Telephone Interviews: How to Identify Unsuitable Candidates Early On

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<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
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<li>Use Telephone Interviews: They are a cost-effective and efficient way to screen a candidate by checking their genuine interest and suitability for a role.</li>
<li>Video screening has issues: Candidates can feel high anxiety and discomfort with video screening, creating a poor experience.</li>
<li>Intelligently schedule Telephone Interviews: To reduce “ghosting”, send text messages to initiate contact and follow up with calls and emails.</li>
<li>Promise of a Reference Call (PORC): Emphasise candidate-arranged Reference Calls to encourage honesty.</li>
<li>Follow the Telephone Interview script: It ensures consistency and fairness in evaluating candidates while also improving the interviewer’s efficiency and focus.</li>
<li>Politely reject unsuitable candidates: If necessary, wrap up a call quickly so you don’t waste more time.</li>
<li>Quickly proceed with suitable candidates: Arrange face-to-face interviews and remind candidates about the PORC. Confirm interview details over the phone, via email, and use calendar invites.</li>
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Whether a candidate has applied to a job advert, been referred by an employee, or sent via a contingency recruiter, you should immediately screen them so that you win the “race for talent”. This article explains the value of short Telephone Interviews for screening and how to conduct them.

The main exception to using Telephone Interviews is if a candidate has been recommended by a retained recruiter, recruitment advisor or an HR consultant; in which case professional screening will have been done for you, so move straight to a Structured Interview.

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Telephone Interviews Are the Best Use of Your Time

Telephone Interviews have the following benefits:

1. Quickly ascertain if a candidate is genuinely interested: Only some candidates are serious; others may be testing the market or angling for a pay rise.
2. Reduce the number of “ghosts” you’re chasing for an interview: Ghosting, where a candidate won’t reply to your communication, is becoming a real problem. Who knows what motivates it, but you shouldn’t need to beg applicants to reply! By using Telephone Interviews, you’ll chase fewer ghosts.
3. Get a sanity check: After Telephone Interviewing candidates, you better understand whether your Great Performance Profile is realistic.
4. Only arrange face-to-face interviews with candidates you’re excited about: This avoids wasting everyone’s time.

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Telephone Interviews Save You Money

Holding a face-to-face interview costs a minimum of £50. When you factor in your colleague’s time, the lost opportunity cost of being distracted from their jobs, and any office/hospitality costs, £50 is very conservative. The more candidates you invite to interview, the more the costs can quickly escalate.

In comparison, a Telephone Interview costs about £10 and takes far less time to complete.

So, if you skip a Telephone Interview and invite a candidate for an in-person interview that doesn’t result in a hire, you’ve just cost the business at least £50. But if you hold an effective Telephone Interview to screen candidates and realise they are unsuitable, you’ve only cost the business £10.

In summary, if you don’t take the time to use Telephone Interviews, it will cost you more time and money later.

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Telephone Interviews Are Better than Video Screening

Some employers have tried video screening software. The technology is meant to work as follows:

1. Employer sets questions: A series of open-ended questions such as, “What’s most important to you in your next job?”
2. Candidate receives an email: Inviting them to answer the questions.
3. Candidate logs in to an online dashboard: They grant security access to their video camera and microphone.
4. Candidate answers the questions: They generally have time to prepare an answer. Responses are usually 30 seconds to three minutes long, and candidates can typically re-record their answers up to three times.
5. Employer reviews the response at their convenience: Helping make a more informed decision about who to interview.

Having sat on the board of a video interviewing provider, I know firsthand that these solutions don’t work very well, primarily because candidates don’t want to go through the hassle of engaging with an employer in this way. In particular:

• Fear of the unknown: Candidates are unfamiliar with this kind of technology and tend to be camera-shy, despite the age of Snapchat and TikTok.
• It’s a hassle: Candidates don’t want the inconvenience of finding a quiet space with a good internet connection and an uncluttered background.
• It doesn’t increase their likelihood of success: Candidates who complete video screening are sometimes treated poorly by employers who don’t have the courtesy of replying with a decision. Next time they receive a request for video screening, they might wonder what the benefit will be to them.
• Absence of human decision making: Candidates may believe they will be screened in or out based solely on a video assessment.
• They might not have the technology: Not everyone has a device with video capabilities.

Often, video interviewing technology is overhyped, giving employers unrealistic expectations. I vividly remember an HR professional asking me in frustration, “Can’t you force candidates to answer the questions?” I asked them how they’d do this, and they sheepishly realised it was unachievable.

