Transcription & Recruiters

Most Recruiters use phone screenings every day to seek the perfect candidate for open positions. The first stage of hiring should always be conducted on the phone.

Conducting phone screenings allows you to improve the opportunity of discovering the ideal employee by finding out candidates that stand out and filtering out those who are not the right fit even before a face-to-face interview. We all know how time consuming face-to-face interviews are.

We’ve got some best practices for you to follow to ensure you get the most out of your phone screening process. Maybe you can even make improvements to share with your team.

1. Explain the Process

This is number one as you need to ensure the candidate is on the same page as you when it comes to the process of recruiting and hiring. Getting this out of the way can weed anyone out that isn’t serious.

But first, you need to make sure the company has this process defined.

How many interviews will be conducted in total? How fast is the company looking to hire? Who are their competitors? What is the salary range for this position?

All important information to know before you start to conduct phone screenings as a Recruiter. If any of this is up in the air, you should have another meeting with the company you are recruiting for.

2. Focus on the Details

Time is limited on the initial phone screenings that Recruiters perform so sticking with the essentials is important. Stay on topic and try to not go off on tangents or talk about random stories.

Your job is to uncover the most important information about the candidate, which essentially is if they are a good fit for the company and if they should make it to the next round.

Your questions should always be the same! This allows you to compare and focus on the answers rather than trying to come up with unique questions each time.

For example, here are some basic questions that the Recruiters we work with ask:

• Why are you leaving your current role / what interested you in this role?
• What are your career goals?
• What do you think you’d be a good fit for this role?
• Who were your last three bosses, and how would they each rate your performance on a 1-10 scale if we were to talk to them?
• What are your salary expectations?
• Any questions for me?

Hopefully, the questions you are asking are impactful and can give you the information you need immediately.

3. Note Taking (aka Transcripts)

One of the most important parts of phone screenings… note taking. But how are you really focusing on the conversation if you are still writing down what the candidate answered to your last question?

Then you have to add your notes to your Applicant Tracking System (ATS). That’s a lot of administrative work that has to happen every day.

Have you heard of real-time transcription? Well, you should take a look. Real-time transcription allows you to focus on the candidate as it transcribes the call in real-time and then goes to your ATS. You can add any additional notes if you’d like to.

Real-time transcription allows you to save time on administrative tasks and gives you the opportunity to be the best Recruiter you can be.

4. Sell the Company

While you are trying to find the perfect candidate, they are also trying to find the perfect job. This means other companies can also compete with you to hire them. This is why you need to SELL the company they will be working for.

What are the benefits, and why are they important to this candidate? What makes this company different from its competitors?

Use this phone screening to sell the company and get the candidate excited about the process. Then briefly explain the job requirements and be sure to include key information about why you think the job role is worthwhile and challenging. Great candidates will respond favorably to opportunities to grow professionally.

Conducting the Best Phone Screenings

Remember conducting the best phone screening as a Recruiter means you are focused on one thing – is this candidate a good fit for the company? If yes, then the next step is to have a longer, more formal interview.

Phone screenings can be draining, but if you come prepared and stay focused you’ll find them to be super helpful.

Make sure to allow ample time for the candidate to ask their questions. This is your chance to sell the company even more.

P.S. Real-time transcription is a must-have if you’re in the recruiting business