28 Fun Pre-Screening Interview Questions for Shift Workers

You’re about to post a shift online but want to ensure you’ll receive qualified candidate applications.

With shift work, there can be several preferences and availability from various candidates. Understanding these preferences is key to hiring the right person for the specific shift to fill.

The answer: Pre-screening interview questions.

These questions ensure that candidates submitting the application are serious and have provided additional context, specific to your posting.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can implement pre-screening questions in your recruitment process, specifically finding shift workers!

Table of Contents

• The Purpose of Pre-Screening Question
• Common Pre-Screening Questions
• Workplace Pre-screening Questions
• Experience & Background Questions
• Culture and Organizational Fit Questions
• Other Unique Pre-Screening Questions
• Seasonal Employment Questions
• Pre-Screening Best Practices
• Find Shift Workers Looking for New Shifts

The Purpose of Pre-Screening Questions

The purpose of the pre-screening questions is to save time for both parties. As an employer or hiring manager, you want efficiency in only interviewing qualified candidates. Similarly, the candidate wants to only interview with companies that they see as a fit, as well.

Pre-screening questions serve an important role in making the recruitment process smooth for everyone’s interests.

Specifically, pre-screen questions help to clarify:

Basic Eligibility and Availability

For most shifts, candidates must meet an essential criteria, including legal work eligibility, certain shift availability and pattern preferences, transportation to certain locations or for the shifts themselves, etc. Use questions to answer these areas to include in the candidates profile.

Assess Experience and Skills

If you’re hiring for a specific skill set, require a certain set of credentials, or licences, the pre-screening questions can help clarify this information. It’s important to understand if the candidate can perform the job functions.

Determine Adaptability to Shift Work

If you’re looking for shift workers to operate on a rotating shift schedule cycle through a 24/7 schedule, make sure they have the capacity and willingness to do so.

Not everyone wants to work night shifts or irregular hours as it can have potential impacts on life and health outside of work.

With both you and the candidate understanding the shift schedules, it will ensure a smooth recruitment process and happy staff on the other end.

Real-world Example

Imagine a manufacturing company operating 24/7, requiring employees to rotate between day, evening, and night shifts. There are various departments, some which require specific skill sets and even certain certifications in some instances.

Hiring for such positions isn’t just about finding individuals with the right technical skills; it’s about finding those who can also thrive in a changing shift environment.

Imagine the company needs to quickly fill positions for the night shift. In the rush, HR skips some essential pre-screening questions related to their skillset and night shift requirements.

Once the position is posted, applications flood in, with over 250 applicants in the first few hours. After spending a few days sorting through candidate applications, they reach out to 10 qualified applicants to book a phone interview.

And unfortunately, after all 10 calls with the candidates, none of them possess both the required certifications and the desire to work night shifts.

Now, back to the drawing board for the hiring team.

You can see from this example that even small intricacies like understanding the ability for a new hire to collaborate, can create headaches if not managed properly.

So, let’s dive into some different pre-screening interview questions you can usespecifically for shift workers.

Recommended Reading: How to Calculate Labor Costs in Manufacturing

Common Pre-Screening Questions

Common questions usually pertain to basic job eligibility and availability, which can be pertinent for any shift or seasonal work. These questions should be straightforward, addressing the fundamental requirements of the job. Don’t overthink it.

The basic questions often provide enough information to move forward.

1. Are you legally eligible to work in this country?
2. Can you work the shifts that are required for this role?
3. Do you have reliable transportation to and from work?
4. Are you available part-time [or full-time]?
5. Do you have X credentials?

Bonus question: “Do you have experience using Evolia?”

 

Workplace Pre-screening Questions

If you want to ensure that the candidate can handle certain workplace situations during the pre-screening questions, here are a few to consider:

6. What type of management style and work environment do you thrive under?
7. Do you have experience collaborating with co-workers from other shifts and departments?
8. Can you work at different locations around the city?
9. What is your experience with collaboration among a large team or department?
10. Have you handled multiple priorities or deadlines without stressing out?

Experience & Background Pre-Screening Questions

For most shift work, specific experience and a professional history is usually required. Ask one or a few of these questions to gauge the candidate’s experience:

11. Do you have relevant experience in this industry or position?
12. Do you have experience with [specific tool, technology, or procedure relevant to the shift]?
13. Describe the most challenging project or role you have worked on. What was your role, and what were the results?
14. How have you ensured your skills have remained up-to-date within this industry?
15. Have you received any training or certifications that would be particularly beneficial for this role?

Culture and Organizational Fit Pre-screening Questions

These questions aim to gauge whether the candidate’s values, behaviors, and expectations align with the company’s culture.

16. Why do you want to work for us?
17. What interests you in this specific shift?
18. Do you align with our core values?
19. Do you have long-term career goals for this title?
20. Does our pay range meet your expectations?

