Pre-screening questions to ask every candidate
By the HR Mitra team · 5 October 2026 · 3 min read
A good CV can still be the wrong candidate: a three-month notice period for a role that starts in two weeks, an expected CTC far above the budget, or no wish to move to the city. A short pre-screen finds these out before anyone spends an hour on an interview. The trick is to ask the same questions of everyone, in the same order, and write down the answers.
The practical questions
These settle whether an offer could work at all. Ask them early.
- “What is your notice period, and is any of it negotiable or already served?” In India, 30, 60 and 90 days are all common, and some candidates can buy out part of it. Know your limit before you ask.
- “What is your current CTC, and what are you expecting?” Ask for both, and whether the current figure includes variable pay. If the expectation is far above the range, say so now rather than at the offer.
- “Are you comfortable with the location and work mode?” Name the city and the days in office. For a move, ask about the timing.
- “Do you have other offers or interviews in progress?” Not to pressure anyone, but to know your timeline.
- “Is there anything about the role, as described, that does not suit you?” Shifts, travel, targets. It is better to hear it now.
The motivation questions
- “Why are you looking for a change?” Listen for what they want more of, not only what they want to leave. If the answer is something this role will not give them either, the hire will not last.
- “What do you know about this role, and what made you apply?” A candidate who read the description is a candidate who wants this job, not any job.
The experience questions
The practical answers say whether a hire could happen. These say whether it should. Keep them to the must-haves on your list.
- “Walk me through your current role. What does a normal week look like?” It shows what they actually do, which is often different from the title.
- “Tell me about your most recent project. What part was yours?” Push gently for “I” rather than “we”.
- One question per must-have skill, asking how they used it and what went wrong. For engineering roles, our phone screening questions for software engineers has ten ready to use.
Questions to keep out
Do not ask about age, marital status, plans for children, religion, caste, health or family background. None of it tells you whether someone can do the job, and it opens the door to unfair decisions, whether or not anyone meant them.
Make it consistent
- Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order.
- Write the answers down as you go, in a fixed format, so you can compare them.
- Decide what a pass looks like before the first call, not after the tenth.
- Keep it to 10 to 15 minutes. A pre-screen is a filter, not the interview.
How HR Mitra runs the pre-screen for you
Candidates who pass the resume screen are emailed a link to an AI phone screen, which stays open for 10 days. They take the call in a browser on their phone or laptop, for up to 10 minutes. The AI asks about their current role and a recent piece of their work, four questions about the work written from your job description and their CV, why they want a change, their notice period, and their current and expected CTC. Every candidate is asked every question, in the same order. You get the recording, the transcript and a score with its reasons, and you decide who moves on.
See how AI phone screening works.