Does anything good ever come from skipping phone screens?

I've never found that to be a good "call"

I've been hearing from people that they are getting contacted by companies and staffing firms to come right in for an in-person interview without going through an initial phone screen first. These are educated, experienced mid- to senior-level career workers pursuing professional positions.

In my personal experience as a job seeker I never had a worthwhile interview experience with a company that skipped the phone interview. And, because of that, a couple of times when I politely questioned whether that option was available or suggested that step, it was as if that would be an imposition. To me that is a huge RED FLAG about their hiring process!

As an interviewer, I can't imagine any reason not to conduct phone screens. It seems much more efficient for all parties involved and helps establish mutual interest without wasting time.

What do you think?

Comment by Colin Martin on March 27, 2014 at 11:05am: PS: Having a candidate stare blankly into a web cam to answer 5 generic questions is a waste

HA-HA, This is simply not true, Businesses have saved hours of time by pre-screening their candidates using recorded video, not to mention saving thousands of $$ they would have normally spent on recruiters. Our clients have successfully hired 100's of employees using our service and find it to be quite successful at focusing on the best people before meeting them in person, its proven not to be a waste of time. So you can pay 30K or $100 bucks for the same result. Thankfully more and more businesses are beginning to realize the benefits and video and in the future it will be will be a normal part of the hiring process.

Comment by Colin Martin on March 27, 2014 at 11:06am: Oh and the questions are not generic, they can be job specific, or what ever the hiring manager wants to ask his or her candidates....

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 27, 2014 at 11:24am: Well then, fist things first. Nice ad. :)

".....not to mention saving thousands of $$ they would have normally spent on recruiters."

So your mission is to put recruiters out of business?

Comment by Colin Martin on March 27, 2014 at 11:44am: Second thing second. Thank you, but its not an ad, I was simply clarifying your comment on generic questions. I believe that I'm following the rules of this forum, and I apologize if I am not.

I originally posted on here to get peoples feedback on using video (good and bad) So Thank for you for your feedback and I'm glad to have stirred quite a debate.

No my mission is not to put recruiters or anyone for that matter out of business. My goal is to build a successful business and create a quality life for me and my family. That being said, in a capitalist society the free market determines the winners and losers. If businesses can save thousands of dollars by integrating video screening into their hiring process then I have done my job well and I won't be ashamed of that.

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 27, 2014 at 11:52am: Were you a recruiter in your previous life? Just wondering.

Comment by Colin Martin on March 27, 2014 at 12:09pm: I was not a recruiter, but I have been responsible for hiring 100's of people in my career and felt that I did not get enough information from their resume or even the phone screen and I found myself interviewing people that I almost immediately knew would not be the proper fit for the company. So I wanted to create a way for hiring managers (like myself) or recruiters to get a better picture of who their candidates were so they could dedicate their time on the right people, and hire the best employee for their company or in the recruiters case, their client. I'm not claiming that video is the be all and end all of screening and recruiting, there are a lot of factors that go into it, but I know for a fact that it does have many benefits.

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on March 28, 2014 at 8:54pm: @Jerry - what you do DOES include some type of preliminary verbal conversation though, right? I agree, there doesn't need to an additional (HR or other) person involved if you are handling that part.

What I was hearing about was either a staffing person or company rep calling applicant up to schedule F2F interview based solely on response to job ad and/or finding resume/LI info online. There was no PS offered or scheduled.

@Colin - would you provide some specific example of the type/level of positions you or your clients use video questionnaires for and find more valuable than as PS? Are their exceptions to when you would recommend that method?

Comment by Tiffany Branch on April 1, 2014 at 9:15am: I will guesstimate that phone screens didn't really become popular until the mid to late 90's. Prior to that, you were called and asked when you could come in to interview. As the times have changed, methods have changed. However, people were still making great hires before phone screens, ATS', LinkedIn, etc.

That being said, I conduct phone screens so I don't waste my time with candidates who aren't in the range, interested after learning more about the opp, etc.

Comment by Tiffany Branch on April 1, 2014 at 9:18am: @Jerry, please explain your service. Clients pay you how much to determine if they should interview someone??? Not trying to be funny, but this sounds crazy. Are you a headhunter? Why would an employer pay you that much to conduct pre-screens if they have an effective in-house recruitment team? Again, I am not trying to poke fun, just looking for more details about your service.

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