Pre-screening questions to ask candidates (with examples)

Early-stage candidate conversations play a bigger role in hiring than many employers realise. This stage sits right at the start of the interview process and helps you decide whether it is worth investing time in a candidate before involving hiring managers or senior stakeholders.

When handled well, this step protects your team’s time, improves shortlist quality and creates a clearer experience for candidates. When it is rushed or unstructured, it often leads to unnecessary interviews, late-stage drop-off and avoidable misalignment.

In this blog, we explain how to approach early-stage candidate screening properly. We cover what this stage should achieve, what to assess, and which questions help you make better decisions early on. We also share practical examples you can adapt to your own hiring process.

What is a pre-screening interview?

A pre-screening interview is a short, early-stage conversation used to confirm whether a candidate meets the basic requirements of a role before moving them into formal interviews.

This conversation is usually run by a recruiter, talent team or hiring manager and often takes place as a brief phone call, video call or structured questionnaire. The focus is not on deep assessment. It is on confirming key information such as relevant experience, salary expectations, availability and overall interest in the role.

By the end of this conversation, you should know whether the candidate meets your baseline criteria and whether it makes sense to progress them to a first stage interview. In simple terms, this step exists to confirm fit before you commit more interview time.

What this stage should achieve

This early conversation has a clear purpose. It is not designed to replace later interviews or test everything at once. It exists to filter early and prevent misalignment further down the process.

When you are clear on what this stage should achieve, your questions become more focused and your decisions easier to justify.

Confirm baseline suitability

The first goal is to confirm that the candidate meets the basic requirements of the role. This includes relevant experience, core skills and an understanding of what the role involves.

You are checking alignment, not depth. If a candidate cannot clearly explain how their background relates to the role, that misalignment is unlikely to improve later. Early clarity here saves time for both sides.

Check expectations early

This is the right stage to discuss practical expectations such as salary range, notice period, working pattern and location preferences.

Raising these points early reduces the risk of candidates reaching later stages only for misalignment to appear. Clear conversations at this point help protect your hiring team from wasted interviews.

Decide whether to invest more time

The outcome of this conversation should be a clear decision. Either the candidate meets your baseline and moves forward, or they do not.

When this step is structured and consistent, it supports stronger shortlists and a smoother hiring process overall.

How this stage fits into your hiring process

This conversation sits between CV review and your first stage interview. It acts as a filter, confirming early alignment before you involve hiring managers or senior stakeholders.

Used properly, it reduces unnecessary interviews later on. Candidates who progress should already meet your basic requirements, which allows first and second stage interviews to focus on deeper assessment rather than correcting early mismatches.

It also helps reduce repetition. Information gathered here does not need to be rechecked later, keeping your interview process consistent and respectful of everyone’s time.

What to assess during early-stage conversations

A strong early-stage conversation is focused. You are not trying to assess everything. You are checking whether the foundations are in place before moving forward. The areas below help you build a clear picture quickly without drifting into later-stage assessment:

Role and experience alignment

You are looking for a clear connection between the candidate’s background and the role. This does not require technical depth, but it does require relevance.

Listen for whether the candidate understands the role and can explain how their experience relates to it. If they struggle to make that link, it often signals misalignment that will surface later.

Salary and availability

Pay expectations and availability should be clarified early. Leaving these conversations until later stages increases the risk of drop-off and wasted time.

Clear alignment here allows candidates to make informed decisions and helps you avoid progressing people who cannot realistically accept an offer.

Motivation and intent

This stage is also a chance to understand why the candidate applied and how intentional their interest is.

Candidates who can explain why the role fits their next step tend to engage more consistently throughout the interview process.

Communication basics

Clear communication matters in every role. At this stage, you are assessing whether the candidate can explain themselves clearly, respond thoughtfully and engage professionally.

This is not about presentation or confidence. It is about whether communication feels clear, professional and workable for the role.

Examples of early-stage interview questions to ask

These questions work best when they are simple, consistent and clearly linked to what you need to confirm at this stage.

Below are examples grouped by theme, with context on why each question matters.

Background and role fit

These questions help confirm whether experience and understanding of the role align at a basic level.

“Can you give me a brief overview of your current role and responsibilities?”

This helps you understand how the candidate spends their time day to day and how clearly they can explain their work. Focus on relevance rather than detail.

“What attracted you to this role?”

This highlights intent. Candidates who can explain why the role fits their experience or goals are often more engaged and realistic about the opportunity.

“How does your experience relate to this position?”

This encourages candidates to connect their background directly to the role. Difficulty answering clearly can indicate broad or unfocused applications.

“What type of role are you looking for next?”

This helps surface early misalignment and supports better progression decisions.

“What interests you about working for our business?”

You are not expecting deep research, but a basic understanding shows intent and engagement.