Inevitably with fewer candidates completing video screening, employers end up with less choice of candidates.

Ultimately, I’m not sure there’s a problem here that requires a fancy technological solution – a telephone call works perfectly well.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Note:</span> If you’re seriously considering a video screening supplier, I recommend searching for the provider’s name on Reddit (or similar sites). You’ll often see feedback from candidates making disparaging comments about the software and warning other jobseekers to avoid using it!<p></p>Having observed candidates using video interview technology, I sympathise with some of their feedback, such as being told that the process will take 25 minutes, but it takes longer than 90 minutes! A favourite of mine was a candidate who gamed the system by replaying a question to give him nearly unlimited time to prepare his answers.<p></p>Be especially careful of new video interviewing software that makes recruitment decisions without a human moderator. For example, it may convert speech to text and gauge tonality. Others analyse facial expressions (which is borderline clinical psychology) without considering a candidate’s emotional state or whether they are playing the equivalent of poker against machines! I don’t see any evidence these methods are valid and objective measures of future success.</span>

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<span class="purple-callout"><p>Quick note – I'm available for advice and assistance if you need it (get your free consultation).</p><p>You'll find my recruiting book helpful, too - it's a bestseller!</p><p>And my flat-fee recruiter service can help advertise jobs on the best UK job sites for just £199.</p></span>

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Arrange Telephone Interviews Intelligently

Surprisingly, it can be challenging to contact candidates. Thankfully, I’ve tried many techniques and learned how to reduce ghosting. The best approach I’ve found is to take these steps:

1. Send a text message: This warms up the candidate; they recognise your company, and why you’re calling. When you do call, it also reduces the chance of candidates saying, “I’ve made a few applications recently – remind me of the job please?”
2. Call the candidate: Ask them if it’s convenient to speak, as they may be at work. If necessary, leave a voicemail.
3. Send an email: If you can’t talk to the candidate, send an email.
4. Follow up a few days later: Contact them one final time by text, calling and email, but don’t start chasing ghosts.

Don’t be judgmental if a candidate doesn’t respond quickly – it’s easy to forget when busy. Equally, please accept that it’s inevitable that some candidates won’t reply. Their circumstances may have changed, they may have a job, and ignoring you is easier. Don’t chase ghosts.

If they don’t reply, there is no need to send an email that you’re closing their application.

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How to Conduct a Telephone Interview

The Telephone Interview is usually conducted by one member of the Recruitment Team who has time to manage calls and follow-ups. Ideally, this person will also be on the Interview team at the Structured Interviews because they’ll be able to spot irregularities in answers between the Telephone Interview and the Structured Interview.

Organise a quiet location for the call and have the candidate’s CV to hand.

Ask each candidate the same set of questions so as to easily compare them (I’ll get to these shortly). This frees you up to listen to answers rather than worrying about what you will ask next

Try to keep Telephone Interviews between five and 15 minutes.

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Promise of a Reference Call (PORC)

Before reviewing the Telephone Interview script, I’d like to cover a critical component that should be used throughout Telephone Interviews and Structured Interviews: the Promise of a Reference Call (PORC), sometimes known as candidate-arranged Reference Calls. I learned this powerful technique from Dr. Brad Smart in New York.

Throughout the recruitment process, you keep reiterating that the candidate will be arranging Reference Calls and you will be speaking with their references. Sometimes, this is done by explicitly telling the candidate in advance, sometimes more subtly by saying, “When I speak with your boss...” or clarifying the spelling of a name to signal that you will call them.

A candidate’s response almost always consists of more honest answers. In interviews, candidates have said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this...” or, “I’m probably talking myself out of the job but...”. Additionally, it often scares off liars and Poor Performers because they know their CV is full of hype and that former bosses might dispute their claimed accomplishments. Overall, PORC acts like a truth serum, helping you make better decisions and wasting less time with inappropriate candidates.

A minority of candidates may be concerned that you want to speak with their current boss, or will trouble their former bosses unnecessarily. Immediately allay their fears. Reference Calls are only taken near the end of the recruitment process, and you’ll only ask to speak to their current boss once a job offer has been accepted. But also recognise this could be a candidate concerned they can’t be evasive and give the same old interview answers!

