Effective Phone Screen Interview Tactics for Mobile Developers

Getting Ready on the Big Day

Finally, the day has come. You studied the night before and your call is an hour away. First, find the call-in details: Is it over the phone? Is it a video chat at a specific link? If the latter, make sure you have access to the video chat service and that it works with your camera and microphone. Also make sure that the lighting is good enough that the interviewer can see you clearly.

Next, pull out your notes and skim them. Being nervous makes it easy to forget what you wrote down even a minute ago. The key here is, you shouldn’t be caught off guard when your phone rings and you most definitely should not be late.

Given that screens are brief, you may find your screener rushes along and hops between behavioral, technical and conversational content. Don’t let this ruffle you, your preparation has you ready to respond to any of it.

On the flip side, you might find that your screener isn’t in a rush and there is time to make conversation. You’ve got it covered! Pull out that list of questions you have about the role and use their responses to highlight relevant aspects of your experience.

While each screen will be different, you can anticipate a format something like:

• Greetings: Is now still a good time? How are you?
• Company and role summary: Company X has been around for Y years. Our mobile team is working on Z.
• Your experience: Tell me about your last role. I see you’ve done Android development for Y years, how much of that was hands-on coding?
• Technical proficiency: How familiar are you with SwiftUI? How does Flutter communicate with native APIs?
• Behavioral: Tell me about a time you…
• Operational: Are you interviewing with any other companies?
• Wrap-up and next steps: Any questions for me?

Again, make sure to ask which interview sessions are to come. If they mention “technical” sessions, clarify what kind.

You did it! You got through your screen. Hopefully, you’ll get an email soon enough asking you to start on a take home project or to schedule the next interview.

After the Phone Screen Interview

After you finish your phone screen, be sure to follow up with a brief thank-you message to your interviewer. After that, it’s a waiting game.

How quickly a company gets back to you with the result of a screen can vary widely. At one extreme, they may mention during the screen itself that you’ve passed and they’d like to rush you to the next step. At the other extreme, you never hear back.

Be patient if you don’t hear back immediately. When a company is hiring for a lot of roles or has few resources, it’s difficult for them to process interviews quickly. Give it one week and reach out to your point of contact. If you don’t hear back, try again. If you are juggling multiple interviews and excited to keep this one moving, make sure to mention that. Knowing other companies are moving forward with your interviews should encourage them to do the same.

If you do encounter the unfortunate scenario of never hearing back, this is implicitly a rejection. Just think, it may be for the best: The way a company treats the people who apply is one reflection of how they treat the people who work there.

If you do receive a rejection message, take the opportunity to improve your interview skills by responding to ask what you could have done better.

Where to Go From Here?

Now that you know what to expect in a phone screen interview, practice putting that knowledge to work. Imagine the company you most want to work for has set a date for a phone screen for a role you’d really enjoy.

1. Review your own resume and LinkedIn and note what areas you can highlight that make you a great fit for this role.
2. Start or continue a journal of interview-ready anecdotes that clearly illustrate your workplace strengths. Choose a couple for this opportunity.
3. Assume your interviewer will be a nontechnical team member. Think about what they might ask and be ready with your answers.
4. Research the company and jot down at least three questions for your interviewer that you really want to know the answers to and that also show you’ve done your homework.

Phew, that was a lot of work! It may seem overboard for a short conversation — but it’s worth it. While you’re waiting for a response, don’t take your foot off the gas. Reflect on how that screen went and apply those learnings to the next. If there was an aspect you stumbled over, make sure to practice. Consider running a mock interview with a loved one. Finally, don’t forget to do something kind for yourself: Screens can be emotionally trying.

Soon you’ll be able to juggle many phone screens at once, and one will resolve into an invitation to advance.

Key Takeaways

• The phone screen is your first chance to make an impression on a company. Make sure you’re on time, your system is ready and you’ve studied.
• There are several common roles that handle phone screens, depending on the company. These include, but aren’t limited to: People Ops, Recruiting, Management and Engineering. Gear your prep to the screener’s function.
• Prep also includes studying the company, the role, your own resume and your motivations.
• Always thank your interviewer.
• If you don’t hear back within one business week, follow up. Seek an explicit response, whether a rejection or next steps.

Resources

To get a sense of domain-specific questions that could be asked, check out our question-and-answer articles for:

• Android
• Flutter
• iOS

If the computer science aspect has you fretting, consider checking out our books on Data Structures & Algorithms in:

• Kotlin
• Dart
• Swift

If you’re more of a visual learner, there’s even a great video course on Acing the iOS Interview. While the examples are about iOS, there are many similiarities between interview cycles for mobile developers in any platform, so there’s plenty to learn — including what a remote interview looks like.

If you’d like to improve your overall interviewing skills, read our article on Mock Interview Techniques for Developers.

More Tips to Improve Your Job Search Skills:

• How to Use Mock Interviews to Prepare for a Tech Job Interview
• Earn While You Learn: 5 Tech Jobs for New Coders