Salary, availability and logistics

Handled well, this part of the conversation keeps your hiring process efficient and avoids difficult conversations later on.

“What are your salary expectations for this role?”

This checks early alignment on pay, one of the most common causes of late-stage drop-off. How candidates explain their expectations is often as useful as the figure itself.

“What’s your current notice period?”

This helps you plan timelines realistically and manage internal expectations.

“When would you ideally be available to start?”

This gives a clearer view of real availability beyond contract terms alone.

“Are you currently speaking to other employers?”

This provides context on pace and helps you manage communication and feedback timelines.

“Is there anything that could affect your availability or decision later on?”

This gives candidates space to raise practical considerations early.

Motivation and interest

This part of the conversation helps you understand focus, intent and alignment.

“What prompted you to apply for this role?”

This reveals what initially caught the candidate’s attention and whether it aligns with what the role actually offers.

“What are you looking for in your next role that you do not have now?”

This helps uncover motivation without leading the answer and often signals retention potential.

“How does this opportunity fit with your short-term career plans?”

You are checking whether this role is a logical next step rather than a stopgap.

“What interested you about our business specifically?”

Even a basic answer suggests genuine interest and stronger engagement.

“If offered the chance to progress, what would help you decide?”

This surfaces decision drivers early and supports expectation management later.

Work style and communication

These questions help you understand how the candidate operates day to day and interacts with others.

“How do you usually organise your workload?”

This gives insight into structure, prioritisation and independence.

“How do you prefer to receive feedback?”

This helps you understand how guidance is likely to land once the candidate joins.

“How do you typically communicate with colleagues or stakeholders?”

You are listening for clarity and adaptability.

“How do you handle changing priorities?”

Strong answers often focus on communication and reassessment rather than frustration.

“What helps you work at your best?”

This can surface practical fit considerations early.

Technical or role-specific baseline checks

While detailed assessment belongs later, it is still important to confirm essential requirements.

“Which tools or systems do you use most often in your current role?”

This confirms baseline familiarity and highlights potential onboarding needs.

“Can you briefly describe a recent piece of work relevant to this role?”

You are listening for relevance and clarity rather than depth.

“What type of work do you most enjoy?”

This helps identify alignment between role responsibilities and natural strengths.

“Is there anything in the role description you would like clarity on?”

This shows engagement and helps surface concerns early.

“Are there any skills you are currently developing?”

This highlights self-awareness and appetite for growth.

Common early-stage interview mistakes employers make

Early conversations are designed to save time and reduce hiring risk. When they are handled poorly, they often do the opposite. Small missteps at this stage can lead to wasted interviews, weaker shortlists and avoidable drop-off later in the process.

Asking too many questions too early

Trying to cover everything in an early conversation often leads to rushed answers and limited insight. Candidates may struggle to go into enough detail, and you can end up with surface-level information that is hard to assess properly.

This stage works best when you focus on essentials only. Keep questions aligned to baseline suitability, expectations and intent. Deeper assessment belongs in later interviews, once you know the fundamentals are in place.

Skipping structure and relying on instinct

Unstructured conversations make it harder to compare candidates fairly. When questions vary from one conversation to the next, decisions often rely on memory or gut feel rather than evidence.

A simple, repeatable structure helps you stay consistent. Asking the same core questions allows you to evaluate candidates on a like-for-like basis and makes progression decisions easier to justify.

Avoiding salary and availability discussions

Some employers delay conversations about salary or availability to avoid awkwardness early on. In practice, this often leads to wasted time for both sides.

Raising these topics early helps confirm alignment before you invest more time in interviews. Clear expectations at this stage reduce late-stage drop-off and prevent surprises at the offer stage.

Treating this stage as informal admin

Early-stage conversations shape how candidates perceive your business. If this stage feels rushed, unclear or disorganised, candidates may disengage even if the role itself is a good fit.

Taking this step seriously shows that your hiring process is considered and respectful. A professional approach here sets the tone for the rest of the interview journey and helps maintain candidate interest.

How to decide who progresses with

Once these conversations are complete, the goal is clarity.

Start by reviewing candidates against the same baseline criteria such as role alignment, salary fit, availability, communication and intent. Consistency makes decisions easier and fairer.

Next, focus on evidence rather than impressions. Look at how clearly candidates explained their experience and whether expectations aligned.

Finally, decide with momentum. If a candidate clearly meets your requirements, progress them. If there are major gaps at this stage, they are unlikely to be resolved later.

Early-stage candidate conversations play a vital role in shaping the quality and pace of your hiring process. Asking the right questions helps you confirm fit, align expectations and decide where to invest your time.

When this stage is structured well, you reduce wasted interviews, improve candidate experience and build stronger shortlists from the outset.

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