Recruit Shift Workers in a few Clicks with Evolia

Evolia’s HR and Workforce Management Platform allows you to recruit, schedule, and manage your employees, saving you countless hours in admin work.

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Other Unique Pre-Screening Questions

If you want something outside-of-the-box to see how candidates think, try these unique pre-screening questions. They might help you stand out from competitor applications!

21. What is the most important quality you look for in a company when applying for shift work?
22. If you had to invent a new shift, including time, duties, etc. What would it look like and how would it help customers?
23. What measures do you take to ensure you remain alert and maintain a safe working environment, especially if there is overtime or longer shifts?

Seasonal Employment Pre-Screening Questions

Hiring seasonal employees go hand-and-hand with shift workers. So we prepared a few specific questions to help you with seasonal shift hiring and pre-screening.

24. Can you be available during our peak season, including the ability to work shifts that may occur during evenings, weekends, and holidays?
25. Can you apply new information effectively under tight time constraints at work?
26. Seasonal periods often attract a wide range of customers. Can you adapt your communication or service approach to cater to diverse customer needs?
27. What attracts you to seasonal employment, and how does this fit into your longer-term career or personal goals?
28. Seasonal roles sometimes mean less direct supervision. How do you stay focused and productive?

Recommended Reading: Easily Find and Hire Temp Employees Online in 2024

Pre-Screening Best Practices for Shift Workers

When pre-screening workers, it’s important to ask the right questions while respecting the candidates time, and not overwhelming the hiring team with too much information.

Strike a balance and follow these other best practices for pre-screening success.

Ask During the Application Process

Gone are the days of sifting through all the applications you receive to then set up pre-screening questions. When you post a shift to Evolia, you have the option to set up pre-screening questions that a candidate will fill out during their application.

Collect applications AND important context all in one easy to use software.

Customize Questions for the Role and Shift

If you have multiple different positions you’re recruiting for, customize each set of pre-screening questions for each role. Spending that extra time will save you hours in work of sifting through applications.

For physically demanding roles (e.g., warehouse or production), focus on questions about physical fitness, experience with manual tasks, and strategies for staying alert and maintaining energy levels during late or long shifts.

For customer-facing roles (e.g., support departments operating 24/7), include questions about handling customer inquiries at odd hours, dealing with difficult customers without direct supervision, and maintaining a positive demeanour.

Use 3 to 5 pre-screening questions

Don’t overwhelm yourself or the candidate.

Spend some time thinking about the most important pieces of information to clarify, and use no more than 5 pre-screening questions for the job.

Consistency in Evaluation

While questions may vary, maintain a consistent evaluation framework for candidates’ responses. This ensures a fair and objective screening process, eliminating biases, and following labor regulations.

Highlight Shift-Specific Expectations

Be transparent about the unique aspects of working in each shift you post, including schedule requirements, the pace of work, or the level of teamwork required.

Thorough Job Description

Don’t forget the job description! Pre-screening questions are great and having a thorough job description that answers all potential candidate questions will go a long way.

If the candidate can read about the responsibilities, time commitments, culture, pay, etc, you’ll receive more qualified candidates. Paired with pre-screening questions and you’ll save hours in your recruitment process.

Find Shift Workers Looking for New Shifts!

Post Shifts, Not Jobs

Say goodbye to traditional job postings. With Evolia, you can instantly notify the extensive talent pool, including thousands of eager workers from neighbouring businesses. This ensures that you schedule individuals that are genuinely excited about their roles, enhancing both business efficiency and the customer experience.

This modern approach ensures you have the talent you need when you need it.

One-Click Posting & Increased Visibility

Simplify your shift assignment process with a single click. Posting a shift becomes a seamless part of your workflow. With each additional shift posting, your likelihood of discovering the ideal candidate improves. Evolia’s platform garners more attention from external candidates, boosting your visibility.

Skip the Pre-Screening Call – Ask During the Application

With Evolia, when you post a shift to find candidates, you can ask the pre-screening questions during the quick application process. It’s easy for both you and the candidate!

Easily Evaluate with Pre-Screening Questions

Dive deeper than ever before into the suitability of candidates for your specific shift requirements, right from the start. Our platform allows you to craft and incorporate targeted pre-screening questions directly into your shift postings. This

By ensuring candidates meet your essential criteria before the interview stage, Evolia streamlines your path to finding dedicated and enthusiastic shift workers, ready to contribute to your business success from day one.

Embrace the future of shift work recruitment with Evolia, where each candidate is pre-screened to match not only the role but the unique rhythm of your business.

Final Thoughts

Now that you understand the importance of pre-screening questions, how to implement them specifically for shift work, what are you waiting for? Go find your ideal candidates and make your hiring process easier with Evolia.

Recruit Shift Workers in a few Clicks with Evolia

Evolia’s HR and Workforce Management Platform allows you to recruit, schedule, and manage your employees, saving you countless hours in admin work.

Get Started FREE