I have a seperate article that explains when and how to make Reference Calls.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Note:</span> If you haven’t already guessed it, the PORC tool is a play on words; “porky pies” is cockney rhyming slang for “lies”!</span>

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Skip questions when necessary

The script is written to address your most critical knock-out questions early on. However, please don’t ask all the questions if the candidate is irrelevant. Just skip to the end, where you decline them. There is no point wasting everyone’s time, and the candidate is unlikely to know you’ve skipped questions, so the chances of damaging your employer brand are minimal.

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1. Opening remarks

To start the Telephone Interview, welcome the candidate and set the scene, not forgetting to introduce the PORC to ensure more honest answers:

“Hi {candidate’s name}, my name is {your name} from {company’s name} and I wanted to thank you for applying to our {job title}. Do you have 10 to 15 minutes to discuss your application please?...

Thanks. Today I’d like to find out if we’re going to be a good fit, and if the conversation goes well, we may invite you for an interview. Initially, I’d like to find out more about you, and after that, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about the company and the job. If successful for the job, all that we’d ask is that you set up Reference Calls so we can get someone else’s opinion on whether you’ll be a good fit. Does that sound okay?”

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2. Pitch the company and job (optional)

Keep in mind that the purpose of this call is to quickly screen candidates; you want to be getting information about them. If the candidate applied via a job advert, they already had sufficient information and were already motivated enough, so you can skip this step.

However, suppose the candidate has passively applied (eg. you used a CV database, or employee referral); in that case, you should increase their motivation first by briefly providing a balanced view of the company and job. Some interesting information for a candidate might include:

• Company: What does your company do? How does it compare to competitors? What is its vision for the future?
• Team: How many colleagues are in the team, who leads it, and what is their impact on the company?
• Job: What will they be doing and what positive challenges are there?
• Opportunity: What are the career progression opportunities?
• Location and travel: Is it office-based, hybrid or remote and how much travel is involved?
• Questions? The candidate may require superficial information to plug gaps in knowledge.

Be aware that the information you have provided will now “lead the witness” as they provide answers they think you want to hear.

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3. Knock-out questions

Always ask these questions. They are designed to highlight any knock-out issues.

“What’s most important for you about your next job?”

Ideally, a candidate’s motivations align with your organisation and the job.

“What would you not like to do again?” 

Because candidates don’t like talking about their weaknesses, this question is better at eliciting a response.

“What are you really good at professionally?”

Candidates love listing their strengths. Ask them to provide an example so you can understand the context.

“What are your long-term career goals, and do you feel like you’re on target to reach them at the moment?”

Are they aligned with what your organisation can offer?

“During the last stage of this process, and before any job offer, you must arrange Reference Calls with your previous bosses. Is that okay?”

Reiterating the PORC encourages candidates to be honest because what they say will be verified.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Note:</span> Asking questions about travel can be tricky because it can bring up points about family, criminal convictions, visa restrictions, etc. An easy way around this thorny issue is to ask, “This role involves (international) travel. Do you have any constraints that would prevent you from doing this?”</span>

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4. Employment overview

If the conversation is going well, begin identifying patterns in the candidate’s most recent relevant experience:

“What were/are your main responsibilities?”

You get context that may help you discover something not mentioned on their CV.

“What were/are your successes and accomplishments?”

Great Performers are successful and recognised for their accomplishments, so answers should come easily. They should be able to mention an accomplishment, no matter how small.

“When I speak with your boss, how will they rate your performance on a scale of 1 to 10?”... “What makes you think they will give you an {8}?”

Recognise a natural bias; consider 6 or less bad, 7 is neutral. You’re looking for 8, 9 or 10.

“What would they say about your areas for improvement?”

The candidate tells you their weaknesses, but the question positively frames this issue.

“What were/are your reasons for leaving?”... “What else?”

Often, the first answer is a superficial one. Keep probing to get the real reason:

• If they say they saw a new job, then, “Why did you start looking for a new one?”
• If they were made redundant, “How many others were made redundant at the same time?”
• If the company moved, “Where did it move to and were you offered relocation?”
• If they had a horrible boss, ask them, “In what way?”... “Who else left for the same reason?”

“What other job opportunities are you considering?”

The most important thing to understand is whether the candidate is applying for similar jobs; lacking focus could mean they are desperate. Beyond this, what is the appeal of the other jobs, and what could the cultures be like? For example, there is a staggering difference in the type of work and culture at a start-up compared to a corporation.

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5. Do they want this job?

Don’t be surprised if they know nothing about the job or your organisation. This is normal, as candidates apply to multiple jobs. But if they have done some homework, it can be a sign that you have a very serious candidate.

