Recruiter Screen: Current Work, What You Want Next, Level and Work Authorization

This is a recruiter screen for a software engineering role. It may be presented as an informal conversation that needs no preparation, but the recruiter uses the answers to decide whether the candidate moves on to technical interviews. Answer the recruiter's questions below as you would on the call. ### Clarifying Questions - Which team, product area and level is the role being considered for, so that you can relate your experience to it? - Where is the role based, and is remote work possible? This affects the work-authorization question. - What are the next steps if this call goes well? ### Part 1 — "What are you working on right now?" The recruiter opens by asking what you have been working on recently. ```hint Give them something to repeat A summary of your team's area gives the recruiter nothing concrete to pass on. Think about which details of one current piece of work show your own scope and its result. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - One concrete current project, with your own role separated from the team's - Enough technical substance for a non-engineer to relay: what the system does, its scale, what is hard about it - An outcome, or the current status if the work is ongoing - A length that leaves room for follow-up questions ### Part 2 — "What are you looking for?" The recruiter asks what you are looking for in your next role, and why. They then follow up: what is your current level, and have you been promoted? ```hint Anticipate the follow-up Consider what the recruiter needs in order to judge the level you would join at, and whether your first answer gives it to them without being asked. ``` ```hint A reason, not a preference "I want to keep working in my current area" is only a start. Think about what makes that choice credible and how it connects to this role. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A specific target: the kind of work, domain and scope you want next - A credible reason, framed around what you want rather than what you dislike now - Current level, scope and promotion history, stated plainly - A clear link between the target and this role ### Part 3 — Work authorization The recruiter asks about your authorization to work in the role's location. ```hint Logistics, precisely This is a check the recruiter has to record. Decide which facts they need, and stop there. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Current status, and whether sponsorship is needed now or later - Any constraint that affects timing or a start date - Accuracy and brevity ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Treating the screen as an evaluation, with answers prepared in advance - A consistent story from current work, to the next role, to the level - Answers that give the recruiter what they must record (scope, level, authorization) without needing follow-ups - Concise delivery that leaves time for the candidate's own questions ### Follow-up Questions - The recruiter suggests your experience maps to a level below the one you hold now. How do you respond? - Your current work is confidential. How do you describe it concretely without disclosing anything you should not? - You have not been promoted in several years. How do you present your level and growth honestly and positively? - What would you ask the recruiter at the end of this call, and why?