Candidate screening questions have a long history that has evolved over the years to serve as a catalyst for finding the right people to hire for open roles. The primary objective of candidate screening is to assess the past experience, qualifications, skills, and fit of applicants for a particular role. By asking screening questions, employers can gather relevant information to score the candidate beside others to determine if they meet the requirements of the role and align with the company's values, growth trajectory, and culture.

Over time, candidate screening has changed due to advancements in technology and shifts in hiring practices. In the past, screening questions were asked during face-to-face interviews or through paper-based applications. However, with C19, the meteoric rise of digital communication, and the increasing number of applications received for each job posting, screening questions have adapted to accommodate rapid changes in the world and the workforce.

One of the many key reasons for screening candidates is to filter out unsuitable applicants early in the hiring process. It may be the case that their past experience doesn't fit the company's expectations, or that they don't fit the culture, but by asking specific questions related to the job requirements, employers can quickly identify candidates who are a great fit for their open roles. 

This helps save time and resources by focusing on the most promising candidates for further evaluation.

Additionally, bad hires have a significant impact on the team and the overall productivity of an organization. They end up costing an astronomical amount as well. Hiring the wrong candidate can result in communication breaks across the organization and additional HR time spent managing and "cleaning up" after them, not to mention decreased morale, increased turnover, and reduced team cohesion. The people you bring into your organization truly show what you think the organization is going to become.

Therefore, effective candidate screening is a crucial step to mitigate these risks and ensure that only the most qualified and suitable candidates progress to the next stages of the hiring process.

The HR screening process involves asking questions that help a hiring manager evaluate an applicant's experience, knowledge, and problem-solving skills. The questions will uncover insights that reflect the candidate's past experience, education, or job-specific abilities, but they should also include questions about cultural fit. These queries help hiring managers and recruiters better understand the applicant's strengths and weaknesses, and whether they would be a good match for the company.

Phone interview questions and answer examples are commonly used during the screening process which is often the first step before a candidate begins the interview process. These questions allow employers to assess candidates remotely before deciding whether to invite them for further interviews. Phone interviews offer a preliminary understanding of an applicant's communication skills, professionalism, and ability to articulate their thoughts effectively - but are mostly aimed to create a qualified talent pool that will then enter the interview process.

At Pillar, we have a library of more than 1000 screening and interview questions for your team to utilize in the interview process. The suite of tools built to support hiring managers and recruiters using our interview intelligence software gives them access to everything they need to conduct great interviews and make great hires. 

As technology continues to advance, new methods of candidate screening may emerge - we've already seen the rise in video interviews and online assessments. These methods provide avenues for evaluating candidates and can enhance the overall effectiveness of the screening process. However, regardless of the specific format or medium used, the primary goal of candidate screening remains the same: to identify the most qualified and suitable candidates for a job position.

HR screening questions and answers have evolved over time to adapt to changes in technology and hiring practices. They serve the purpose of assessing the qualifications, skills, and fit of potential candidates. By asking targeted questions, employers can filter out unsuitable applicants early in the process and mitigate the risks associated with poor hires. Effective candidate screening is essential to ensure that only the most qualified candidates progress to the next stages of the hiring process.

Screening Questions Examples

Let's talk about screening questions. But before we get to that, to provide you with a better understanding of screening questions, let's create a scenario. Say, for the purposes of this example, that you're hiring an account executive. Your goal is to find the best person for the job, who has the right skills and experience to be successful in the role.

You begin by posting a job ad on various websites and portals like Indeed and Glassdoor. You'll probably post the open role on LinkedIn next, and send out emails to your network of contacts asking if they know anyone who might be interested in the opportunity. Next, you'll probably message your entire team with the job description and see who they know that might be a fit.

Once you've sourced a pool of potential applicants, the next step is to determine who you want to invite for interviews. That's where screening questions come into the picture.