“What do you know about our organisation?”

If a candidate makes a mistake, correct them as the information may assist them in making a decision.

“What questions do you have about the job?”

Recruitment is a two-way process. Except for salespeople, I’d be concerned if the candidate seems more interested in salary and benefits than the job itself.

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6. Salary expectations

I like to know whether a candidate is affordable by discussing salary expectations early in the recruitment process.

Unfortunately, asking candidates about their current salary and benefits isn’t always possible. Laws may prohibit you, and it is becoming a sensitive matter to avoid gender pay gaps. Some savvy candidates also get salary negotiation training, which feels passive-aggressive but is just their poker face.

If appropriate, I directly ask, “So I don’t waste anyone’s time, I want to ensure we can afford you. What is your current salary and benefits package?”

Get their complete package including basic salary, bonuses and commission, upcoming payments, and valuable benefits such as healthcare, holiday allowance, company cars etc.

If a candidate refuses or is evasive, consider reframing it: “I appreciate you’re not interested in sharing yet. So you know, the type of candidates I’ve been speaking to typically ask for {£50,000 - £70,000}, is that range similar to your expectations?”

To reduce the chance of surprises, I may follow up with, “So if we get to the end of the interview process and we’re a good fit for each other and our offer comes in between {£50,000 - £70,000} that would be the kind of offer you’d accept?”

If their salary expectations are unaffordable, mentioning this early in the recruitment process is essential: “Our offer would likely not meet those expectations. So is there a scenario where you would consider taking an offer of {£70,000}?” If the candidate won’t budge and you’ve got nothing to barter, either the candidate has unrealistic expectations, or you can’t afford them. Either way, there is no point in moving forward unless something improves.

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7. Availability

Finally, ensure you can recruit the candidate within a reasonable time frame.

“What is your availability for an interview?”

“How much notice do you need to give your current employer?” or “When are you available to start?”

“Do you have any holiday plans in the near future?”

It is quite frustrating to have a new-starters induction and training immediately interrupted by a long holiday. Knowing this information in advance shouldn’t be a deal breaker but does help plan accordingly.

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Make a Decision: Will You Invite Them to a Structured Interview?

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Unsuitable applicants

Don’t waste more time with unsuitable applicants – it isn’t fair to them or you.

To save you time following up later, while still on the phone, tell the applicant they’ve been unsuccessful. All you need to say is, “Thanks once again for your time. In this instance I don’t think our job is a good fit for you, so I think it’s best for everyone if you continue looking for other opportunities”.

Some interviewers are anxious about being asked to provide a further explanation, and I’ve found that simply saying, “We’ve got other applicants with more relevant experience”, deflects the issue. I have an article that provides lots more advice about professionally declining candidates.

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If you’re unsure

You should only interview candidates you’re excited about. If you don’t feel you have any qualified candidates that you want to invite to interview, continue sourcing applicants or adapt your Great Performance Profile to make your job easier to fill.

Another option might be to re-screen with more probing questions or to ask someone else on your Recruitment Team for their opinion. But act quickly because the candidate may accept competing job offers.

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Suitable candidates – arrange an interview

If you have a great candidate who you want to interview, tell them straight away and remind them of the PORC:

“The next stage of our recruitment process is a face-to-face interview where we’ll discuss your entire career history. Finalists are then asked to arrange Reference Calls so we can verify all the information with their previous bosses. This is a thorough process to ensure that if you’re offered a job, it’s because we’re a good fit. Does that sound okay?...

It would be a pleasure to meet you. I’d like to invite you to visit us on {date and time}. Can you make this time? Great, the best place to park is {location}. When you arrive, please ask for me, {your name}. Please allow at least one hour. Do you have any questions?”

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tip:</span> To win the race for talent you must book interviews as soon as possible. You need to see them before someone else does. If that means meeting them before or after work, so be it.</span>

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I’m amazed how many candidates don’t turn up for interviews. Often, it’s the fault of the employer who has only given a date and time, then left the candidate to use their initiative. Instead, a hiring manager should:

