The phone screen
Phone interview tips
Take the call somewhere quiet with the job posting and your notes in front of you. Use a headset or hold the phone to your ear instead of speakerphone, stand up, and keep each answer short. Screens usually run 15 to 30 minutes.
What is a phone screen interview?
A phone screen is a short call, usually with a recruiter, that decides whether you move on to a full interview. Indeed's guide for employers says screening questions are “usually used to eliminate candidates,” so keep your answers short and clear.
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Who calls
Usually a recruiter or someone in HR. Sometimes the hiring manager makes the call.
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How long does a phone interview last?
A recruiter's screen usually runs 15 to 30 minutes, and Indeed's hiring guides say most take about 15. North Dakota State's career center says first-round phone interviews typically run 15 to 45 minutes. Indeed also tells employers to schedule an hour for each call, so keep a full hour open.
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What they check
How you communicate, what you've done, whether you still want the job, and whether your pay range fits their budget.
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What comes next
If it goes well, the next step is a longer interview with the hiring manager. Ask about the timeline before you hang up.
How to prepare for a phone interview
Set this up an hour before the call.
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A quiet room
Close the door, turn off the TV and move pets out. On a cell, take the call where the signal is strong.
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A charged phone
Charge it, turn off call waiting and check the time zone on the invite. Agree on who calls back if the line drops.
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The posting in front of you
Print it and highlight the three or four things they want most. Use their words when you answer.
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A few notes
Keep your résumé and some bullet points where you can see them. Glance at them rather than reading them out.
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A headset or the handset
Use headphones with a mic, or hold the phone to your ear. Skip speakerphone.
- 6
Water and a pen
Keep water close in case your mouth gets dry, and a pen for their name and anything you want to ask later.
What the recruiter will ask
Indeed's guide for employers lists the usual topics, including your experience, why you're leaving, why you want this job, salary, when you can start, and your questions for them.
The ten questions, with what to say to each →
The salary question. Some screens also ask what you make now. Ask for their range first. If they press, give a researched range for this role and keep your current pay private.
Say“Could you share the range budgeted for this role?”
On the call
They can't see you, so these habits make you easier to follow.
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Stand up
Guides from Stanford and St. Olaf both suggest it. St. Olaf says you'll feel “more focused, alert and confident.”
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Smile while you talk
Listeners can hear it. In a University of Portsmouth study, people could pick out smiles from a speaker's voice alone.
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Keep answers short
Say how many points you have, make them, and stop. Pomona's career office notes that people ramble on the phone because they can't see that the point landed.
Say“Two reasons. First, … Second, …”
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Ask them to repeat
The Stanford, St. Olaf and K-State guides all say it's fine to ask.
Say“Sorry, you cut out for a second. Could you repeat the question?”
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Pause before you answer
Let them finish and wait a beat before you start. On a phone line, it keeps you from talking over each other.
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Keep your side quiet
Don't eat, chew gum or pick up another call. Texas State's career guide warns against all three.
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Talk, don't read
In one study, recruiters who heard a candidate's pitch were more interested in hiring than recruiters who read the same words, and the candidates didn't expect their voice to matter.
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Keep your normal pace
In a study of filmed mock interviews, slower speech was the one nervous habit interviewers picked up on. Know the first sentence of each main answer.
How to end the call and follow up
- 1
Ask what happens next
“What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear from you?” Get their email address before you hang up.
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Restate your interest
“Thanks for your time. Everything you've told me makes me more interested in this role.”
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Send a thank-you email that day
Two or three lines is enough. Thank them, mention one thing they said, and say you're still interested.
Rehearse the screen out loud
Run the call with an AI recruiter before the real one. It asks the usual questions, follows up when you dodge, and scores what it heard.
Your free mocks show the score. The Interview-Ready plan shows you how to raise it.
- As many scored mocks as you want, in every round
- Why you lost points on each skill
- Your weakest answers rewritten, with why the new version scores higher
$29 a month if you join by October 31, and you keep it while you stay (regular $49). 14-day refund from your account. See the plan
More in interview questions
- Phone screen questions The ten questions a recruiter asks on the first call, and what to say to each.
- Hiring manager interview questions Questions about the work itself, from the person you'd report to.
- Second interview questions More specific, more behavioral, and often more people in the room.
- Internal interview questions Applying inside your own company: what they ask and what to say.