We conduct recruiter phone screens for all positions. The phone screens typically take around 30 minutes and are conducted by the recruiter responsible for the position.
At the beginning of the phone screen, the recruiter will let the candidate know that they will be starting the phone screen by learning more about the candidate’s background and experience; then giving the candidate an overview of the company, position, and process; and lastly, wrapping up the call with any questions the candidate may have. The following is a general outline that we use to guide our phone screens:
Introduction & Motivations
- Please provide a short overview of your current work and what you’ve done in the past.
- What sparked your interest in Cockroach Labs?
- What motivated your job search?
- What is important to you in your job search?
General Questions
- What do you enjoy doing on a day-to-day basis? What work have you done that you are most proud of?
- When have you taken a project across multiple disciplines, even ones you weren’t familiar with before starting on the project?
- Tell me about a time when you were particularly proud of the balance you struck between completeness, polish, and timing.
- Do you have any side projects that you are working on? (e.g. Github contributions, etc)
Engineers
- What % of your time do you spend doing development work? What do you spend the rest of your time on?
- Additional questions will be determined with the hiring manager during the hiring kick-off meeting with the hiring manager.
Managers
- How much of your time do you spend making individual contributions vs. managing people?
- What would your ideal time breakdown be moving forward?
Logistics
- What is your current work authorization?
- What are your compensation expectations?
- It’s important to note that compensation is discussed at start and end of the process but not in between. Compensation expectations are asked about during the recruiter phone screen. If expectations seem misaligned based on what is approved for the role, the recruiter will let the candidate know. Being a startup, we sometimes can not meet the expectations that a candidate may have. If expectations are aligned, then the topic of compensation won't resurface until an offer is extended.
- Do you have any time constraints that we should be aware of (offers expected, vacations planned, etc)?
- What other companies are you currently interviewing with? What step of the process are you in?
Recruiter: Walkthrough of basic company information, the role, and interview process.
- What questions do you have for me?
At the end of the phone screen, the candidate will have a good understanding of the company, the role, timeline, and next steps. When still calibrating on a position, the recruiter will review the candidate’s pre-screen notes and resume with the Hiring Team before determining next steps.