Top 13 most effective phone interview questions to ask

Congratulations! You have some great candidates in your funnel. Now you’ve got to ask them the right questions so you can learn more about each other. We highly suggest doing prescreening phone interviews first before you get into conducting full-on interviews. This allows you to save a ton of time and resources coordinating in-person interviews.

We feel that phone interviews are an excellent opportunity to ask ‘box checker’ type questions about mandatory qualifications, requirements, and skills for the role. It’s also courtesy to candidates, it keeps them in the loop about your hiring process, and it’s an opportunity to ask about the specifics of the role to ensure your candidates are interested and have a genuine desire to fill the position.

Without further ado, here are the questions you can ask during your pre-screen phone interview:

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

2. How did you hear about the position?

3. What do you know about our company?

4. What intrigued you about this position and our company?

5. Describe the position as you understand it. What activities do you see yourself doing on a day-to-day basis?

6. This is an [Insert Level] sales position. Are you comfortable with starting at this level? 

7. Can you describe the skills/qualifications you have for this position?

8. Have you ever works in sales or customer service before?

9. Why do you think you’d be a good fit for the role?

10. What are your salary expectations?

11. Are you currently employed or unemployed?

12. When would you be available to start?

13. Do you have any questions for me?

Want more great questions? Get your Interview Toolkit for Hiring Sales Reps! It may be written for hiring sales representatives, but we promise it’s got some wicked good questions and a scorecard!