Smart Candidate Screening: More Options, Better Results.

When it comes to talent acquisition, time is your most precious commodity. As organizations continue investigating new ways to generate efficiencies, many wonder: Can HR technology make screening candidates more efficient without losing the human touch?

On this episode of Talent Experience Live (TXL), Mike DeMarco and Joanna Keel, Product Marketing Managers at Phenom, discuss how there are new ways to screen candidates that blend high-tech tools with high-touch experiences. 

Their conversation highlights that there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to screening, and recruiters need options to match their hiring needs and industry. So how do you strike the right balance between connecting with candidates and streamlining your hiring processes? 

Watch the full episode below, or read on to find out.

The State of Candidate Screening: A Reality Check

Today's recruiting teams are leaner than ever, yet application volumes continue to rise, increasing over 30% in 2024. For many recruiters, it's not uncommon to have to handle hundreds of applications across multiple roles in a given day. This forces recruiters to spend valuable time performing repetitive tasks while connecting with candidates who might not be the best fit. 

Traditional screening methods without intelligence are holding organizations back from:

• Maintaining efficiencies in hiring, especially for high-volume roles

• Preserving candidate engagement throughout the process

• Ensuring consistent evaluation across all applicants

• Maximizing the time both recruiters and candidates spend 

One of the main issues is that the way recruiters scale candidate screenings hasn't changed much in the last decade.

"It's mostly manual," Keel explains. "We get an applicant, the recruiter looks at that resume, maybe knocks them out right away, maybe they schedule a seven or fifteen-minute phone call. This process is rinse and repeat — it's highly manual and highly time-consuming."

The good news is talent acquisition teams no longer need to stay in the past. Today AI-powered tools offer screening options that not only respect candidates' time and preferences but also help recruiters focus on what matters most: human connection with the right talent for the role they are hiring for.

The Evolution of Screening Options: Meeting Candidates Where They Are

Different industries are hiring for different people, different skills, and different needs when it comes to effectively getting candidates through the screening process. Understanding how different industries and roles require personalized screening approaches is crucial to developing a modern screening strategy.

As Keel explains, "Screening is so different based on the organization, based on the role, based on the location. You see a hodgepodge of screening going on." At the end of the day, what works for the organization up the street might not work for you. 

Let's explore how different screening methods can transform hiring across various industries:

Healthcare: The Power of Audio Screening

Nurses are some of the most in-demand professionals in the current labor market. These high-demand professionals, who happen to work long and grueling hours, have a hard enough time finding space to think about their next job opportunity let alone to have the time and space to apply to a new role. 

For healthcare professionals, traditional phone and video interviews can be a significant barrier. "You would be hard-pressed to get any nurse who's working two 12-hour shifts to put themselves up on camera," Keel notes. "It is near impossible."

Audio screening provides a perfect alternative by:

• Allowing nurses to interview between shifts without worry about appearances

• Maintaining professionalism while acknowledging real-world constraints

• Focusing on communication skills that are crucial for patient care

The opportunity, flexibility, and accessibility that audio interviews provide for healthcare professionals is not to be missed. These tools are providing tangible options that lead with empathy by taking the candidates' needs and preferences into consideration.

Retail and Food Service: When Speed Matters Most

While audio interviews shine in healthcare, retail and food service face a different challenge entirely. Here, speed isn't just nice to have; it's essential for survival. 

Today's frontline candidates, primarily Gen Z and younger millennials, live in a world of instant responses and mobile-first experiences. They're not going to wait days for an email or schedule a phone screen for next week — they'll simply move on to the next opportunity.

"Think about frontline roles like restaurants where you need to make sure that you get that person in the door to fill that shift in that moment," Keel explains. This is where chatbots and intelligent screening questions become game-changers, handling crucial qualifications like shift availability and age requirements in real time.

When retailers and hospitality leaders tailor their screening process to match how their candidates naturally engage with technology, they're not just filling positions — they're speaking their candidates' language and adapting the ever-changing labor market.

