What Are the Best Phone Screen Interview Questions for Managers & Hiring Teams?

You wouldn’t go on a dinner date without exchanging a few messages first. So why are you interviewing candidates without a phone call screening?

With career catfishing on the rise, you can’t afford to take risks on candidates who look great on paper but can’t live up to their resume.

We've got you covered with the top phone screen interview questions and pro tips to find your next superstar – without wasting time on interviews with the wrong candidates. 🙌

What is a phone screen interview?

A phone screen interview is a 15-30 minute audio or video call between an applicant and a hiring manager, HR professional, or recruiter to help get a general understanding of the applicant's interest and experience.

With the average job posting raking in over 250 applicants, it’s impossible to interview everyone. A phone screening process helps you:

• Filter out unqualified candidates
• Clarify must-have qualifications
• Evaluate culture add potential
• Save face-to-face time for top candidates

Common phone screen interview questions for managers and hiring teams

Drop the tired “tell me about yourself” routine and use phone interview questions that help you find the right person for the role.

General background

Set the candidate at ease:

• Can you tell me a little bit about your background?
• Why are you thinking about leaving your current job?
• Where are you in the job search process?

Work experience

See how well their skill set matches the job description:

• How many years of experience do you have in this sector?
• What did you like about your last job?
• What were your main responsibilities?
• How does that experience relate to this role?

Culture fit

Understand if they’re a good fit for the company culture:

• What do you like to do outside of work?
• What’s your “work style”? Is there a certain work environment you thrive in?
• Can you tell me a little bit about your long-term career goals?

Familiarity with the company

Gauge what they know about your company:

• What drew you to our organization?
• Why do you want to work at this company? 
• Where have you come across our products or services before?

Salary range

Make sure you’re seeing eye-to-eye on salary expectations:

• What salary level are you expecting?
• Are there any specific perks and benefits you’re looking for?
• Would you be open to negotiation if we can’t meet your expectations?

Clarifying questions

Ask specific questions about areas you’d like to know more about:

• Are you opposed to traveling once a week?
• What’s your ideal work schedule look like?
• Do you have any questions for me?

“One of my all time favorites to ask is ‘What is your greatest achievement in life to date?’
I will typically ask it as the first question because asking them to talk about themselves positively and in a personal way right at the start opens most people up. I don’t want to lose somebody to interview nerves. I like giving the opportunity to breathe and ease into the interview." — Martin Gasparian, Owner/Attorney, Maison Law Modesto

While preparing for your telephone interview, make sure you know what you can and can’t ask. Employment laws forbid employers from asking interview questions that could be discriminatory. 

⚠️Steer clear of potentially illegal questions like:

• Do you have any physical or mental disabilities?
• When are you planning to have children?
• Will you need time off for religious holidays?
• What country are you from?
• How often are you deployed for Army Reserve training?
• How old are you?

“As a care agency, we conduct telephone screens for potential care team members, focusing on establishing empathy, reliability, and clarity of communication – characteristics that matter the most when it comes to care. I also utilize the call to evaluate tone, timeliness and responsiveness. I rely on those characteristics more than the resume. A telephone screen is often the quickest way to screen out potential applicants who don't have the capacity to manage the technical and emotional aspects of care.” — Moti Gamburd, CEO of CARE Homecare

Here's exactly how to run a phone screen interview (without the awkward silences)

Move beyond the cover letter with expert phone interview tips that help you get to know your top candidates. 

▶️ But first, save this template so you know exactly how to time your questions.

1. Create your candidate scorecard

A good phone screen interview paves the way for an easier job interview. Make sure you have access to an easy-to-use candidate scorecard so you can immediately record your feedback and share with the rest of the hiring team. 

Already a Breezy user? Rate candidates instantly with simple thumbs up/down ratings in the Scorecard tab, then compare side-by-side to pick your top talent.

Use these tips:

• Set yourself up for success. Find a note-taking system that works for you and that’s easy to share with teammates.
• Practice self-awareness. When the camera’s off, it’s easy to get distracted. Resist the urge to multitask. Give your full attention to the candidate and the insights they’re sharing.

Share questions ahead of time. Sending candidates a few key questions to think over can be the difference between a good answer and a great answer. If you had time to prepare, they should too.

“During phone screenings, we look for three things: customer centricity, ownership, and motivation. Customer centricity is especially relevant for candidates coming from a product background or applying for a product-related role. In this case, we’d ask them to share a feature that our product users need, but our product doesn’t have yet. It’s a good way to see how they think about the people we build for.”  — Justina Raskauskiene, Human Resource Team Lead at Omnisend

2. Use your ATS to shortlist your candidates

No one wants a great candidate to slip through the cracks. But manually reviewing thousands of job seekers can be a massive time-suck.

Need help cutting through the resume pile? An ATS with smart screening tools like Breezy's Candidate Match Score can instantly surface your most qualified applicants. Just set your priorities (like experience or specific skills) and get a ranked list of best-fit candidates as soon as they apply. 🙌

With the right ATS on your side, you can:

• Bust bias with transparent scoring. No black boxes here. Our candidate scoring is fully transparent and broken down by category and datapoint – giving HR teams total access to the engine’s decision-making process.
• Target developing leaders. When using the levers, try dialing down the Executive lever and boost Skills to find candidates with just the right experience (minus the executive-level salary expectations).

