Most employers conduct preliminary interviews to vet selected applicants and ensure their skills are a strong enough match for the role. If an organisation is outsourcing recruiting to an agency, then an external recruiter will take over the initial screening interviews. These initial screening interviews are kept short, generally a 15-20 minute phone interview or via a video conferencing tool. Screening interviews aim to narrow down which candidates to invite (shortlisting) to the official first interview round. Therefore, typical screening interview questions will be relatively general, straightforward, and aimed at assessing a candidate’s hard skills and work experience. What practical experience and skills do they have to potentially perform the job? At this stage of the interview process, you shouldn’t focus too much on cultural fit and culture add yet. Rather, consider it as finding out if the candidate “on paper” meets the requirements of the job.