• Always arrange an interview over the telephone: With a verbal agreement, candidates are much more likely to turn up – and they’ll also be more engaged and excited about your opportunity. Confirm everything in detail, from where to park to who will be interviewing them. I never tell them how they should dress because letting them decide can give valuable insights into how they conduct themselves in business settings.
• Ask if you need to make any provisions for visible or non-visible disabilities.
• Avoid arranging interviews during lunch hours: A typical interview lasts up to 45 minutes. If you try to squeeze this into a lunch hour, candidates may get distracted by time constraints and lose focus.
• Explain how long the interview will last: This will help manage expectations and ensure there are no diary clashes.
• Confirm everything by email: An email makes it easy for a candidate to hit reply and let you know they aren’t coming. And if they reply unprofessionally about another matter, you’ve just learnt about their preferred communication style.
• Don’t attach a job description: These are often bland, boring, and meaningless internal documents that will quell many candidates’ motivation for the job!
• Send a calendar invitation by email: Most diary software allows you to invite others to an event. In testing, we found that candidates who accepted the invite were significantly more likely to attend. If they don’t accept the calendar invite, they will likely not be attending!
• Follow up the day before: Send a text message saying, “We’re looking forward to seeing you”. They may explain they’ve received another job offer, and you can decide whether to move on or make a competing offer (eg. “If you were to come, we may be a better fit”).

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Note:</span> If the Telephone Interview goes well, the candidate can start immediately, and the job doesn’t need much training, you might consider offering them a paid trial instead of more interviews.</span>

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Presenting Recommendations to a Manager

You may need to present a shortlist to a manager. It isn’t good enough to say, “I recommend this person”. Instead, you need to do three things:

1. Give market perspective: Help the hiring manager make more informed recruitment decisions. Perhaps the “perfect” candidate doesn’t exist, you gained intelligence on competitors, or better understand remuneration packages.
2. Represent the candidate fairly: Objectively explain why a candidate is a good fit against the Great Performance Profile.
3. Be an HR custodian: This has two parts: first, you need to ensure the recruitment process is legally compliant (for example, when you hear a biased comment, you may need to educate, challenge, and, on rare occasions, escalate); second, you need to recruit the best-value candidates for the organisation, taking into account trade-offs such as the lost opportunity cost of a vacancy remaining unfilled.

Hiring managers are often busy, and recruitment is not their day job. So, the best way to communicate with them is using an executive summary appended to a candidate’s CV (don’t include unsuitable candidates):

• Summarise a candidate’s experience.
• Score against the most important parts of the Great Performance Profile.
• Highlight any gaps or areas of concern.
• Explain the candidate’s motivation.
• Outline relevant biographical information such as salary expectations, notice period, etc.
• Reason for your recommendation. For example, some candidates may be a good lateral move and bring a different perspective to the team or potentially develop into Great Performers.

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<span class="grey-callout"><span class="text-color-purple">Tip:</span> Show the total number of applications received and the number of applications that were unsuccessful. This will demonstrate how you’ve added value to the process. This information may also open a conversation about the challenges and opportunities in the current market.</span>

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Once you’ve sent your shortlist, follow up quickly with a call or meeting rather than an email exchange.

As you discuss your shortlist, identify who the manager wants to interview and why, along with anything you missed so you can improve. If two-thirds of candidates progress to a Structured Interview, you’ve done a good job.

Unfortunately, a few challenges can arise:

• The job requirement changes: It’s common in recruitment but frustrating when this happens. If it is a minor change, try interviewing a few candidates to gain perspective. But with significant changes, you’re back to the drawing board.
• The hiring manager has unrealistic expectations: Expectations in recruitment are similar to the Hype Cycle (Gartner, 2000): initially, people have inflated expectations, and it takes time to become “enlightened”. To speed up this transition, start interviewing to demonstrate reality.
• The hiring manager wants to see more candidates: They might believe you have a sourcing issue and need to cover more of the market. While revisiting your applicant attraction strategy, interview a few candidates just in case there is a Great Performer.
• The hiring manager doesn’t provide detailed feedback: Sadly, they may be busy, uncomfortable giving feedback, or not seeing the point. In this case, gently remind them, “Without feedback, it will be difficult to help you recruit”.
• The hiring manager isn’t engaged: Sometimes, a simple “help me to help you” conversation is enough. But I would never tolerate someone quick to blame (eg. “the recruitment process is broken”, “we aren’t paying enough”, or “these CVs aren’t good enough”) and then not showing any urgency to engage and provide solutions.

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Additional Resources

• Talent Acquisition Book; The Secrets of Great Recruitment: How to Recruit Great Employees.
• Downloadable PDF guide; Effective Telephone Interviews: Save Time & Find Top Talent.
• Downloadable script; Script for Telephone Interviews.
• Article; Phone Screen Interviews: The Essential Step in Your Recruitment Process.