Describe the role and screening questions. Makeform creates a phone screening form for candidate answers, recruiter notes, practical details, and a clear next-step recommendation.
Send screening records to Slack, Google Sheets, and Zapier.
Sample prompts for the builder
Choose a scenario, tailor the prompt, or send it to the builder. The structure is an example, not a live AI result.
Audience
Recruiters screening engineering candidates
Format
Structured interview notes with technical criteria
Prompt size
325 chars
Example form structure
Structured interview notes with technical criteria
Candidate, role, and application source
TypeScript and React experience
Notice period and interview availability
Compensation expectations
Screening recommendation
Suggested routing tags
Advance
Hold for review
Not proceeding
Separate factual answers from recruiter observations so hiring teams can compare the same criteria without losing useful context.
Step 1
Prepare
role criteria and consistent questions
Step 2
Interview
candidate answers captured during the call
Step 3
Evaluate
evidence notes and scorecard completed
Step 4
Route
advance, hold, or decline recorded
Why structure the screen
A shared phone screening form keeps core questions, answers, observations, and disposition in one repeatable record.
Use the same required prompts for motivation, role criteria, timing, and practical details, with room for follow-ups.
Place candidate answers, recruiter observations, and ratings in distinct fields for easier review.
End each screen with a required disposition, reason, and follow-up owner.
Adapt it to the role
Keep a common screening backbone, then swap in role-specific experience prompts and scorecard criteria.
Ask for concise project examples, tools, individual contribution, and constraints.
Record segment, quota or portfolio context, communication evidence, and a relevant scenario.
Prioritize shift, location, start date, stated requirements, pay range, and fast routing.
Add competency prompts, candidate questions, open concerns, and the reason for the recommendation.
Screening workflow
Organize role requirements in call order and finish with a clear handoff to the next interviewer.
Name the role, level, must-have criteria, practical constraints, and interviewer.
Move from context and interest through experience, criteria, timing, candidate questions, and closeout.
Show relevant project follow-ups or clarify availability only when earlier answers call for it.
Require an advance, hold, or decline choice with evidence, then route the completed screen.
Form vs document vs memory
A question list helps the interviewer prepare, but a phone screening form also captures answers and the decision in a consistent structure.
Field guide
These six sections collect useful facts without turning a short screen into a full assessment.
Screen context
Record administrative details first so the submission stays understandable. Prefill known application data when possible.
Interest & context
Capture why the candidate is exploring, what attracted them to the role, and what they want next.
Role criteria
Turn actual job criteria into neutral prompts. Pair eligibility fields with a relevant example, duration, scope, or tool.
Practical alignment
Record location, work arrangement, schedule, start timing, and compensation expectations. Include the employer’s stated range for context.
Evidence & notes
Separate candidate answers, follow-up evidence, and interviewer observations. Give every rating a reason and shared anchors.
Decision & handoff
Require a next step supported by job-related evidence and name any follow-up the team needs to handle.
Related tools
Connect the initial screen to candidate intake, scheduling, structured interview feedback, and the steps that follow a hiring decision.
Collect the contact, background, and role information recruiters need before the first conversation.
Open toolCreate a role-specific application that feeds relevant information into the screening stage.
Open toolGather availability and coordinate the next interview after a candidate advances.
Open toolGive panel interviewers a consistent place to record evidence, ratings, and recommendations.
Open toolDefine the opening, hiring need, approval path, and requirements before candidate sourcing begins.
Open toolCapture an accepted offer and the practical details needed for the hiring handoff.
Open toolFAQ
Practical answers for recruiters and hiring managers designing a consistent initial interview.
A phone screening form is a structured record completed during an initial candidate call. It captures consistent questions, answers, practical details, evidence, recruiter notes, ratings, and the recommended next step.
Include candidate and role details, motivation, relevant experience, evidence examples, must-have criteria, location or schedule needs, start timing, compensation expectations, candidate questions, notes, and an advance, hold, or decline disposition.
This version is for the recruiter or hiring manager to complete during the call. Use a separate candidate details or application form for pre-call information, and keep interviewer-only observations in the internal record.
Use the same core questions in call order, define score anchors, and require evidence for ratings. Allow optional follow-ups, but keep must-have criteria and disposition fields consistent for the role.
Yes. Reuse fields for candidate context, timing, notes, and disposition, then replace competency prompts for each opening. Conditional logic can reveal relevant specialist follow-ups.
Separate candidate answers from interviewer observations. Put evidence beside the criterion it supports, add a field for questions to revisit, and finish with a concise decision reason.
Yes. Makeform is unlimited free for generating, editing, and publishing your phone screening form. The paid tier removes the Makeform badge.
Record the disposition and reason, identify the next stage, and assign follow-up. Review submissions in Makeform or route them through email, Google Sheets, Slack, or Zapier.
Turn every first call into a usable hiring record.
