Pre-screening Interview Questions

If you truly want to hire the best talents or even the mythical “purple squirrel” in the HR realm, pre-screening candidates are very important. This reveals who can move forward in the hiring process and, ultimately, who’s the best fit for the position.

Imagine, without any kind of pre-screening, you would be losing time engaging with talent that doesn’t fit the job. Not just yours, but also the hiring managers’ and applicants’!

The time you’ll spend engaging with job seekers who aren’t a match for the job would have been better used for something equally, if not more, important tasks. This causes a big roadblock to your productivity and overall work performance.

Nobody wants that to happen. That’s why it’s crucial to prepare ahead and do pre-screenings before the actual interview starts. We’re here to help.

In this article, you’ll find a pre-screening interview questions template that you can use to have a smoother and accurate process in filtering the best of the best.

What is a pre-screening interview?

Before anything else, though, let’s start with definitions. What is a pre-screening interview exactly?

It’s also called a pre-employment screening where the HR asks a bunch of questions to learn more about the candidates. This can be about their prior experiences, skills, and even characteristics.

This is done before going into a more extensive interview, which is usually conducted by hiring managers themselves. Such screening involves a large pool of candidates, so it’s essential to be quick and efficient in this round.

In a nutshell, it comprises basic or generic questions about career objectives, general assessments on skills, and job expectations. It can come in the forms of:

• Phone screenings or interviews
• Tests and assessments (personality tests, fluency tests, skill assessments, etc.
• Initial interview

The purpose of this is to weed out those who aren’t the right fit before you invest your time in interviewing them. It’s a way to see who is qualified and even has the potential to accomplish the job needed well.

Additionally, it’s always a way for the company and the candidate to “get to know each other”. After all, first impressions last, right? This will be good for both parties to see how they operate which can increase the comfort levels through the recruiting process.

Why is it important to conduct pre-screening interviews?

There are many benefits to conducting pre-screening interviews.

Brings out potential quality hires

Since you take the time to do the first screening from your talent pool, you ensure that you bring out only potential quality hires.  

You filter those that might not be the best fit at the moment and only focus on those that can move forward with their application.

Lessened Recruiting Time

By only focusing on those that have the potential to be the best fit, you can greatly reduce the time-to-fill.

You can avoid several unnecessary interviews, which can greatly save time both for you and the candidate.

Decreases turnover rate

Did you know that 80% of turnover rates are caused by poor hiring practices? If you properly screen candidates by doing pre-screening interviews, you can have a massive improvement in this field.

You make sure that those who move forward with their application are the ones who are truly interested in the job role.

By asking specific questions like expectations and skills, you can get a grasp if they will enjoy the position in the long run.

Strengthen employer branding

In the eyes of the applicants, companies that do pre-screening interviews show that they take the whole process seriously.

They take the time to get to know the candidates first, which is perceived as formal and an act of dedication to uphold the company’s value.

This will drive powerful word of mouth and strengthen your employer branding.

Pre-screening Interview Guide Questions

Here are pre-screening interview questions that you can use. It is a combination of work background, behavioral, and understanding motivation questions. Let’s start:

Work Background

• Tell me about your work experiences and how does it make you perfect for the job?
• What was the most difficult challenge you’ve encountered and how did you overcome it? How did it end up?
• Can you provide a work sample that can perfectly encapsulate your qualifications for this position?
• What’s the most difficult part of your current job? What actions did you take to lessen the challenge and make it more enjoyable?
• Tell me about your typical work week. Did your responsibilities change over time or was it the same since you started?
• What kind of challenges have you faced that might help you better prepare for this position?
• What is your biggest career accomplishment?

Behavioral

• Describe the perfect work environment. What kind of management style do you value?
• Describe the perfect manager. What kind of leader do you want to work with?
• Describe the perfect job. What would make you say that “this is the best job!”?
• How do you define healthy company culture? How will this affect your work performance?
• How well do you manage and prioritize work? How well do you multitask and how do you deal with work overload?
• Have you ever been tasked with multiple deadlines in a short period of time? How did you do?
• Tell me an instance where you failed to deliver a task. What did you do and what would you have done differently if given the opportunity

Motivation

• Where do you see yourself 5 to 10 years from now? How will this job align with your professional development goals?
• What can your current or previous manager do to make you stay in their company longer?
• Are you currently applying for other companies, as well?
• Are you comfortable going to this location?
• What is your salary expectation for this position?
• When can you start if hired?

Pre-screen to Success

The recruiting process is usually lengthy, but you can cut the time significantly if you properly do an initial interview. All that is left to do is to draw a conclusion in making the next steps by yourself or with your team as you analyze who has the potential.

Before you know it, the perfect candidate will be joining your company as a valuable member of the team.

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