Professional Services: Depth Meets Efficiency

Corporate roles present a unique screening challenge. While healthcare needs accessibility and retail needs speed, knowledge workers require a deeper look at capabilities. For knowledge worker roles, you need to see how the candidate thinks, manages time, and performs. Case studies here aren't just a nice-to-have extra — they're an essential tool for evaluating how candidates think and solve problems. 

"Corporate roles require problem-solving skills," Keel points out. "The most effective way to know whether a candidate can actually tackle real-world scenarios is through case study screening."

When using case studies, organizations can create an assignment that mimics a real world scenario, places time restraints, and highlights specific requirements to simulate a real world interaction. This gives candidates the opportunity to be fully evaluated on their ability while offering recruiters and hiring managers a clearer view into the candidates abilities, further raising the probability of a successful hire.

For roles where communication and expertise are paramount, modern screening tools offer the perfect blend of efficiency and evaluation. Audio screening lets you hear how candidates naturally interact, video allows you see how the person composes themselves, and situation-based case study questions help assess their problem-solving abilities, offering applicable and valuable insights into potential future employees. 

The Impact: Everyone Wins

Modern screening tools don't just benefit candidates; they transform the entire hiring process. Effective and streamlined screening processes benefit recruiters, hiring managers, and hiring teams, ensuring that everyone has the time to execute on their responsibilities while working toward keeping teams fully staffed. Time spent in unproductive interviews prevents them from focusing on business needs. 

With updated screening tools, hiring managers can have confidence that when they go into an interview, it’s with a candidate who has been properly screened and put through the proper measures before that first interview. This creates better interviews ensuring the time is spent with the right candidate. 

Keel emphasizes this point: "It's the worst feeling in the world to know you gave an hour of your time up just to learn that this candidate is not even going to work out."

Looking Ahead: Voice AI Changes the Game

As we look to the horizon, voice AI is emerging as the next frontier in screening technology. Voice AI removes the time barrier by giving candidates access to voice screening anytime, anywhere. This allows recruiters to provide a voice screening process that can engage candidates in a fluid natural tone, understand their responses, and provide answers to frequently asked questions. 

Candidates can have a real conversation, ask questions as they come to mind, and be qualified for the next steps of the hiring process without needing a live recruiter on the line. This helps talent acquisition teams keep their competitive edge and move talent along before their competitors can. 

"Traditional methods just aren't cutting it," Keel explains. "Voice AI is solving this problem by engaging candidates directly... It's fluid, conversational, and gathers essential information without delays."

Getting Started: Understanding Your Screening Context

Today's HR teams have more screening options than ever before. The key isn't just implementing new technology – it's understanding where and how these screening options fit within your organization's unique hiring landscape.

Here are three areas to explore when considering additional screening options:

Your Talent Challenges

• Which roles consistently take the longest to fill?

• Are certain departments experiencing higher candidate drop-off rates?

• Where are your recruiters spending most of their screening time?

Your Candidate Experience

• How do your different candidate populations prefer to engage?

• What barriers exist in your current screening process?

• Are you losing great candidates due to scheduling conflicts or accessibility issues?

Your Business Goals

• What are your time-to-hire targets for different roles?

• How many hours are hiring managers spending in initial interviews?

• Could automated screening help you scale hiring for growth initiatives?

"It really starts with understanding your needs, your goals, and your process," Keel emphasizes. "When you align screening options with your specific challenges and candidate preferences, that's when you see real transformation in your hiring results."

The Power of Options

Let's be real: there's no one-size-fits-all approach to screening. The magic happens when you have the flexibility to match the right screening method to each unique hiring situation. When organizations nail this balance, something incredible happens – candidates feel truly seen and valued, recruiters can focus on what they do best (building meaningful connections), and hiring managers finally get candidates who are genuinely qualified for their roles.

Ready to make your screening process more personal and intelligent? Start your intelligent screening journey here, and discover how to create faster, smarter, and more personal hiring experiences.