Top Pre-Screening Interview Questions 2024

When organizations post job advertisements and listings, a large pool of candidates apply. Weeding out candidates who aren’t the right fit for the company can be challenging. Thus to shortlist candidates for the position, pre-screening interview questions must be asked.  

A crucial part of the recruitment process is asking candidates questions that help the recruiter determine if they are a good fit for the position. This is a pre-screening process before the final interview.  

Pre-screening interviews can help you narrow down your candidate pool, prevent you from wasting time on unqualified candidates, and add accountability to the hiring process. A pre-screening discussion takes only 15 to 20 minutes, and by the end, the hiring manager has an idea if they want to proceed with the candidate.

In today’s blog, we have discussed ways to conduct pre-screening interviews. Read till the end to discover some sample pre-screening interview questions.  

What is a Pre-Screening Interview?

A pre-screening interview, also known as a pre-employment interview, is a series of questions asked before conducting a more extensive and detailed discussion.

Pre-screening interview questions let you learn the basic qualifications of a candidate. Usually include surface-level questions pertaining to the candidate’s career goals and aspirations, skills/abilities, job preferences, and so on.

A pre-screening interview can also be conducted in the form of a skill test that weeds out unqualified candidates before hiring managers invest too much time and resources.

Typically, these interviews are for candidates you are interested in. Pre-screening interview questions also help recruiters and candidates become familiar with each other and establish a rapport before meeting in person. It increases the comfort level of candidates and helps them do better in the final interview round.

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How to Conduct a Pre-Screening Interview?

While there are a number of ways to conduct pre-screening interviews, they are usually over the phone, through a video call, or an online survey.

If you are attempting a pre-screening interview over the phone or via video call, make sure you maintain detailed notes about the candidate’s competencies or strengths and weaknesses revealed during the process.

This information is valuable and will determine if the candidate proceeds to the next round. Also, try to pay attention to the candidate’s tone and body language as it reveals significant attributes of their personality.

If done via an online survey, only include important pre-screening interview questions relevant to the potential hire’s performance and competency. Don’t keep the list of questions too long since candidates might be less likely to fill it out carefully.

You can use PitchnHire’s pre-screening assessment software to conduct pre-screening interviews efficiently and easily. From a diverse talent pool, you will be able to seamlessly find the right candidate while ensuring that the hiring process is transparent and fair. Check out this article for the most common interview questions and how to best prepare for them.

Examples of Sample Pre-Screening Interview Questions

Once you decide how you want to conduct the pre-screening interview, you will need to create a list of questions. Pre-screening interview questions generally reveal information related to the candidate’s work experience. However, they should not be detailed or slow down the interview process. A balance of speed and detail must be maintained while coming up with these questions.

Here are a few examples of important pre-screening interview questions:

1. What are your strengths? How do you think they will help you succeed in your career? 
2. What are your weaknesses? How do you plan to overcome them? 
3. Are you familiar with our organization and what we do? 
4. What made you apply for this job? 
5. What about your past work experience deems you a great fit for our organization? 
6. What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career so far? What was the outcome, and how did you overcome the challenge? 
7. What type of work environment and management style do you prefer? 
8. Where do you see yourself three years from now? 
9. Elaborate on your professional goals. How will getting this position help you advance toward your professional development? 
10. What does an ideal workday look like for you? 
11. Why do you want to leave your current job? 
12. What was the most frustrating part about your last job? What steps did you take to make it less frustrating? 
13. What makes this role fun and motivating for you? 
14. Do you prefer working with a team or by yourself? 
15. What does the ideal manager look like for you? 
16. What is your experience like with multiple deadlines due around the same time? How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time? 
17. Is there something you wish you had done differently in your last role? 
18. What career accomplishments will help you succeed in this role? 
19. What responsibilities do you look forward to having in our organization?  
20. What are some of your strong interpersonal skills? 
21. Can you provide work samples that demonstrate your qualifications for this role? 
22. What is the minimum starting salary range you expect? 
23. Has any other organization made you an offer recently? 
24. What makes you want to work for our organization instead of our competitors? 
25. When can you start if hired? 

Red Flags to Look Out for During a Pre-Screening Interview  

As a hiring manager, here are some red flags you should look out for during a pre-screening interview: 

1. If the candidate seems only mildly interested and doesn’t ask any questions about the organization/role 
2. If the candidate has not researched the organization and knows little about the role they have applied for 
3. If they don’t answer questions about their previous/current job or hesitate to provide references  
4. If they say negative things about their previous or current employer 
5. If they only seem interested in the salary and perks offered

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is a Pre-Screening Interview? 

A pre-screening interview refers to the process of assessing the quality of a candidate before interviewing them. The procedure involves evaluating the candidate’s application, cover letter, and resume. Organizations conduct pre-screening interviews to gauge whether the potential candidate meets the job requirements.

Q2. Why is Pre-Screening Necessary?

For organizations, pre-screening is a good way of strengthening the recruitment process and shortlisting candidates more effectively. Pre-screening tests can assess a candidate’s skills, emotional intelligence, honesty and integrity, cognitive ability, personality, etc. It ensures that companies hire the best candidates among a large application pool.

Q3. What happens after a Pre-Screening Interview?

After a pre-screening interview, the organization contacts the shortlisted candidates within five to seven days. The hiring manager usually sends a brief email or follows up with a phone call to inform the chosen candidates about the next steps.

If you're curious about phone screening meaning, check out our in-depth blog post on the subject!

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