What is a pre-screening interview?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

A pre-screening interview is typically a series of questions that lets you learn some basic qualification information about candidates, prior to conducting a more extensive interview. Depending on the company, a crucial first step of the employment hiring process is asking candidates a set of pre-screening interview questions. Conducting a pre-screening phone interview can help you narrow down your candidate pool and speed up the interview process.

With a phone screen or video interview pre-screenings, you can learn a lot about a person's attitude, temperament, personality, and general knowledge. You'll also get a good idea of how efficiently they communicate and their career goals.

A pre-screening interview typically lasts between 15 and 30 minutes. By the end of the meeting, the interviewer should have a good idea of whether an applicant's employment application should be moved on to the in-person interview or dismissed from consideration of the position.

There are two main ways to conduct pre-screening interviews - first, is through the telephone, which is the most common way. The second is via a video chat. This has become more common in recent years. In some cases, potential employers use an automated video recording interview program that has candidates answer interview questions into their webcam that are prompted on the screen.

Common pre-screening interview questions:

How does your work experience and skill set help you in regards to this position?
What was the biggest challenge you've faced in the last job? What was the outcome, and how did you resolve the problem?
What goals do you have for your personal development?
How does this position help move you towards your goals?
What type of manager style works best for you?
In what work environment would you thrive?
Do you prefer working with a team, or are you better by yourself?
What do you think makes the team successful?
Do you have experience with multiple deadlines due around the same time? How did you manage your time