Screening questions help you identify which candidates have the skills and experience needed for the job, as well as their cultural fit for your team. These screening question examples will also help you save the time of team members and panel interviewers within your company since you're narrowing down the list of potential candidates ahead of time.

Screening questions will vary depending on the position, title, and industry. Here are a few examples of screening questions that can be tailored to specific roles:

1. Tell me about a time that you navigated a challenging customer service situation.
2. What challenges have you faced in a sales environment and how did you overcome them?
3. Describe a marketing campaign that you’ve successfully executed from start to finish.
4. What experience do you have managing large teams or projects?
5. How would your past colleagues describe you in terms of working together?
6. Can you provide an example of a time when you successfully resolved a conflict within a team?
7. What strategies do you use to stay organized and manage multiple tasks simultaneously?
8. Describe your experience in working with [specific software or technology relevant to the job].
9. How do you prioritize your work to meet tight deadlines?

These examples demonstrate how screening questions can be focused on assessing a candidate's problem-solving abilities, interpersonal skills, organizational skills, and job-specific competencies.

If you're hiring right out of universities and boot camps, you may want to include a document on your website to help candidates prepare for interviews. "How to prepare for the pre-screening interview..." would be a helpful tool that you could send to candidates who are preparing to meet your with HR team. This doc would also show you how prepared candidates are and if they have done their research.

Ultimately, screening questions can help you identify the best candidates for a role faster than ever before. They can also ensure that your interview process is thorough and consistent across all applicants.

Pre-Screening Interview Questions Template

Pre-screening interview questions for job applicants can be standardized by each role to create a more objective hiring experience. This is why, when conducting pre-screening interviews, it's helpful to have a template of well-crafted questions that align with the job requirements for your HR team, recruiter, or whoever is completing the screening process with your applicants.

Pre-Screening Interview Questions Template:

1. Can you briefly describe your work experience as it relates to this role?
2. What motivated you to apply for this position, and why now?
3. As a startup, we're growing rapidly - How do you handle challenging decisions, situations, or tight deadlines?
4. Can you provide an example of a time when you demonstrated strong problem-solving skills in a previous role?
5. How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively especially when working remotely?
6. What is your approach to collaborating with team members - how do you keep lines of communication open across the siloed teams?
7. Describe a situation where you had to rapidly adapt to changes imposed by leadership or due to a shift in the company's direction.
8. What specific skills or qualifications make you a strong candidate for this role?

Put these into your telephone interview questions and answers pdf/ template so that your HR professionals and recruiters have access to them - or use Pillar's interview intelligence software which has a library of these questions and templates to add with a couple of clicks to any interview. Our integration with both Zoom and Teams' video interview platforms enables your interviewers to have these templated questions set up as prompts so they can focus on the candidate and less on the logistics of the interview.

Screening Call Interview Questions

Screening call interviews are often conducted by recruiters to further assess candidates' ability to perform well in a role. The phone screen questions template we included in the previous section should get you started but if you're a recruiter, you may want to add a few additional questions tailored specifically for the position.

Screening questions for recruiters:

- What inspired you to pursue a career in this industry?
- If we asked your previous colleagues or supervisors, how would they describe you? Your work ethic, professionalism, and team spirit?
- What would you say has been your biggest career accomplishment up to this point?
- Describe a time when you had to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and work on a tight deadline.
- How do you keep yourself informed of the latest trends and technological changes in your field?

As we've mentioned previously, screening call interview questions should be tailored to the role you are recruiting for in order to get the most relevant information so you can see how your candidate "stacks up" to the rest in the pool. 

They should also be broad enough to capture a good sense of a candidate's background and experience but focused enough that the conversation can stay on track and you can get a feel for the candidate. With Pillar’s video interview platform, you can score candidates objectively, side-by-side, and see which one is the best fit for the role. This makes hiring decisions easier.

To see how Pillar can help your team make better hiring decisions, faster, book your demo today!