How to Never Do a Phone Screening Interview Again & Make Even Better Hires

How to Never Do a Phone Screening Interview Again & Make Even Better Hires

For years, phone interviews were considered by recruiters to be a good screening tool to decide which candidates to move along to full interviews. However, phone screening interviews have their limitations.

These limitations are particularly apparent in the case of high volume hiring.

Phone screening can prove time-consuming. First, you must navigate availability and time-zone differences to schedule phone calls. Even then, candidates don’t always show up for their screening calls, and when they do, sometimes it only takes a minute or two to realize they are not a good fit for the position. Yet professionalism dictates that you must finish the allotted interview.

While narrowing your pool of candidates is the goal of screening interviews, there is a quicker and more efficient way to do that than enduring endless rounds of phone calls. With Hireflix’s one-way interview software, you can set up a pre screening interview system that is fast and easy to navigate—both for you and for your candidates!

In this way, Hireflix is the perfect solution for efficiently screening a high volume of candidates and filling positions quickly, requiring less work and still resulting in better hires.

3 Problems with Phone Screening Interviews

While phone screening interviews have proven popular and are a good choice in some situations, they’re not always the best option—particularly if you’re a recruiter staring down the barrel of some high-volume hiring.

There are three main problems with phone screening interviews.

Problem 1: Difficulty Scheduling

Phone screening interviews can be challenging to schedule.

Finding times to schedule a phone call that will not conflict with the set schedules of both parties is challenging. This dynamic is only exacerbated when you’re attempting to schedule meetings across time zones.

Phone screening interviews make scheduling a hassle

While scheduling automation tools can lighten some of this load, they can’t fully solve all the issues involved.

One way to eliminate problems related to scheduling a remote interview is to rely on asynchronous one-way video interview tools.

With this system in place, the screening can be conducted and reviewed at any time, freeing both you and suitable applicants to complete or review the screening in your own time.

Problem 2: Lack of Candidate Engagement

Any human resource specialist, hiring manager, or recruiter who has been in the industry for any length of time will tell you that the lack of candidate engagement in the screening process is a serious problem.

Job candidates don’t always show up for phone screenings, and when they do, many job seekers do not appear at their best advantage over the phone. This may be especially true if they’re of the younger generations.

When setting up your hiring process, always remember that generational communication styles could have a big impact. While boomers and Gen X still rely on phone calls, millennials and Gen Z (“zoomers”) actively dislike them.

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Photographer: @breeandstephen
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Candidates can often get distracted during a phone screening interview

Yes, phone screenings are about elimination. But the awkward nature of the medium and the fact that certain generations of workers may perform poorly via this medium should make you wary. Phone screening interviews may lead you to eliminate qualified candidates who may have turned out to be some of your best hires.

Job interview screenings are nerve-wracking for most interviewees. Even an ideal candidate can get stumped on a specific interview question, and when that happens during a live phone call, it does more than just slow down the screening process (which is a serious problem in itself). Such a hiccup can also throw the job candidate off, further derailing the interview.

Unless talking on the phone is an integral part of the job a job seeker is applying for, screening your candidates via a phone call may actually weed out the best candidates rather than help you identify them and move them along the hiring pipeline.

On the other hand, one-way video interview software can eliminate many of the factors leading to a lack of candidate engagement.

Problem 3: Time-consuming and Uneven

Scheduling, conducting, and analyzing phone screening interviews generally can eat up a lot of time and attention.

Even worse, the natural disadvantages of the medium can lead to low-quality hires. This problem is, perhaps, more dangerous than the time drain.

For recruiters, asking the same phone screen interview questions over and over again may prove tedious.

a business woman who is stressed and frustrated
Conducting phone screening interviews at scale is a long and tiring process

But more concerning is this: if you do not ask all the same questions in the same way to each candidate, you are not conducting standardized interviews. That means your results could prove uneven at best. At worst, your interview questions could be open to bias.

Fortunately, Hireflix’s one-way interview software eliminates these problems, proving once again it’s a better option than phone screening interviews.


What Is One-way Interview Software?

You and your hiring team can save literally thousands of hours by switching to one-way interview software in place of phone screening interviews.

The process is simple.

With one-way interview software, you can record specific questions once and collect as many responses as you want, reviewing each response with your team as time allows.

