Recruiter phone screen questions: hiring a recruiter by desk, numbers, sourcing and covenants
On this page
- What do you need from the hiring manager before the call?
- How should a 25-minute recruiter phone screen run?
- Which knockout questions come first?
- How do you get a recruiter's numbers in five minutes?
- What is the hardest-fill question?
- What does the call itself tell you?
- Do staffing certifications matter on the screen?
- How do you test motivation on a recruiter phone screen?
- How do you ask about pay without asking salary history?
- When should you advance a recruiter?
- What should you not ask a recruiter on a phone screen?
- Questions people ask
A recruiter phone screen, when you are hiring a recruiter, is a 20 to 30 minute call that places the desk and checks production before anyone spends an hour on the candidate. Confirm the desk (agency full desk or candidate side, contract, executive search, in-house or sourcing), placements or hires and, for agency desks, billings for each of the last two years, how many open roles they carried, the hardest role they filled and how they found the person, and what they signed with their current employer. Recruiters are practiced interviewees, so lean on numbers and specifics that are hard to rehearse.
If you want the questions a recruiter asks candidates, this is the wrong page: see phone screen questions for recruiters and the recruiter phone screen template. This page is the first call for hiring one. The deeper bank, with a billings worked example and desk management questions, is in recruiter screening questions; the full loop, with a live sourcing exercise and a mock intake, is in the interview guide for recruiters.
What do you need from the hiring manager before the call?
A strong in-house recruiter and a strong agency biller are different hires. Get these facts first; the recruiter job description template shows where each belongs in the posting.
| Fact | Why the screen needs it | A usable answer (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Desk type | The first knockout. Business development is the job on a full desk and absent on a 180 desk. | "Agency 360, IT staffing, perm and contract." |
| Target and measure | Lets you ask for the same numbers the seat is measured on. | "Billing target in year one, plus contractors on assignment." |
| Req load and markets | Twenty high-volume hourly reqs and four executive searches need different habits. | "About 15 open reqs, mostly engineering and product." |
| Systems and sourcing tools | Lets you ask whether they used the same kind of ATS, CRM and sourcing tools daily. | "Bullhorn and LinkedIn Recruiter." |
| Pay plan | Commission thresholds, draws and bonus plans are where offers fail; test fit as an expectation. | "Base plus commission above a quarterly threshold." |
| Covenant concerns | Agency recruiters often have non-solicits on clients and candidates. | "Counsel reviews any agreement before an offer." |
How should a 25-minute recruiter phone screen run?
- Opening (1 to 2 minutes). Who you are, the desk in two sentences, the length of the call, and your consent line if you record.
- Knockouts (4 to 5 minutes). Desk type, numbers known, req load, covenants, location, work authorization.
- Numbers in one pass (5 minutes). Placements or hires, billings, fall-offs, splits, two years.
- The hardest fill (5 minutes). One search, from intake to start.
- Motivation (3 minutes). Why now and what desk they want next.
- Pay expectations and logistics (3 minutes). Base and plan structure needed, notice, other processes.
- Their questions and the next step (2 to 3 minutes). Watch how they close you; it is part of the test.
The timings are a planning example. If a knockout fails, say so kindly and end the call or redirect.
Which knockout questions come first?
| Question | What a good answer sounds like | Weak answer or red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What kind of desk do you run: who owns the client relationship, and who finds the candidates? | A clear answer: "Full desk; I won four of my seven active clients." | "Full desk" that turns out to be inherited accounts with no business development. |
| How many placements or hires did you make last year and the year before? | Two numbers, given easily, with context. | "A lot", or a number that changes during the call. |
| How many open roles do you carry at once, and in which markets? | A number and a market close to the seat. | A market far from the seat with no bridge, or no idea of their load. |
| What did you sign with your current employer: a non-compete, a non-solicit of clients or candidates, confidentiality? Would you share it with our counsel? | Knows the terms and has a copy. | "I'll bring my database with me." Client lists and candidate databases usually belong to the old firm. |
| The seat is [on-site, hybrid or remote] in [location]. Does that work as it stands? | A yes, or a clear limit. | "I'm sure you'd be flexible." |
| Are you legally authorized to work in the US, and will you now or in the future need visa sponsorship? | A direct answer to both parts. | None from the answer. Ask the same two parts of everyone. |
The authorization wording follows the Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section FAQ, which says an employer may generally ask whether applicants have the legal right to work in the United States and whether they will need visa sponsorship (as of November 2026). A recruiter candidate asks this question for a living, so use the exact two-part wording.
