How to Conduct a Pre-Screening Interview

Posted by SRA Admin on Jan 20 2016

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While some jobs may be proffered and accepted over a lunch table in a swanky dining room, the majority of hiring processes are a bit more complex than that. In fact, most executive jobs will require a series of interviews with different team members in order to assess for the perfect fit.

One of the tools many expert executive recruiters use when assessing candidates is a pre-screening interview. These interviews may take different shapes depending on the recruiter as well as the position, but it is an important service that recruiters offer that can be a major time saver for their clients.

What is the Purpose of a Pre-Screening Interview?

A pre-screening interview is the most effective way to  make sure that those candidates that a recruiter brings to his or her client are closely aligned with the job requirements. In general, this is the step a candidate will be asked to take after submitting their resume. In cases where a candidate is being actively recruited, the pre-screening interview may be the first or second contact the candidate has with the recruiter. When candidates are screened in this way, recruiters can more easily weed out those that do have the requisite skills or otherwise do not match client requirements for a certain position. Pre-screening interview often take place over the phone, although a video interview is another possibility where further contact is warranted.

Recommended Pre-Screening Interview Questions

The specific questions that a recruiter should ask in a pre-screening interview largely depend on the position, the industry, and the individual candidate. Following are some generic questions that can be helpful in developing a pre-screening strategy for any position:

  • What are the key responsibilities or objectives in your current role?
  • What are your biggest contributions to the company in your current role?
    • What would you have done differently?
  • What do you like most about your current job
    • What do you like least?
  • What are 2-3 or three of your most significant career accomplishments as they relate to the responsibilities of this job?
  • What is your familiarity with the industry in which the company works?
  • What are you looking for in a new company or new position?

Pre-Screening Follow-Up

During some pre-screening interviews, it will become immediately obvious that a candidate is not suitable to move on to the next round. By the same token, some candidates will be strong enough to immediately introduce them to the client and continue with the hiring process. However, it will not always be that straightforward in either direction. For candidates that may be a good fit but have not definitively shown themselves to be a great match, a second screening interview may be required. This may be a good time to utilize video interview technology, or to meet the candidate in person.

Pre-screening interviews can be extremely powerful tools for expert executive recruiters. When a recruiter is able to save his or her client the time and resources it takes to interview someone that is not a match, that is an important accomplishment.



Topics: interviewing, recruiting, interview tips

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