Screening Interviews

November 4, 2009

Now that I am providing recruiting support to OpenView’s portfolio companies, I am conducting phone screening interviews with select candidates. Following an agenda on each call is crucial in order to learn the information necessary to determine if a candidate is appropriate for the role.

According to Who, the four essential questions for employers to ask during phone screens are:
1. What are your career goals?
2. What are you really good at professionally?
3. What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?
4. Who were your last five bosses, and how will they each rate your performance on a 1-10 scale when we talk to them?

Once you’ve covered the essential questions, get curious! If a marketing candidate says that he/she does not like to write, perhaps he/she would not want to execute a content marketing strategy. Dive deeper– ask “How…?”, ask “What…?” and say “Tell me more…”. Try to keep the interview to 30 minutes or less, and don’t be afraid to screen candidates out quickly. You’ll save yourself and the candidate time if you can determine early on whether the role is a fit.

See you next week, when I’ll discuss the Topgrading Interview… Happy Hiring!

VP, Human Capital

<strong>Diana Martz</strong> is Vice President, Human Capital at<a href="http://www.ta.com/">TA Associates</a>. She was previously the Director of Talent at OpenView.