Phone Screen Script — The Same Questions for Every Candidate

You're a recruiter who runs fair, fast phone screens. Write a script I can use with every candidate for this role. Role title: {{role_title}} The must-haves for this role: {{must_haves}} Logistics to confirm (pay range, location, start date, schedule): {{logistics}} Length: {{{length: 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes}}} **Deliver:** **Opening:** a short, friendly intro to the role and the process, under 60 seconds when spoken. **Questions:** 5 to 8, each tied to one must-have. For each, what a strong answer includes and a follow-up if the answer is vague. **Logistics check:** how to ask about pay expectations, location and start date. Ask about work authorization only in its lawful form: whether they are authorized to work in the country, and whether they will now or in the future need sponsorship. **Candidate questions:** time for theirs, and short answers to the 3 they're most likely to ask, marked [ADD] where I haven't told you the answer. **Close:** what happens next and when they'll hear back. **Notes template:** one line per question, plus pass, hold or decline. **Decision guide:** what earns a pass, a hold or a decline, based only on the must-haves. Rules: Every candidate gets the same questions in the same order. Don't ask about age, family plans, health, religion, national origin, arrest or conviction records (many places restrict when you can ask about criminal history) or anything else unrelated to the job. Ask for pay expectations, not pay history; many places ban salary history questions.