Phone Interview Questions and a Scorecard for Fair Hiring
After a day of back-to-back phone screens, are you flipping through your notes trying to remember which candidate told that story about their last project? Once you pass five or six candidates, the answers start to blur, and the person you spoke to last, or the one who simply talked best, tends to get the higher score.
A phone interview is a short first-round screen that checks a candidate's core skills and fit for the role after the resume review. This guide gives you phone interview questions and a scorecard you can use right away, then shows how to save each call as a transcript and summary with daglo so every candidate is judged by the same standard.
Why phone interview evaluations go wrong when you rely on memory
On the phone you can't see expressions or body language, so what candidates say is almost everything you have to go on. But taking notes while you talk makes it hard to listen, and your notes end up capturing your impressions more than the candidate's actual words.
| Notes and memory | Call transcripts and summaries | |
|---|---|---|
| During the interview | Busy writing, so follow-up questions get missed | Fully focused on the conversation |
| When scoring | The last call leaves the strongest impression | Reread each candidate's answers in the same order |
| Sharing with other interviewers | Rewrite your notes to pass them on | Share the transcript and summary as they are |
Fair hiring isn't only about good intentions. It depends on whether you can look at every candidate's answers side by side, with the same level of detail, when it's time to decide.
8 phone interview questions you can use today
The key to good phone interview questions is asking every candidate the same ones, in the same order. Matching questions are what make answers comparable. Start with these eight and swap in one or two that fit the role.
- Tell me briefly about yourself and why you applied.
- Walk me through what you do in your current (or most recent) role.
- What project are you proudest of, and what was your part in it?
- Tell me about a challenge at work and how you solved it.
- What do you think is the most important skill for this role?
- What work arrangement are you looking for, and when could you start?
- Do you have salary or compensation expectations you'd like to share?
- What would you like to know about the company or the role?
A sample phone interview scorecard
Fill in the scorecard while rereading the transcript, not right after you hang up. That way your scores rest on what the candidate actually said rather than on how the call felt.
| Criterion | What to look for | Related questions | Score (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relevant experience | How closely past work matches the role | 2, 3 | |
| Problem solving | Clear situation, action, and result | 4 | |
| Role understanding | Knows the skills the job really needs | 5 | |
| Motivation | Clear reasons for choosing this company and role | 1, 8 | |
| Practical fit | Work arrangement, start date, and compensation line up | 6, 7 |
Organize candidate answers with call transcripts and Board Chat
When you keep phone interviews in daglo, each call is saved as a transcript and summary after it ends, with the interviewer's and candidate's lines shown separately. Ask Board Chat a few questions and the details for your scorecard are ready in minutes.
- "List the experience and results the candidate described, in question order."
- "Break down the challenge they solved into situation, action, and result."
- "Pull out only their salary expectations, start date, and preferred work arrangement."
Because Board Chat answers from the call transcript, you can check every summary against the original right away. Interviews that mix Korean and English are transcribed as they are, which helps for roles at global teams. And a quick line at the start, such as "I'll be recording this call so I can evaluate your answers accurately," helps candidates relax and answer naturally.
How to set up phone interview records
You only need to set it up once. During a hiring round, add your candidates' numbers and only the interview calls are collected in one folder.
- In the daglo app, go to More → App Settings → Features → Call Recording Transcription.
- Turn on Transcribe Selected Contacts Only and add the candidates you'll interview. To keep every call, turn on Transcribe All Calls instead.
- Choose a hiring space and folder as the save location, for example "Fall 2026 Marketing Hire."
- Turn on call recording in your phone app. After each interview, a transcript and summary land in that folder.
For more ways to use call records, see our call recording summary guide. With the same questions, the same scorecard, and the same way of keeping records, you'll feel far more confident in every hiring decision.
Note: call recording transcription is currently available on Android only. It supports calls recorded with the Samsung Phone, A. (T Phone), and LG U+ ixiO apps.
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