One-way interview software allows you to:

  • Set your interview questions and build out your digital interview by recording each interview question just once.
  • Invite qualified candidates to submit their responses on their own schedule.
  • Share candidate responses and collaborate with other members of your hiring team.
  • Choose the best candidates to continue through the interviewing process and schedule for live interviews.

The process saves time and energy for both recruiters and job seekers.

Everyone wins.

Compared to phone screening interviews, Hireflix’s one-way video interview software:

  • Is more convenient for both the candidate and the interviewer
  • Allows candidates to showcase their skills and personality better
  • Reduces bias in the screening process by standardizing the interview questions
  • Invites team input and fosters collaboration in the hiring process
Hireflix's one-way interview software let's you easily screen candidates at scale

How Hireflix Can Improve Your Hiring Process

Like all good recruiting automation software options, Hireflix will improve your hiring process from start to finish.

Hireflix Saves Time

By automating the screening process, you eliminate time-consuming tasks like scheduling and conducting phone interviews.

All your time and energy can be focused on analyzing interview responses and choosing the most suitable candidates to move forward.

And this time-save matters. The best candidates leave the job market quickly. You will want to move fast to snag top talent.

Hireflix customer review from G2

Increases Candidate Engagement and Satisfaction

When recording their video interview answers, candidates can be confident they are showing themselves to their best advantage.

This gives them the best chance to pass their screening interview and move along in the hiring process.

Improves the Quality of Hires

One-way video interviews provide more insights into candidates' skills and personalities than phone screenings do. This improves your data set and gives you more information with which to make your decisions about who to move forward in the hiring process, greatly improving the quality of your hires.

Best of all, our seamless API and integration capabilities make it easy to get started.

You don’t need to be a tech professional to onboard, set up your interviews, and start screening high-quality hires today.

Hireflix customer review from G2

Getting Started: How to Use Hireflix

The Hireflix video interview software is simple to use.

It’s easy to get started.

How to use Hireflix:

  1. Sign up, create, and verify an account.
  2. Click “Team Management” to add team members to your account.
  3. If necessary, create (or add) branding to set themes for interviews.
  4. To create your first interview, click “Positions.” Add a job title and start creating a screening interview.
  5. Record a friendly introduction video (or add a pre-recorded one).
  6. Add 3-5 interview questions, either via the text box or via video clips. You can either use pre-recorded clips or record them directly in Hireflix.
  7. Record a farewell message to thank candidates for their time and let them know what to expect now that the screening is over.
  8. Configure your interview parameters, such as how much thinking time you wish to allow candidates, the length of the answers, the number of retakes, etc.

To invite candidates to begin submitting responses, simply click “Invite Candidates” at the bottom of the page. Upload your list of candidates and emails, and Hireflix will send each job applicant a unique link they can click to apply.

Once a candidate submits a screening interview, you will be able to watch their videos, make notes, share responses with your colleagues, and collaborate on hiring decisions.

Hifrelix’s intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it easy for interviewers to set up their screenings, for job candidates to complete their interviews, and for hiring teams to make informed decisions.

Improve Your Hiring Process with Hireflix

Hireflix’s one-way video interview software will:

  • Accelerate your hiring process
  • Help eliminate bias
  • Save you time and money
  • Allow job seekers to show themselves to their best advantage
  • Help you find better hires faster with less effort

To see Hireflix in action, request a demo today!

FAQs

How can I make my phone screening interview more engaging for candidates?

By allowing job seekers to record their answers on screens rather than stumble through them in a phone interview, you can increase candidate engagement while gathering more helpful data than a phone interview can provide.

Can I use a phone screening interview to screen out unqualified candidates?

While you certainly still have the option of using a phone screening interview to weed out unsuitable candidates, Hireflix’s one-way video hiring software provides a faster, more convenient, and more effective method for finding the best hires—fast.

How do I ensure that my phone screening interview process is fair and unbiased?

After filtering your questions for unconscious cultural bias, one of the best steps you can take is to make sure each candidate is being asked the same questions in the same way during every interview. With Hireflix’s one-way video interview software, you can be certain that all candidates are being given the exact same interview questions in the exact same way.

Why are one-way video interviews a better alternative to phone screening interviews?

With Hireflix’s asynchronous one-way video interview software, you can conduct high-volume screenings quickly and effectively. You and your team can review responses and share notes at your convenience, moving qualified candidates along to live interviews and ensuring better hires while still saving time, energy, and resources.

How to Never Do a Phone Screening Interview Again & Make Even Better Hires
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