A full job interview easily takes you and the candidate an hour. A short call beforehand shows within fifteen minutes whether availability, language and expectations fit. Read how to set up that call without strong candidates dropping out.
12 October 2026
In hotels, applications often arrive in batches, especially for reception, housekeeping and breakfast. If you invite everyone straight away, your department head spends whole afternoons in interviews that could have been settled in ten minutes. A short phone screen filters the basics: can the person work the shifts, do they speak the languages needed, and does their picture of the role match. The real interview then covers skills and attitude.
A phone screen pays off with many applicants, for roles with hard requirements (night shifts, weekends, a second language) and for candidates who live further away. With one or two strong applicants for a hard-to-fill role, you are better off booking an interview or trial shift straight away. An extra step then costs more time than it saves, and a good candidate has often applied elsewhere too.
Keep to a fixed, short list so you can compare candidates fairly:
• Availability: which days and shifts, from when, and whether early or late shifts work.
• Hours and contract type: full-time, part-time or peaks and season only.
• Languages: hold part of the call in the language guests speak, if that requirement really applies.
• Commute: can the person reach work on time for a 06:00 early shift?
• Expectations: a brief outline of the role and pay level, and whether that fits.
• One experience question: for example how they handled a busy check-in or a full breakfast room.
Questions about age, family plans, health, religion or background do not belong in a selection conversation, not even in an informal call. Ask about what matters for the role: can the person work the shifts and do the tasks. Also leave out in-depth technical questions and long case studies; they belong in the actual interview or a trial shift. The phone screen is not an interrogation but a quick check whether it makes sense to continue.
Call within one or two working days of the application if you can. The longer you wait, the more likely the candidate has already accepted elsewhere. Plan ten to fifteen minutes and send a short message beforehand proposing a time, so someone who is currently employed is not called in the middle of a shift. Record the answers in your ATS or list right after each call, not at the end of the day.
If it fits, book the next step during the call. Offer two or three concrete slots, say who will join the interview and what the candidate can expect, for example a short tour or a trial shift. Send a confirmation the same day. If it does not fit, say so honestly and kindly, and ask whether you may contact them for another role or a later season.
• Talking too long: a forty-minute phone screen is an interview without preparation.
• Different questions every time: then you cannot compare candidates.
• Calling after a week: the best people are gone by then.
• No follow-up date: a “we will let you know” without a date feels like a rejection.
• Rejecting on an awkward call alone: not everyone is strong on the phone, while they may do very well at the desk or on the floor.
• Do you have a fixed list of five or six questions per role?
• Do you call within one or two working days of the application?
• Is the call done in ten to fifteen minutes?
• Do you only test requirements that truly apply to the role?
• Do you book the next step during the call and confirm it the same day?
• Do you record answers right away so a colleague can take over?
AXXAZ Hospitality supplies reliable hospitality staff to hotels across Europe. If you lack the time to pre-screen every candidate yourself, we search based on a clear staffing brief (role, period, hours, shifts, languages and start date) for people who fit your team. Get in touch if you want to fill a role.
Use a short, fixed phone screen within one or two working days to check availability, language and expectations, and book the interview on the spot when it fits, so you filter faster without losing good candidates.