The phone screen is a recruiter checking four things in twenty minutes: you exist, you can talk about your resume, you are in the salary range, and you can start when they need. The video interview is the hiring manager's interview with a camera between you, and the camera adds exactly one hour of preparation: the setup. Both are lost in the first minute more often than in the last. A phone screen lost by answering in a noisy place. A video interview lost by a link that did not work and five minutes of apology.
Key points
- A phone screen is twenty to thirty minutes, four questions, and the salary question. Prepare the four and the number.
- Test the video link, camera, microphone and light the day before. Ten minutes.
- Camera at eye level, light in front of you, a plain wall behind. Nothing else matters as much.
- One page of notes, off camera, in large type: five story titles, three questions, the number.
- Join two minutes early. Not ten, not on the dot.
The phone screen
| They ask | Because | Your answer |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself, or walk me through your resume | Can you summarise? | Ninety seconds. The guide on tell me about yourself. |
| Why this role, why us | Did you read the posting? | One fact each. The guide on why you want to work here. |
| What are your salary expectations? | Are we in range? | A range from the market. The guide on salary expectations. |
| When could you start? Are you interviewing elsewhere? | Timing | A date, and "yes, at a similar stage" if true |
| Do you have questions? | Interest | Two: what the process is, and what the hiring manager most needs |
Twenty to thirty minutes. The recruiter is not the person who decides whether you can do the job. They decide whether you go to that person. Be clear, be in range, be available. The guide on the interview preparation checklist has the one hour of preparation a screen needs.
The phone screen asks four things. Have the four answers and the number.
The video setup
Ten minutes the day before, with the same device and the same room:
- The link. Open it. If it needs an app, install it now. If it needs an account, make it now.
- The camera. At eye level. A laptop on a desk points up your nose. Put it on a box.
- The light. In front of you, from a window or a lamp. A window behind you makes a silhouette.
- The background. A plain wall, or a tidy one. A virtual background flickers at the edges and reads as hiding something.
- The microphone. Headphones with a microphone beat the laptop's. Test by recording ten seconds.
- The frame. Head and shoulders, a hand's width above your head.
- The notifications. Off. Every one of them, on every device in the room.
The first minute
Join two minutes before the time. The interviewer sees you waiting, not arriving. Camera on before you join, so the first frame is you looking at the camera, not at the screen. Say your name and theirs. If the sound fails, say so in one sentence and fix it, and do not apologise more than once.
Look at the camera when you speak, and at the screen when they do. It reads as eye contact and most people never do it.
Notes
One page, in large type, taped beside the camera or on the desk, out of the frame. The titles of your five stories. Your three questions. The salary range. The interviewers' names. Reading from it for a second is normal. Reading an answer from it is visible, because your eyes move in lines.
Phone only
A quiet room, a charged phone, a glass of water, the notes in front of you, and the resume you sent them. Stand up if it helps you speak clearly, and most people speak better standing. Smile. It changes the voice and the recruiter hears it.
Practice, on this site
Practice runs the phone screen's four questions and the interview's twelve, with your answer spoken aloud, so the first time you hear your own ninety seconds is not on the call. The guide on mock interviews has how to run a full one. Prepare writes the briefing, so the facts for "why us" are in front of you.
Questions
Do I wear a suit for a video interview?
What you would wear to the office they describe, from the waist up and the waist down, because you will stand up at some point.
What if my internet is unreliable?
A phone hotspot as a backup, tested, and the interviewer's phone number written down. If the call drops, call it.
Can I have the posting open on screen?
Yes, and the resume you sent. Not in a window that covers the interviewer's face.
The recruiter asked for a salary number and I gave a range. Is that fine?
Yes. A range from the market is the answer. The guide on salary expectations has the range.
How long does a phone screen take to turn into an interview?
A week or two. The guide on how long until you hear back has the stage timelines.