How do you get a recruiter's numbers in five minutes?
Ask for the same figures for each of the last two years and write them down as said. You are checking that the set is complete and that the numbers are theirs, not the team's.
| Year | Placements or hires | Billings (agency) | Open roles carried | Fall-offs | Splits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last year | |||||
| Year before |
- Own versus team. "We billed $2 million" is the desk. Ask: "What was your share, and how were splits credited?"
- Fall-offs. "None, ever" over several years is less likely than a number and a pattern they fixed.
- In-house desks. Ask for hires, requisitions closed and time to fill instead of billings, and how offer acceptance moved.
Billings and placement counts are performance. Commission statements, pay stubs and W-2s show the candidate's own pay, so do not ask for them; verify production through consistent numbers on the call and references from former managers. The billings worked example in the screening page shows how to check a total against placements and fees after the call.
What is the hardest-fill question?
Ask: "Tell me about the hardest role you filled last year. How did you find the person you placed?" Then use these prompts only when the candidate skips a step:
| Prompt | Good answer | Weak answer |
|---|---|---|
| "What made it hard?" | A specific constraint: a rare skill, a low salary band, a location, a picky hiring manager. | "It was just a tough market." |
| "Where did the person come from?" | A channel and a search: a Boolean string, a referral chain, a list built from a competitor's team. | "I posted it and applied candidates came in." |
| "Read me a search string you used for it." | Says one aloud with OR groups and exclusions, and a change they made. | Only the job board's default filters. |
| "What nearly lost the candidate, and what did you do?" | A counteroffer, a slow client or a pay gap, handled with a specific move. | Nothing nearly went wrong. |
Recruiters with real sourcing depth answer in names of channels and numbers of people contacted. Rehearsed answers describe activity: calls, messages and "relationships".
What does the call itself tell you?
A phone screen is the job a recruiter does every day, so the way the candidate runs their half of it is a work sample. Score these signals in the last ten minutes:
| Signal | Strong | Weak |
|---|---|---|
| Questions about the seat | Asks about the reqs, the hiring managers, the fee or hiring targets and why the seat is open. | Asks only about remote days and the base. |
| Listening | Plays back what you said accurately before answering. | Answers a different question than the one asked. |
| Handling pushback | When you question a number, explains it calmly with detail. | Changes the number, or gets defensive. |
| The close | Asks what happens next and when, and confirms interest plainly. | Leaves the next step to you. |
Do staffing certifications matter on the screen?
They are optional, and billings or hires matter more for most seats. Two that come up on agency resumes, from the issuers' own pages as of November 2026:
- ASA Certified Staffing Professional (CSP). The American Staffing Association's CSP focuses on federal employment and labor law, with a two-hour online exam of 100 questions.
- NAPS Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) and Certified Temporary Staffing Specialist (CTS). The National Association of Personnel Services offers both; its exam listings describe 150 multiple choice, true or false and case study questions.
On a contract or staffing desk, where employment law mistakes are costly, either is a plus. Ask "When did you earn it, and what do you do to keep it current?"
How do you test motivation on a recruiter phone screen?
| Question | What a good answer sounds like | Weak answer or red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What has you open to a move right now? | A specific push or pull: a market they want, a full desk, a better split, in-house stability. | Only the last commission plan change, from someone with several short stays. |
| What kind of desk do you want next? | Close to the seat: the same market, or a move they can explain. | The opposite of the seat, such as wanting no business development for a 360 role. |
| If your firm offered more to stay, what would it take? | "Nothing realistic", with a reason. | "A better split would do it." Recruiters know counteroffers well; ask anyway. |
| Where else are you interviewing, and how far along? | Stages and timing, names optional. | "Nowhere", then an offer deadline appears. |
How do you ask about pay without asking salary history?
