AI interviews vs phone screens
A recruiter phone screen is better for selling the role and following up on an answer, while a scripted AI interview is better for giving many candidates the same questions on their own schedule.
What a phone screen does well
A good recruiter on the phone is hard to beat. They can hear that a vague answer hides something good and ask about it. They can tell a candidate why the role is worth leaving a job for. They can answer a question about the team on the spot, and notice when someone sounds unsure.
If you are hiring for a senior or scarce role, a person should make that first contact. The candidate is judging you too.
Where phone screens struggle
The trouble is scale and consistency. Each call needs a booked slot, and the time adds up fast when most calls end in a no. Calls drift, too. By the tenth one, the caller may be asking different questions, and notes from two recruiters rarely compare well.
Research favours structure here. Sackett and colleagues estimated the validity of structured interviews at .42 and unstructured interviews at .19. A phone screen can be structured, but only if everyone keeps to the script and scores the same way. Those figures describe interview methods in general, not any one product, including ours.
What a scripted AI interview does well
It doesn't drift. The tenth candidate hears the same words as the first, and it can run at any hour. You get a written record of what each person said, not a summary of it.
The cost is real, though. It can't probe or sell, and some candidates will dislike it.
When to use which
Most teams shouldn't choose only one. Here is a simple way to split it:
- Use a phone screen when you have a few candidates, or when the person is hard to attract.
- Use a scripted AI interview when you have more applicants than you can call.
- Use both in order: AI for the first screen, then a call with the people worth talking to.
Where Vettika fits
Vettika is the scripted option. Your team still reads every report and makes every decision. If a recruiter's time isn't the bottleneck, you may not need it.