Overview
Automated phone screens are not interviews. They are an early qualification step designed to help you decide which candidates should move forward to live interviews.
Understanding this difference helps set expectations and ensures a better experience for both hiring teams and candidates.
What a phone screen is
A short, one way screening step
Completed asynchronously by the candidate
Focused on baseline experience, fit, and logistics
Designed to reduce time spent on early stage calls
Phone screens help you gather consistent signals before investing time in interviews.
What a phone screen is not
It is not a live conversation
It is not a full evaluation of skills or culture fit
It does not replace interviews
It does not score or rank candidates automatically
Phone screens are meant to inform your next step, not make hiring decisions on their own.
Why phone screen templates are used
Phone screen questions are standardized on purpose. Templates help:
Keep screening fast and fair
Reduce setup time for hiring teams
Ensure consistent signals across candidates
Support high volume hiring without added complexity
Interviews are where deeper discussion, customization, and two way conversation happen.
How phone screens fit into the hiring process
A common hiring flow looks like this:
Candidate applies
Candidate completes a phone screen
Hiring team reviews responses
Selected candidates move forward to interviews
Phone screens help you decide who is worth spending interview time with.
Best practices
Use phone screens early in the funnel
Pair phone screens with interviews, not instead of them
Review responses alongside the full candidate profile