7 Easy Tips to Speed up the Phone Screening Process of Candidates

Recruitment is no different than Goblet of fire! Anyone willing to win the position can apply, and then the aspiring ones are chosen by the Goblet. And it’s safe to say that phone screening is the Goblet of recruitment.

A phone screen is a quick interview that helps you understand how qualified the candidates are for the position they’ve applied for. But before you initiate an in-person interview or go ahead with other procedures, phone screening is a non-negotiable preliminary step to gauge the candidate’s skill set and other basic details.

Phone interviews aim to fill the void between the sourcing and the screening phases. You can minimize the potential candidates before moving on to the next in-depth interview, a skills test, and other qualification measures.

Even the candidates who plan to work remotely full-time, value the chance to interact with a genuine recruiter. In addition to gauging the candidate’s interest in the position, you may explain the following stages in the recruiting process, setting realistic expectations, and providing full disclosure in a phone interview. 

Tips to Speed up the Phone Screening Of the Candidate

Even when you have some inevitable next steps, talking on the phone can be tedious. But here are some secret sauces to wrap up the phone screening process faster and better!

1. Define the goals

You generally won’t pursue a candidate who needs a three-month notice period if you’re in a rush to fill the position. Will you? Be mindful of your “non-negotiable checklist”. Do you need a business school grad who can get down to business immediately and is ready to relocate? Or are you looking for some seasoned folks to sail the ship? Are you set in your ways, or are you willing to compromise to land a top candidate? You will be in a rut if you are unaware of your goals. It is sure to burn your energy and time. 

2. Look at the bigger picture

Knowing what the position demands is not enough. Be clear about the job’s responsibilities, the company’s perks, and the unique selling proposition. As a result, you can increase the quality of the candidate experience and increase the chances of successfully filling the spots quickly. When you do that, you onboard the best talents efficiently. It also makes your employer brand stand out from the crowd.  

3. Screen the resumes and shortlist

Undoubtedly, you will receive a reasonable number of applications, but only a handful of them can make it to the mark. Now it’s time to shortlist the candidates. Sieve out the resumes that do not align with your goals and secure the ones that do. For faster and more effective results, say goodbye to the traditional method of parsing and shortlisting CVs manually. Use applicant tracking systems like Ripple Hire and Darwinbox to help you filter out the crème de la crème of candidates.

4. Schedule the calls

Do not ask them to get on a “quick call” out of the blue. Schedule a call with them. But what if they have some prior engagement? You can not neglect those possibilities. So, leverage cutting-edge technology. Offer them a multichannel response system. They can choose email, chatbots, or SMS to reply or reschedule the call. Scheduling with such a feature will reduce the churn rate. 

Also, don’t just add the schedule or reschedule option. What if the candidates appear on the call without knowing much about the job roles and responsibilities? As much as you as a recruiter need to understand what the job entails, it is equally important for your candidate to go through them. Add the job description in the mail for better ROI. They can now self-assess their skills, roles, responsibilities, and experience. It will help them to decide the salary. So, while on call, they can pitch themselves better, and you enhance the chance for a better response rate

5. Use AI-based voice calling for basic screening questions to save time

An interview is a two-way process. Candidates likely spend time learning about the company before the meeting; you should do the same. That entails reviewing their application and preparing a set of tailored questions for them to answer. The efficiency and quality of your hiring process will increase if you take the time to create a list of tailored questions for each position before conducting interviews. Better than asking a dozen questions that don’t provide much light on the candidate’s actual skill level. 

Spice up the calling process with AI-based voice calling. There are always some questions that will be common in every recruitment process. Make a list of those questions. Don’t compromise with the human touch. Record the questions yourself or take help from your team members. So with a one-time effort, you are ready to ace the interview.  

6. Focus on clear communication

Communication is better than confusion. Because confusion slows down the process. So, don’t keep your candidates on the third wheel. Walk the candidates through each selection process step and tell them what to expect at each level. Introduce a chatbot for better and faster response. A chatbot will answer their queries about the application process, interview, or company-related queries even when you are off duty. 

7. Automate all repetitive tasks

Recruitment alone can squeeze out all your energy. But there are other multiple tasks you have to take care of. Don’t underestimate the power of automation. Automate repetitive tasks and save your energy. Hop to the next phase of the process without missing any steps.

Conclusion

Recruiting top talent doesn’t have to break the bank. You have to pick the right card. Callify.ai is the best bet for you. You can choose from a variety of templates that match your hiring needs. So you can sleep on the question preparation part. Record, schedule, and shoot. With speech-to-text and NLP, Callify will compile candidate responses, provide them to you in audio and text format, and perform a matching and ranking process. And voila! You successfully scoop out the best fitted-ones 40% faster!