Build a Phone Screen Script
When to use it
Run a consistent 25-minute screen that actually establishes fit, rather than improvising the same conversation differently every time.
The prompt
Write me a {{25}}-minute phone screen script for a {{Job Title}} role at {{Company Name}}. THE ROLE IN ONE PARAGRAPH: {{what they'll actually do}} NON-NEGOTIABLES I MUST ESTABLISH: {{skills, level, location, comp, work authorisation, notice period — whatever genuinely disqualifies}} WHAT WE CAN BE FLEXIBLE ON: {{the nice-to-haves}} THE TWO THINGS MOST LIKELY TO SELL THIS ROLE: {{scope, team, comp, mission, flexibility}} WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IF IT GOES WELL: {{the next stage and its realistic timing}} Give me: 1. A script with rough timings: opening and pitch, my questions, their questions, and the close. 2. The disqualifying questions early enough that I'm not ten minutes from the end when I find out the comp or location doesn't work. 3. For each question, what a good answer sounds like and what should make me dig further. I'm not technical enough to judge a technical answer on its own merits. 4. A close that tells them exactly what happens next and when they'll hear from me. 5. A short notes template that mirrors the questions, so my write-up takes two minutes. Leave out anything about age, family, health, religion or nationality, and phrase the work-authorisation question in the way that's lawful in {{country}}.
Tip
Get comp and location on the table in the first five minutes. It feels blunt, and it will save you and the candidate a great many wasted conversations.
How to use it
Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or whichever assistant you use, then replace every {{bracketed}} part with your own detail. The more specific and messier your input, the better the output — a model given raw notes has more to work with than one given a tidy summary you wrote first.
More Screening prompts
- Screen a Resume Against a JD
- Compare Two Finalists
- Structured Reference Check Questions
- Turn Screen Notes Into a Candidate Submittal
- Turn Resume Gaps and Job Hops Into Fair Questions
- Work Out What Level a Candidate Actually Is
- Read a Resume That Was Written With AI
- Interpret What a Reference Actually Told You
- Separate Real AI Experience From AI Buzzwords
Open the full tool for all 87 prompts, the glossary, and the JD decoder.