VoiceScreener’s main goal is to make hiring more efficient while helping employers find better candidates. One way we help boost efficiency is by allowing recruiters and evaluators to quickly identify those candidates who are unqualified for the job. Often times the first 10 seconds of the first audio answer it can be clear whether a candidate has what it takes or not.

But how can we do one better? We asked ourselves that question, and, while conversing with our customers, determined that having a pre-qualifying question system would speed up the evaluation process even faster.

Pre-qualfying questions are a set of text-based computed questions candidates are required to answer before continuing to the audio portion of the interview. Although completely optional to include in the first place, if present they can be the gateway into filtering out candidates who weren’t qualified to participate in the phone interview.

The secret sauce to pre-qualifying questions comes from their ability to be marked as “required to pass”. For example, a candidate could be asked “Are you a legal resident of the United States?” If the candidate answers “Yes” he or she passes, if “No” then the candidate will not progress to the audio interview.

There are five types of pre-qualifying questions, of which four can be used to filter candidates:

Yes / No
Candidates must answer “Yes” or “No” to a question, similar to a true or false answer set. We’ve seen a lot of success and usage with this option: It accounts for nearly half of all pre-qualifying questions.

Number
Candidates are asked to input a numerical value, which is checked against the number you are looking for as well as the operator needed. So, for example, you ask “How many years experience in this field do you have?” The answer you happen to be looking for is 4 or more. If the candidate were to say only 2, then he or she would fail.

Single-Select Multiple Choice
Candidates are asked to select only one of any number of multiple choice answers. They can’t select any more. If a candidate does not select the answer you are looking for, he or she fails.

Multiple-Select Multiple Choice
Candidates may select one or more of a set of multiple choice questions, which you can designate certain as required. Unfortunately for right now we do not have a negative selection option, meaning a candidate would fail if he or she does select an answer.

Open Text Field
This is the only option where you can’t filter out candidates. It is a question followed by a big open text field for candidates to write whatever they please. This option is more for data-mining purposes than for qualification.

We hope that pre-qualifying questions helps increase your hiring efficiency even more. They can be a real time saver combined with “Interview Now” candidates. We are eager to hear if you have found any other added use for them.