When you’re dealing with high-volume hiring or looking for a very specialized candidate, it might feel like every interview is a dead end. If unqualified candidates keep making it to the interview stage, the problem is usually upstream: they're not being filtered out before they get there, which means your pre-screening isn't doing its job, or isn't happening at all.

Pre-screening interviews are crucial to ensuring that applicants are a basic fit for the position before moving into the true interview process. They save recruiters and applicants time by identifying dealbreaks or must-have qualifications early on.

Here’s everything you need to know about pre-screening interview questions, including what to ask as an interviewer or what to expect as an interviewee. 

What is a pre-screening interview?

A pre-screening interview is an early conversation that confirms an applicant is worth advancing through the hiring pipeline. This assessment confirms that a candidate has the minimum qualifications to be considered for the role and matches any logistical requirements, such as location, to save hiring teams time down the line. 

The common formats are phone interviews, video calls, or candidate-submitted asynchronous video recordings that recruiters can screen at a later date.

Why pre-screening questions matter

Pre-screening interview questions help recruiters filter out candidates who aren’t a strong fit early in the hiring process. Testing for things like company culture fit and basic competency can reduce mishires and improve hiring decisions.

Asking strong, consistent questions helps surface deal-breakers early on and supports a fairer, less biased screening. When every candidate answers the same core questions, recruiters can compare them against the role’s requirements rather than against gut feel, which surfaces deal-breakers sooner and supports fairer, less biased screening. The alternative, ad-hoc questions that vary by candidate, is where inconsistency and bias creep in.

And, above all, pre-screening is cost-effective: it cuts the labor hours lost, ensuring that recruiters are only speaking with the best possible applicants. 

Common pre-screening interview questions

The right screening questions to ask candidates depends on what you’re trying to learn. Do you want to know more about their technical backgrounds? Are they completing assessments as part of the hiring process? Will they need to be comfortable commuting into an office, or do they prefer a hybrid schedule?

Consider the common interview questions below before setting your own list to ask candidates. 

Recruiter questions to ask candidates

These are common interview questions that hiring teams might ask, for entry-level to executive-level hiring, to assess a candidate’s company culture fit and qualifications.   

• Tell me about yourself.

• Walk me through your resume/background. 

• Why are you interested in this position?

• What do you know about our company?

• Why are you leaving your current role? 

• What does your five-year plan look like? 

• How do you best work on a team?

• What are your greatest weaknesses? 

• What are your greatest career accomplishments?

• What’s your ideal work environment like? 

Questions candidates should expect

These basic questions are common in most screens. Candidates expect them, and recruiters should know what strong answers sound like.

• What are your salary expectations?

• What do you expect in a compensation package?

• When are you available to start?  

• Are you legally allowed to work in [country/region]?

Sample answers to screening questions

The following question and answer sets demonstrate what strong responses might sound like. 

Role fit and motivation examples

• Why are you interested in this position? “This position interests me because I’m looking for the type of job and company where I can really grow. The Sales Representative position seems like a good way to learn more about the company before advancing to management roles on the team. I’m also passionate about your company’s product, which I think is a truly innovative solution to customer pain points.”

• Why are you leaving your current role? “I’m looking to leave my current role because there aren’t enough opportunities for growth. I’ve reached the ceiling as an account manager, and I’m really hoping to gain more leadership experience to take on a management role and develop professionally. I’ve enjoyed my time at my current company, but I’m ready for a change.”

Skill examples

• What are your greatest weaknesses? “My biggest weakness as an employee is that I haven’t had much hands-on management experience. I’ve stepped up wherever possible to fill gaps on my team, but I haven’t had the opportunity to turn my instinct for leadership into true management skills just yet.”

• What are your greatest career accomplishments? “My greatest career accomplishment so far is exceeding my sales quota every month since starting at my current company. We’re expected to sell to a minimum figure that increases with our seniority. I’ve managed to create new workflows for qualifying leads that have filled my sales pipeline, leading me to sell 150-200% of my goal each month.”

Examples of reg-flag responses

You want to listen for honest answers that don’t involve badmouthing former managers or colleagues, are too vague about competencies, don’t directly answer the question, or suggest they aren’t quite qualified. Here are some examples of red flags you might hear. 

• “My team was really lazy and hard to work with.”

• “My manager was really difficult and constantly micromanaged.”

• “This position interests me because it’s very different from what I do now.”

• “On former teams, there’s been a struggle to find solutions because I’ve found my team members aren’t open to my suggestions.”

Other indicators that a candidate isn’t prepared or isn’t a great fit include:

• Repeating points on resumes without adding new, valuable information

• Being late or seemingly disorganized, whether through rescheduling or a lack of communication

• Giving vague responses to questions 

• Having no knowledge of the company or the role 

How to conduct a pre-screening interview

To screen applicants, you should follow pre-determined templates of questions to limit bias and make sure you’re successfully learning about the candidates' dealbreakers or must-have qualifications. 

Set up the screening process

Start by setting up the screening interview process, both internally and with the candidate.

Internally, that means creating clear job descriptions that tell you exactly what you aim to achieve with the screening call, and preparing a list of questions that you can ask all applicants. 

You’ll likely want to split your time between qualification and fit questions and company culture or logistical questions. Qualification questions involve discussions of the candidate’s resume and basic background, interest in the role, and past experiences, while logistical questions determine where the candidate is located and what their salary expectations are. 

With the candidate, you need to schedule some type of meeting, whether it’s by phone or video, where you can chat with the candidate and ask the questions set above. 

Run and close the interview

Follow your question list closely when conducting the pre-screening interview to make sure you optimize your time and gather the information required. This is also a great opportunity to gauge whether the person is a strong communicator who can give confident, concise answers. 

Close the interview by thanking the candidate for their time and letting them know what the next steps will be. You might already have a feeling about whether the candidate will advance or not, but it’s important to remain neutral and professional when wrapping up the call. You can communicate whether they’re moving to the next round after reviewing their answers and discussing with the rest of the hiring managers (if relevant). If they request feedback on the interview, keep it specific and constructive. 

Improve your pre-screening process with Juicebox

Your hiring pipeline is only as strong as the candidates in it, and without a strong sourcing tool, you might struggle to find qualified candidates.

That’s why Juicebox is every recruiter’s best tool. It searches across 800 million profiles to find candidates, including passive ones, while adding an intelligence layer to your hiring process. Juicebox integrates with dozens of popular recruiting tools, including ATS and CRM, to work with the systems you already use.

Try a free Juicebox search today. 

FAQ

How is a pre-screening interview different from a standard interview?

Pre-screening interviews are different from regular interviews because they don’t get into the specifics of the role. They’re a general conversation that’s meant to determine whether a candidate is worth advancing to the interview stage. 

What questions are asked in a pre-screening interview?

Common questions asked in the pre-screening interview include:

• Tell me about yourself.

• Why are you interested in this position?

• What do you know about our company?

• Why are you leaving your current role? 

• What are your salary expectations?

• When are you available to start?  

• What are you available to start?

How long is a typical pre-screening interview?

Pre-screening interviews usually last 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of questions and the length of the interview question answers.