Play around with role requirements. Plugging a skills gap? Drag the skills lever up! Not worried about a degree? Try dragging the education lever down.

“My favorite questions focus on a candidate's autonomy and ability to navigate ambiguity, particularly relevant in international remote settings. I might ask for instance, ‘Describe a time you had to solve a complex problem with very little direct supervision or guidance.’ Another question I often use is, ‘Share an experience where you had to adapt quickly to a significant change in project scope or team dynamics.’ These questions illuminate a candidate's self sufficiency and adaptability, two qualities essential for success in distributed teams spanning multiple time zones.” — Robbin Schuchmann, Global Employment Expert and Co-founder of EOR Overview

3. Schedule the interview

Scheduling can be a nightmare, especially when multiple team members need to be involved in the interview process.

While most phone screen interviews are one-on-one, you may need to coordinate between recruiters, hiring managers and team members. But don't worry – Breezy's got you covered with a simple scheduling system that lets you book multiple same-day interviews at once. Candidates get one clear email with everything they need.

Simplify your scheduling with these tips:

• Sync calendars and avoid double-booking. With Breezy, you can integrate with popular calendar apps like Google Calendar or Office 365, seamlessly checking availability and scheduling meetings.
• Try and find one day that works for everyone. If you’re having a candidate speak with multiple team members, try booking same-day interviews to help everyone remember what they liked and easily compare notes.

Instantly contact top-scoring candidates. Use Breezy’s Stage Actions so top candidates who are moved into the interview stage are immediately sent a scheduling link.

4. Add notes to your scorecard

With so much information to process during the first round, an interview scorecard is your best friend. Use it to evaluate communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and work ethic while keeping detailed notes on each candidate's responses to your job interview questions.

Most scorecards include ratings for:

• Company knowledge
• Role understanding
• Relevant experience
• Professional development potential

But since phone screens kick off the interview process, watch for these red flags: 🚩

• Repeated rescheduling
• Speaking negatively about past employers
• Vague or inconsistent answers

“What we’ve consistently found is that the most revealing part of a phone screen is when a candidate gets to ask their questions at the end. Those who dig into specific details about the day-to-day work, how the team works together, or how success will be measured are much more likely to accept an offer and do well once they join. There was one memorable candidate who asked, ‘What does a successful first 90 days look like for this role?’ We ended up hiring them, and they surpassed their goals in their first year.” — Dominic Monn, Founder & CEO, MentorCruise

5. Follow up

The way you end the first round interview sets the tone for the rest of the interview process. Be clear about next steps – whether that's moving forward or when they'll hear back about their status.

And wherever possible, try to offer feedback that could help unsuccessful candidates do better next time.

Here's how to nail the wrap-up:

• Leave enough time for a Q&A. Save 5 minutes for candidates to ask their own job interview questions.
• Make yourself available for further questions. Offer to connect on LinkedIn for future communication.

Send a thank you email. Send a quick follow-up email outlining next steps and any new opportunities they should know about.

Dos and don’ts for recruiters and hiring managers

Candidates are choosy about the companies they work for. Go the extra mile by preparing a phone interview that's simple, easy, and above all human:

Do:

• Harness in-person energy. Simple things like smiling and standing instead of sitting can instantly make phone conversations more engaging. 
• Prepare ahead of time. Review the candidate’s resume and have your questions (and scorecard!) ready to go.
• Stay fully present. Just because candidates can’t see you, doesn’t mean they don’t know when you’re distracted. Choose a quiet, private space with minimal distractions.
• Check the phone line. Ensure your connection is clear before the interview begins.

Don’t:

• Outsource the phone interview to AI. With AI interview horror stories cropping up everywhere, candidates deserve to talk to a real recruiter with sharp judgment skills.
• Start late. Respect the candidate’s time and treat the interview with the same punctuality as an in-person meeting.
• Put the candidate on hold. It disrupts the flow and can come across as dismissive
• Talk over the candidate. Let them answer fully before jumping in.

Screen first, thank us later

Phone screens are a fast, cost-effective way to spot top talent early, helping you quickly assess fit, communication, and key qualifications before investing in longer interviews.

When you’re ready to take your phone interviews to the next level, Breezy can help. With a visual candidate pipeline and intentional automations, Breezy gives you everything you need to keep hiring headache-free. See for yourself with a free 14-day trial today.

Phone screen interview FAQs

What is a phone screen interview?

A phone screen interview is a quick audio or video call between an applicant and a recruiter.

When should you use a phone interview? 

Use a phone screen interview to narrow your candidate pool and determine mutual fit.

How long should a phone interview be?

A phone screen interview typically lasts just 15-30 minutes.

What’s the best way to lead a phone interview?

Eliminate distractions, prepare your questions, and create a candidate scorecard so you can record your feedback immediately.

What are some of the most common phone interview questions to ask?

Common phone interview questions cover areas like:

• General background
• Work experience
• Culture fit
• Familiarity with the company
• Salary range