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Why That 15-Minute Pre-Screen Call Is Worth Every Second
You've written the job advert, it's gone live, and the CVs are coming in. The temptation at this point is to sort the good from the not-so-good and start booking interviews. And that's exactly what most employers do.
But there's a step that sits between shortlisting and interviewing that too many businesses skip, and it's the one that filters out the wrong people before you've invested a morning of your time, your line manager's time, and the candidate's time in a full interview that was never going to work.
The pre-screen call takes fifteen to thirty minutes and works as a conversation rather than an interrogation. And from July 2026, when the new employment rights changes land, it's going to matter more than ever.
What Is a Pre-Screen Call, Exactly?
A pre-screen is a short, structured telephone or video call that happens before a formal interview. It's not a casual chat and it's not an interview. It sits in between: a quick, consistent check that tells you whether this person is worth investing more time in.
Done well, it covers:
- Whether the candidate understands the role and wants it for the right reasons
- Their salary expectations and whether those are realistic
- Their notice period and when they could start
- Any practical considerations (location, hours, travel) that might rule them out
- A first impression of how they communicate and present themselves
That's a lot of useful information to get in fifteen minutes before you've committed to a half-day of interviews.
Why Most Businesses Skip It, and Why That's a Problem
It comes down to time. Employers feel like they don't have time to add another step to the process. But that logic only works if you assume all your interviews are going to be worthwhile, and most hiring managers can tell you at least one story about a candidate who looked brilliant on paper and was clearly wrong within five minutes of sitting down.
Pre-screens don't add time to your process. They save it. Every candidate you rule out in a fifteen-minute call is a two-hour interview you didn't have to run.
There's another reason too. Without pre-screens, you're often making interview decisions based entirely on a CV, which tells you what someone has done but very little about whether they're motivated, available, or the right fit for your business right now.
The New Risk Landscape Changes the Calculation
From 1st January 2027, employees will be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim after just six months of service, down from the current two years. And anyone you hire from 1st July 2026 onwards will hit that six-month mark on the very first day the new rules apply.
That changes the cost of a bad hire significantly.
Right now, if someone doesn't work out in the first year, you have time and relatively low legal exposure. From January 2027, a poor hire who reaches month six without being properly managed out, with documented evidence of the issues and a fair process followed, could be looking at a tribunal claim. The average unfair dismissal award last year was £13,749. Some cases are listed as far ahead as 2032.
Getting the right person in the role from the outset has always mattered. Now the consequences of getting it wrong are more immediate, more costly, and harder to undo.
A structured pre-screen is one of the simplest, lowest-cost things you can do to improve the quality of who makes it to interview stage, and therefore who you end up hiring.
What a Good Pre-Screen Looks Like
The key word is structured. A good pre-screen works as a consistent, repeatable process rather than a friendly catch-up, giving every candidate the same opportunity to impress and giving you the same information from every call so you can compare fairly.
That means having a template. A set of questions you ask in the same order, with space to note the answers, and a simple decision at the end: progress to interview, hold, or decline.
A solid pre-screen template covers:
- An opening that puts the candidate at ease and sets the agenda
- Questions about their motivation: why this role, why now, why your business?
- Practical logistics: salary, notice period, start date, location or hours requirements
- A couple of role-specific questions to test basic competence or understanding
- Red flag prompts: things to listen for that often get missed in a quick call
- A professional close that leaves a positive impression regardless of outcome
- A decision box for progress, hold, or decline, with a notes column
It doesn't need to be long. One page is enough. But having it written down and used consistently means your decisions are defensible, your process is fair, and you're comparing candidates on the same basis every time.
The Bit Most Employers Get Wrong
The most common mistake is treating the pre-screen as a tick-box exercise rather than a proper filter. The call is about finding out whether this person is who you think they are and whether they want this specific role, not confirming the CV.
Listen for:
- Candidates who can't clearly articulate why they want this role (not just any role)
- Vague answers about notice periods or availability that don't add up
- Salary expectations that are significantly above what you're offering, and that they haven't mentioned
- A lack of questions from them: candidates who want the role usually have some
- How they treat the call itself: are they prepared, focused and professional?
None of these are automatic red flags, but they're worth noting. Patterns across multiple calls start to tell you something.
Virtual vs. Phone: Does It Matter?
For a pre-screen, a phone call is usually sufficient and often easier to arrange quickly. At this stage the point is to gather information efficiently, not to assess presentation or body language.
That said, for roles where communication style or confidence on camera matters, such as client-facing positions, senior hires or anything customer-focused, a short Teams or Zoom call adds a useful layer without turning it into a full interview.
The key is consistency. Whatever you choose, use the same format for every candidate at the same stage so you're comparing like with like.
Get Your Free Pre-Screen Template
We've built a one-page pre-screen call template that you can pick up and use from tomorrow. It covers the opening script, the core questions, red flag prompts and a simple decision framework, which is everything you need to run a consistent, effective pre-screen across your team.
It's completely free. Drop us a message at contact@appointmentspersonnel.co.uk and we'll send it over, or come and join us at our upcoming webinar, The First 90 Days: Why Onboarding Just Got Riskier, where we'll be walking through the practical steps every SME employer needs to take before July 2026.