Many states and cities bar employers and their agents from asking about current or past pay, including commissions, as of November 2026; the list is in salary history ban states.
| Ask this | Not this |
|---|---|
| "What base do you need, and what commission or bonus structure works for you?" | "What did you take home last year?" |
| "The plan here is [threshold, rate, draw]. How does that compare to what you want?" | "What's your current split?" |
| "What would the offer need to include for you to accept?" | "Send me your commission statements so I can check your billings." |
If the candidate volunteers a number, keep it out of your notes and record the expectation instead. This is general information, not legal advice; check the law where the job is located.
When should you advance a recruiter?
Knockouts (all must be yes)
- Desk type matches the seat, or a credible bridge the hiring manager accepts.
- Knows their own production numbers for two years.
- Req load and markets within reach of the seat.
- No restrictive covenant that clearly blocks the role, or one your counsel has agreed to review.
- Location works as stated; work authorization answered.
| Area | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk match | Different desk and market | One of the two matches | Desk, market and load match |
| Production | Activity only | One year of numbers | Two years, own versus team clear |
| Sourcing depth | Applicants only | Some sourcing, thin detail | Channel, search and numbers contacted |
| The call as a work sample | No questions, no close | Some questions, weak close | Sharp questions about the seat and a clear close |
| Motivation and timing | No clear reason | Reason given, timing unclear | Specific reason, known timeline |
An example rule: advance when every knockout passes, desk match and production score at least 2, and two other areas score 3. Hold when a covenant needs counsel. Decline when a knockout fails. For the hire's first quarter, the 30-60-90 day plan for recruiters sets req load, submittal and placement targets by phase.
What should you not ask a recruiter on a phone screen?
The EEOC says pre-employment inquiries should be limited to what is needed to judge whether someone is qualified, and that questions which reveal race, sex, national origin, age or religion may be used as evidence of intent to discriminate. Recruiters know the rules, and a screen that breaks them costs you the candidate.
| Do not ask | Ask instead |
|---|---|
| "The desk is young and hungry. How old are you?" | "The desk makes [X] calls a day. Tell me about your current daily routine." |
| "Do you have kids? We work late at quarter end." | "Quarter end often runs past [time]. Can you commit to that?" |
| "Where are you from originally?" | The two-part work authorization question, asked of everyone. |
| "Can you bring your candidate database?" | Nothing. That is a trade secret risk, not a discrimination one: ask about restrictions instead, and tell them not to bring anything that belongs to their firm. |
If your own desk runs on screens like this one, Interview Signal keeps the knockouts pinned until you ask them and writes the candidate's numbers into the scorecard with their own words beside them, with no bot in the call.
Questions people ask
What should I ask when phone screening a recruiter?
Place the desk first: agency full desk or candidate side, contract, executive search, in-house or sourcing. Then ask for placements or hires and, for agency desks, billings in each of the last two years, how many open roles they carried, the hardest role they filled and how they found the person, and what agreements they signed with their current employer. Finish with motivation and the pay plan they need.
Can I ask a recruiter candidate what they billed last year?
Yes. Billings are revenue the recruiter generated for their firm, and agency owners routinely ask about them. Avoid asking for commission statements, pay stubs or W-2s, which show the candidate's own pay; many states and cities restrict asking about pay history. Ask for billings, placements and fees instead.
How do I tell a 360 recruiter from a 180 recruiter on a phone screen?
Ask what share of their billings came from clients they brought in themselves, and who owned the client relationship on their last three placements. A full-desk recruiter names clients they won and the job orders they opened; a candidate-side recruiter worked job orders someone else brought in.
Are these the questions a recruiter asks candidates on a phone screen?
No. This page is for hiring a recruiter. The questions recruiters ask candidates on any phone screen, with strong answers and red flags, are on our phone screen questions for recruiters page, and the recruiter phone screen template gives the call form in order.