It’s harder than ever to find good candidates, and it can be even harder when you’re doing phone interviews.
You have a short space of time, with only a voice and a resume to go from. To make the most of them, it’s important to ask the right questions.
In this post, we’ll tell you what they are. Read on to find out which phone interview questions you should be asking.
Ask Every Candidate These Phone Interview Questions – Here’s how to separate the good candidates from the bad.
1. What Do You Know About Us?
When you make an instant conference call with a candidate, one of the first things you should ask is how much they know about your company.
They should at least be able to provide a basic idea of who you are and what you do. Any candidate worth your time will do some research before their interview. They’ll also ask you some questions, too.
2. Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?
This question will tell you what your candidate’s motivations are.
It will also give you an idea of their personality and work ethic, and whether or not they’ll fit into your working environment. For example, if they start badmouthing their current company, this is a bad sign.
If they say that they didn’t have enough opportunities for growth at their old company, but you can offer a path to career progression, that’s great. However, if they cite an issue that you also have, they are unlikely to stay with you for long.
3. Which Product/Service Do You Like and Why?
This question should be specific to your industry. Ask your candidate to talk about a product or service they’re using, even if it’s a competitor of yours.
This will tell you how involved they are with the industry, and whether or not they’re up to date with new developments.
4. What Are Your Career Goals?
A good candidate doesn’t need to have a clear-cut career plan. However, they should have an idea of what they want.
At the very least, they need to have goals. If they struggle to answer this question, it could be a sign that they’re not particularly driven.
5. What’s Your Expected Salary?
This one can be difficult, as some candidates find it uncomfortable to negotiate their salary.
A frank conversation about how much they expect to be paid will be beneficial for both of you. If their expectations are too high, they may not accept the role no matter what else you have to offer. If they’re far too low, they might not be the right fit for the role.
Tackle this in your phone interview to avoid wasting time during the recruitment process.
Build a Happy Workforce
Now that you know which phone interview questions to use, you can start hiring the right candidates.
However, once you have them, you’ll have to work hard to keep them. Retaining employees can be tricky, so make sure you’re offering enough support, flexibility, and recognition in order to keep them happy.
For more tips on how to run your business, check out our other blog posts.
