How to use phone interviews in recruiting.

Use a phone interview to save time and to decide if it’s worth meeting with the candidate in person. Make sure it addresses initiative, talent, span of control, team and management issues, and interest.

Start by spend two minutes describing the company, the job, and who you are. Then ask:

Please give me a quick overview of your present situation and a general overview of how your background fits our needs.

Please give me a quick overview of your current / most recent company and position, and describe the biggest impact or change you’ve made there.

Give me an example where you’ve demonstrated initiative.

Describe how your department was organized, and who you reported to.

Tell me how you developed and managed your work group,
or
Tell me about some team project you were engaged in and describe your role.

Please describe your most significant individual accomplishment (typically a one-time event, such as an analytical or technical study, or a special project).

Please describe your most significant management or team project and clearly define your role.

One of our critical success factors is……………..Can you describe where you've had a comparable success?

When interviewing, ask the candidate for two or three examples for each question, and make sure you understand the context of each example. Look for indications of high initiative in every answer. Probe the answers for the why, when, how and what. Get all the details - size, scope, complexity, effort, issues, dates, and references. Asking for references from the very beginning discourages people from exaggerating or making things up.


For more information, read You're Not the Person I Hired by Barry Deutsch and Brad Remillard.