How to phone-screen hundreds of candidates in mass hiring
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
In mass hiring — cashiers, couriers, warehouse staff, call center operators — candidates come in hundreds and phone screening eats most of HR’s time. Ask everyone the same 4–6 short questions: still looking, does the shift suit them, where do they live, when can they start, do they have the documents needed. Ask only what relates to the job. Invite the fits to a group interview or trial day and remind them the day before. A person decides; an AI operator can call more than ten candidates at the same time.
Where the time goes: a simple sum
For example, 400 applications arrive in a week. Each call — dialling, waiting, 3 minutes of talk, writing the result — takes about 5 minutes: 400 × 5 = 2,000 minutes, over 33 hours. Add callbacks to those who didn’t answer. That’s almost a whole working week for one HR person. These numbers are only an example: work out yours with the same formula.
The sum shows one thing: the questions must be short and the same for everyone, or screening never ends.
Knock-out and extra questions
| Question | Type | If the answer is “no” |
|---|---|---|
| Are you still looking for work? | Knock-out | Thank them and close |
| Does the shift suit you (for example 2/2, evenings)? | Knock-out | Offer another shift if there is one |
| Which district do you live in? | Knock-out, if there’s one workplace | Offer the nearest branch |
| When can you start? | Knock-out | Put them in the next intake |
| Do you have the documents (passport, a licence if needed)? | Knock-out | Ask when they’ll be ready |
| Any experience in similar work? | Extra | Invite anyway — it can be taught |
Keep knock-out questions to four or five. Learn the rest at the group interview.
Rules for fair screening
- The same questions for everyone, in the same order.
- Ask only what relates to the job. Never ask about religion, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy or looks.
- Ask about age only if the job requires it: for example, whether they are over 18.
- Write the answers down, so you can show why someone didn’t pass.
- A person makes the final decision; the phone screen is only the first filter.
Group interview invites and reminders
- Give a fit candidate an exact day, time and address: “Tuesday at 10, Yashnobod branch, 2nd floor.”
- Say what to bring: passport, a licence if needed.
- Call the day before to remind them and confirm they’re coming. If they can’t, move them to another day.
- Call no-shows once: some got lost or are running late.
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, this is Shohruh from Tez Yetkaz delivery. Bekzod, you applied for the courier job. Still interested?
Caller: Yes, I am.
Sado: It’s 2/2 shifts, from 10 to 22. Does that suit you?
Caller: It does. I don’t have a car, but I have a bike.
Sado: That’s fine, we need bike couriers too. Which district do you live in, and when could you start?
Caller: Yashnobod. I can start next week.
Sado: Great. The group interview is Tuesday at 10 at the Yashnobod branch. Bring your passport; we’ll remind you on Monday.
Handing screening calls to an AI operator
You upload the candidate list as an Excel file to Auto-calls — one auto-call holds up to 10,000 people — or connect the Google Sheet where applications land. Sado’s AI operator talks with more than ten candidates at the same time, in Uzbek or Russian, asks everyone the same questions, books the fits for an interview and reminds them the day before.
Answers appear as fields in the portal and Excel; HR sorts them and decides. You control calling hours, the daily limit and the stop button. A price example: 400 candidates × 2 minutes = 800 minutes × 800 so‘m = 640,000 so‘m; unanswered numbers cost nothing. More: outbound calls and pricing. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Will candidates want to talk to a robot?
It’s a live conversation, not a recording: the operator listens and answers questions. Asked “Are you a robot?”, it never claims to be human. If a candidate wants a person, the call goes to HR by your rule.
Can we call in the evening?
Candidates who work may find daytime calls awkward, so evening hours help. You set the calling hours yourself, for example 9:00–20:00.
How long should we keep candidate data?
Only as long as needed. Uzbekistan has a law on personal data. In Sado, recordings are kept for a limited time and can be deleted.