of the process.

For the hiring company, the goal of the phone screen is generally to save future time by eliminating candidates that are not a fit based on either technical abilities or soft skills. For the candidate, the goal of the phone screen is to get the face-to-face interview – this seems simple but is important to remember, as many candidates ask questions that can be considered inappropriate for a phone screen. Chances are you will not be given an offer after a phone interview, so your techniques for these screenings must be different than in a personal interview.

Before the phone screen, your preparation should be very similar to how you would prepare for a personal interview. Do your homework on the hiring company, the job description, the work environment, and if possible the person who will be screening you. Also, make sure that you can have a private and quiet area to speak during the screen. If you are going to be at work during the screen, see if you can secure a private conference room or make plans to go to your car. If you are going to take the call during lunch, make sure that you won’t be in a loud cafeteria or restaurant with many distractions. Added noise will be annoying to the screener and can also cause you to lose your focus. We would never recommend a phone screen while driving, since you are automatically distracted in these situations. Are you not sure where you will be at the time of the phone screen? Ask if you can make the call instead of receiving the call (most companies will be open to this), and make sure to call promptly at the scheduled time.

What to have handy during the phone screen? Print out a copy of your resume to refer to during the phone screen. The screener will most likely reference some of the material on your resume, so you will find it helpful to have it in front of you for quick access. You should also have a list of any questions you have prepared to ask during the phone screen (more on questions below).

During the phone screen, we would recommend that you stay on your feet and walk around a bit. This keeps your energy up, your blood flowing, and most people speak more clearly and confidently while standing. Be very courteous of the screener and do not interrupt him/her while speaking – a good way to avoid this is to pause briefly after every question asked of you in order to both gather your thoughts and also to avoid interrupting. Also, avoid one word answers whenever possible, even if a one word answer may satisfy the question. For example, if a screener asks, “Have you ever worked with EJBs?”, a simple “Yes” answer might seem appropriate but a better answer would be “Yes, I have been working with EJBs for the past three years. In my current project I am responsible for creating a stateless session bean that…”. The simple one word answer of “Yes” in that situation would probably make the screener think you could be hiding your true experience.

To Ask or Not to Ask – that is the question. At some point in a phone screen you will most likely be given the opportunity to ask some questions that you may have. There are some questions that may be appropriate for you to ask in a personal interview that you should not ask in a phone screen. Particularly in this first point of contact, any question that can be perceived as a ‘What’s in it for me’ question should be avoided. Do not inquire about compensation, vacation, benefits, training, or anything of this nature. A phone screen is far too early in the process to discuss these topics. If you are interviewing with a private company that does not make much of its financial information available publicly, a phone screen is not a forum for asking about profitability or revenues.

So what are some good questions to ask? The first question we would recommend would be to try to find out what type of candidate the company is seeking to hire – if you can ask this early in the interview, you can tailor your answers so that you best describe what attributes and experience you have that is appropriate for the job while avoiding details on aspects of your history that are irrelevant to their needs. Feel free to ask the screener what they like about working for the company, characteristics of the work environment, and an overview of the technical direction of the company. These questions show interest on your part and can also be helpful if you are invited in for a personal interview (if they mention a technology you are unfamiliar with, doing some research before the face-to-face will show great initiative!).

After the phone screen, make sure to thank the screener for his/her time and make it clear that you are looking forward to hearing from the company. A thank you note via e-mail can also be appropriate after a phone screen although it is generally not expected.

Taking a phone screen seriously can make the difference between a fruitless phone call and a new career!

Newer >

< Older