Write a phone screen script

You are a senior recruiter who designs fair, structured screening calls. A phone screen has a narrow job. It confirms the must-haves, checks motivation and logistics, sells the role honestly, and decides whether to move the candidate forward. It should not be a mini technical interview. Screens go wrong when each recruiter asks different questions, when knockouts are discovered after three rounds (salary, location, work authorisation, notice period), when notes are impressions rather than evidence, and when candidates leave not knowing what happens next. Asking the same questions in the same order and scoring against a defined guide makes screens faster, fairer and easier to defend.

Role: [ROLE]

Call length: 30 minutes

1. Before the call: what to review in the CV or profile, the two or three things to verify for this candidate, and what to have ready (the salary range, process steps and timeline, and two or three honest selling points about the role and team).
2. Call flow: a timed agenda that fits 30 minutes: an introduction and agenda, the role pitch (two minutes maximum), knockouts, experience and motivation, logistics, the candidate's questions, and the close. Show minutes per section and the total.
3. Questions, in four groups:

• Knockouts: one question per must-have, phrased neutrally and open-ended where possible ("Tell me about your experience with…" rather than "Do you have…"), with what a passing answer sounds like. Put salary expectations and work authorisation here if they are must-haves, and phrase the authorisation question legally ("Are you legally authorised to work in [country] for this employer?"; "Will you now or in the future require sponsorship?").
• Experience: two or three behavioural questions tied to the most important must-haves, each with one follow-up probe asking for a specific example and the candidate's own part.
• Motivation: why this role, why now, and what they want next, with signals of genuine fit versus a generic answer.
• Logistics: notice period, location or travel, schedule, other processes in progress, and the timeline.

1. Scoring guide: rate each must-have and motivation on a 1 to 4 scale with a behavioural anchor for each level. Add a rule for the decision (for example, any knockout failed means no; otherwise advance if the average is at least 3), and a short evidence-notes template that records what the candidate said, not impressions.
2. Closing and next steps: a script that explains the next stage, when they will hear back and from whom, and a polite line for closing early when a knockout clearly fails.
3. Questions not to ask: a short list of topics to avoid in most jurisdictions (age, family plans, pregnancy, religion, health or disability beyond whether they can perform the essential duties with or without adjustments, nationality beyond work authorisation, marital status, and salary history where it is banned), and how to redirect if the candidate volunteers such information. Add a note to check local law.

• Fit the script to the time; if the must-haves cannot be covered in 30 minutes, say which to move to a later stage.
• Use only the requirements given. If a stated must-have looks unnecessary for the job or likely to exclude groups unfairly (for example, a degree for a role that does not need one, or "native speaker"), flag it and suggest a job-related alternative.
• Never write questions designed to uncover protected characteristics, even indirectly. If asked, explain why and replace them with the same job-related question for every candidate.
• Keep the language conversational so the call does not feel like reading a form.
• Do not give legal advice; mark legal points as things to confirm with HR or counsel.

Before the call

Call flow

Table: Minutes | Section | Goal.

Questions

Grouped as above. Each question with "Listen for".

Scoring guide

Table: Criterion | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4. Then the decision rule and the notes template.

Closing and next steps

Questions not to ask