Best Questions to Ask in a Phone Screen
For the person running the screen. Twenty questions to get through in twenty-five minutes: why they applied, what they have actually built, how they pick up new skills, what they expect on pay and timing, and whether a full interview is worth booking.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What made you apply for this role?
Why ask it
Openers should be easy. The useful signal is whether they can name something specific about the role, or whether they are working through a list of applications.
What does a normal week look like in your current job?
Why ask it
Weekly detail is hard to invent. It also shows how the resume maps onto real time, and how much of the listed scope they touch regularly.
Which project from the last year would you point to, and what was your part in it?
Why ask it
Ask for their part explicitly. Candidates who keep saying 'we' without ever saying what they personally did are the main risk a phone screen exists to catch.
What would you do differently on that project now?
Why ask it
A real answer names a decision they got wrong. A weak answer blames the timeline or another team and tells you nothing about their judgment.
Which tools or systems do you work in daily, and where are you strongest?
Why ask it
Self-ranking is more informative than a checklist. Note anything they list as a strength that you can verify quickly in the next stage.
What have you had to learn quickly in the last year, and how did you go about it?
Why ask it
You are testing method, not the subject. Answers that mention a specific source, a first attempt, and someone they asked for help are the strong ones.
Which part of the job description looks least familiar to you?
Why ask it
Candidates who name a gap honestly are usually more accurate about the rest of their answers. Claiming everything is familiar is worth probing later.
Tell me about something you delivered that went wrong.
Why ask it
You want the sequence: what broke, when they noticed, who they told. Candidates who cannot recall anything going wrong have either not owned much or are managing you.
What kind of work do you want more of, and what do you want less of?
Why ask it
The 'less of' half predicts retention. If the thing they want less of is most of this job, a good interview will not fix that.
What did your last manager push you on?
Why ask it
Gets at feedback without asking for a rehearsed weakness. Look for whether they can state the criticism plainly and say what they did with it.
How do you like to be managed?
Why ask it
Cheap to ask and immediately useful when you match them to a team. Someone who needs structure under a hands-off manager fails for avoidable reasons.
What do you know about what we do here?
Why ask it
Not a trick, and not a memory test. You are checking whether they spent ten minutes preparing, which correlates with how they will treat the work.
What questions do you have about the role or the team?
Why ask it
Their questions reveal what they are optimizing for. Someone who only asks about process and none about the work is often applying broadly.
What would make you turn this role down?
Why ask it
Surfaces the dealbreaker while it is still cheap to discover. Most candidates answer honestly because the question gives them permission to.
What salary range are you working toward?
Why ask it
Better to find a mismatch now than after a panel. Check local rules first, since asking about current or past pay is restricted in many places.
What is your notice period, and when could you realistically start?
Why ask it
Three months of notice changes your plan for covering the work. Ask for a date rather than a duration, since people underestimate handover.
Are you in other processes, and how far along are they?
Why ask it
Sets your own timeline. A candidate at final stage elsewhere needs a decision in days, not after your usual three-week loop.
How do the location and schedule for this role fit your situation?
Why ask it
State the actual arrangement first, then ask. Candidates rarely volunteer a commute or relocation problem until an offer is already on the table.
Is there anything on your resume you would like to explain before I write this up?
Why ask it
Gives them a clean opening on a gap or a short stint, and saves you from guessing at a reason in your notes.
Is there anything I have not asked that I should have?
Why ask it
Occasionally produces the most important detail of the call, such as a visa requirement, a fixed start date, or a strength the resume buried.
Running a Twenty-Five Minute Screen
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Structure
Budget the call out loud
Tell them at the start: twenty minutes from you, five for their questions. It stops the call ending with the logistics unasked.
Ask the same core questions of everyone
Comparison only works if the inputs match. Vary the follow-ups, not the main questions, and write answers in the same order every time.
Decide what the screen is for
A screen answers one question: is a full interview worth an hour of several people's time. Depth belongs in the next stage, not this one.
What to Listen For
'We' with no 'I'
The most common phone-screen failure is a candidate describing a team's work as their own. One follow-up asking what they personally wrote or decided usually settles it.
Specifics under pressure
Strong candidates get more concrete when pushed for detail. Weak ones get more abstract, moving from what they did to how they generally approach things.
The mismatch they mention once
A passing comment about hating on-call, commuting, or client work is usually the reason a hire would not last. Follow it up rather than letting it pass.
Common Pitfalls
Selling for twenty minutes
If you talk more than they do you learn nothing. Give the pitch in two minutes and let the rest of the call be theirs.
Asking about salary history
In many jurisdictions asking what someone currently earns is prohibited. Ask what range they are targeting, and state your own band.
Leaving logistics to the end and running out of time
Notice period, location, and range decide whether a hire is possible at all. If the call is short, ask them at minute fifteen rather than minute twenty-five.