How important is telephone interviewing as part of your nurse recruitment program? Some in-house recruiters or HR managers view it as a "necessary evil." They do it begrudgingly, preferring instead to talk to candidates face-to-face to determine their suitability for employment.

Others in Personnel recognize the importance of telephone interviewing as an essential screening tool.  By carefully qualifying prospective candidates over the phone, they can better orchestrate the hiring process when on-site interviewing takes place. 

Benefits of phone interviewing 

There is no argument that telephone interviewing saves time and money.  Particularly when multiple hires are to be made, screening interviews are cost-effective means to trim a large number of interested applicants into a manageable number of prospective candidates.  Without a doubt, reducing the number of candidates who are invited for an on-site visit conserves valuable time and recruitment expenses. 

Another, less obvious benefit of relying heavily on telephone interviewing deserves mentioning.  Psychologically speaking, phone interviewing "levels the playing field," so to speak, among serious contenders.  In face-to-face interviewing, a great deal of subjectivity enters the evaluation process.  Candidates who have a more striking appearance have an advantage over those who are less presentable or attractive, or are physically challenged. 

Sight unseen, all the candidates who are phone interviewed have equal opportunity to sell themselves more objectively.  By concentrating on what is communicated aurally, the interviewer can focus on what really counts:  a candidate's ability to do the job and sincere interest in pursuing the opportunity. 

Setting the stage   

Telephone interviews are most effective when candidates are properly prepared.  This begins with setting an appropriate time to discuss the opportunity without distractions or interruptions.

From a pragmatic standpoint, it's helpful to offer the candidate two or three possible times to phone interview, during the evening or over the weekend.   Hopefully, it will be a time when she is not stressed out and can comfortably discuss the employment matter at hand.

To further prepare the candidate to interview effectively, it's beneficial to mention aspects of her background that are most interesting or intriguing.  For instance:  encourage her to expound on her involvement in case management, or pursuit of an advanced degree, or medical duties associated with foreign travel, etc. 

By concentrating on positive aspects of her background and accomplishments, she will be in a suitable frame of mind to discuss what makes her unique as a viable candidate for the position under consideration.

Will it be a conference call interview?  If so, the candidate should certainly be mentally prepared to speak with more than one person.  Mentioning a little bit about their background and association with the position helps to further set the stage for a mutually  informative conversation.

Conducting the interview

When the phone interview actually takes place, the first order of business is to build rapport and put the candidate at ease.  A few minutes of light conversation serves this  purpose well.   Being friendly and cordial with a candidate at the start of the discussion usually brings out the best side of his or her personality. 

The main objective in interviewing is to determine what sort of match there is in terms of skill requirements, interest level, and salary requirement.  Generally speaking, the better candidates are not just looking for another job; they want to make a careful career move.  Keep that in mind as you describe what the company offers in return for the caliber of professional that they seek to hire. 

It's important to sell the opportunity without over-selling.  Discuss the job in objective, realistic terms.  Along  with the positives, briefly mention some of the negatives that are associated with the position-such as heavy call duty, or high level of patient acuity, or frequent overtime, etc. The candidate will appreciate a balanced presentation of key information.   
 
Another important consideration is to keep the conversation focused.  Some candidates are rather closed-mouth during a phone interview.  Others can be described as a "Chatty Cathy."  Unintentionally or otherwise, they attempt to monopolize the discussion or easily get sidetracked with extraneous issues. 

It may be necessary to gently steer the conversation along more prod