Effective Phone Screen Interview Tactics for Mobile Developers

Interviewing With Recruiters and Sourcers

The field of recruiting deals with finding, vetting, interviewing and hiring prospective candidates. Two prominent roles within recruiting are Recruiter and Sourcer. Sourcers are responsible for finding candidates, whereas recruiters are responsible for engaging with active candidates and resolving the best prospects into hiring offers. The same person might wear both these hats, especially if the company is small.

It’s worth noting the difference if you find yourself talking to a sourcer; they will connect you with a dedicated recruiter or recruiting coordinator to truly kick off the interview cycle.

Interviewing With Technical Managers

You may encounter a screener with the word “manager” or “director” in their title. It could be a hiring manager responsible for filling the opening, an Engineering Manager seeking the next member of their team, or the Director of Engineering or Head of Engineering building out the department and its mobile capabilities. What unites these roles is expertise in software engineering and in people management.

Try to understand the manager’s investment in the role. If it’s an engineering manager looking to enrich their own team, listen for what they’re interested in, whether technical (for example, willingness to work on iOS as well as Android) or behavioral (for example, a desire to mentor). For the Director interested in a long-term vision for cross-platform, respond by discussing why you think Flutter is a good option and how you can help build the team.

To prepare for phone screen questions from a manager, go over your platform fundamentals, but also consider ways to highlight your expertise and collaboration skills. Furthermore, take some time before the phone screen to reflect deeply on what you bring to the future of an engineering department.

Interviewing With Software Engineers

Your screener could very well be a peer! You may find yourself talking to a fellow mobile developer or an experienced developer in another discipline. What sets them apart from a technical manager is that this screener doesn’t manage people (though they may manage projects or platforms).

Expect this session to be highly technical, asking questions that gauge your mobile development, computer science, practical decision-making and industry knowledge. Prepare anecdotes of working with other software engineers and writing quality code — and be able to communicate exactly what your technical contribution was. If you haven’t worked with others, call up your experience of shipping an app, contributing to an open-source project or collaborating with classmates or in bootcamp.

OK, now that you have an idea of who might interview and what their goals are likely to be, it’s time to think about some general prep before the big call.

What to Study Before the Phone Screen Interview

To show up prepared for your phone screen, you’ll need to know the details of the job opening. Make sure you review the following:

• The company: Focus on its sector (for example, healthcare), mission and values. What’s on their About page, in their Press Kit, on their social media?
• The exact job description: What level of experience are they seeking? What other functions do they mention?
• The tech stack: What technologies are mentioned on the site or in the job description?
• The developer relations (DevRel) presence: Do they have an engineering blog, host meetups, present at conferences or contribute to open source?

Reviewing these details prepares you to present well to your screener, showing them you care about the company, role and engineering culture. Familiarizing yourself with their DevRel serves a dual purpose: It will get you excited about the team you might join, thus unlocking your ability to be genuine with your interest. Try to pick out something that you think is great about the company — a post, a talk, a library — and bring it up in conversation.

Alongside studying the role, you’ll need to do some self-reflection specific to the interview. Make sure to review:

• Your own resume: Study the exact version of the resume you sent if you have variations. Be sure to highlight anything relevant to the specific opening.
• Behavioral anecdotes: When applying for jobs, you’ll want to have a variety of stories ready to tell to illustrate how you rise to workplace challenges. Consider which ones relate best to what this company does and the specific role you’re applying for, as defined in the job description.
• Salary range: What would you consider to be a good offer and does it suit your financial aspirations?
• Your own goals: What truly interests you about the opening?

If your answer to that last question is, you just want any mobile development role or you want a higher-paying position — that’s OK! Experience and compensation are important to any applicant, so no need to harp on that. Rather, set yourself apart by highlighting what really piques your interest and suits your skills.

Finally, prepare yourself to answer common operational questions such as:

• Are you interviewing with any other companies?
• What are your visa needs?
• What is your preferred salary range?
• When can you get started on that take home? :]

If you’re uncomfortable talking about salary, remember that not every country requires you to disclose. So, if you’d rather not, practice letting the screener know that you’re happy to talk to the hiring manager later in the process.

Turning the Questions Around on the Interviewer

Before it’s time to do your phone screen, take some time to think about what you want out of the job. Your screener should give you a bit of time to ask questions. Take advantage of this! It’s both your first opportunity to gauge whether this is the role for you, and it shows the screener you’re engaged. Don’t say you don’t have any questions or ask a question alluding to industry gossip.

As you go through screens, compile a general list of questions you’d like to know about any company. In approaching a particular screen, note down specifics about that role. Order your questions by those you feel you most need to know, as it’s likely during the brief screen you won’t be able to cover them all. Consider topics like:

• Team: What team will I be on? What are they working on right now?
• Growth: What growth paths are available? Will I work solo?
• Tech: How much coding is done in Java? Are there opportunities to learn about backend development?
• Process: What will my day-to-day look like? Do developers get to influence the road map?
• Management: Who will I report to? What is the management philosophy?
• Culture: What does the org do to ensure diversity? How do senior engineers relate to junior engineers?

If you run out of time to ask questions or the screener never offers, make sure to find out how you can get your questions answered. They could be willing to schedule a follow-up, correspond via email or connect you with a hiring manager.