Screening Calls

Keep the Conversation with the Application

A Screening Call stage keeps phone attempts, notes, outcomes, and any recording together on the application. Kit calls the recruiter’s phone first, then connects the candidate. You can also log a conversation that happened outside Kit without connecting Twilio.

Connect Twilio

An account admin connects the team’s own Twilio account in Integrations → Twilio calling.

1. Use an active Twilio account that has been upgraded from Trial.
2. Create a Standard API key in Twilio and enter the Account SID, API key SID, and API key secret in Kit. Enter the account’s Auth Token for webhook signature verification.
3. Have a voice-capable Twilio number or verified caller ID available. Enable the countries you intend to call in Twilio’s Voice geo permissions.
4. Choose Who can call, then Save and verify. The calling setting applies alongside the member’s permission to manage the application.
5. Check the connection, available numbers, and destinations. Choose Refresh from Twilio after changing numbers or permissions in Twilio.

When changing calling permissions or the default number later, leave the secret fields blank to keep the saved credentials. Enter a new value when replacing a credential. When switching Twilio accounts or API keys, enter the matching credentials.

Twilio bills your account directly. Check your own Twilio pricing for calling, recording, and transcription charges.

Set Your Calling Phone

Open My calling phone and save the number Kit should ring first, including its country code. This is your callback phone; it is separate from the number shown to the candidate.

Under Show this number to candidates, choose an available caller ID or use the account default. A stage-specific caller ID takes precedence over your personal selection. Check the From number in the call confirmation before starting.

Configure the Stage

Add a Screening Call stage to the posting’s pipeline, then configure:

Setting	What it controls
Script questions	Prompts for the recruiter and questions answered in the summary. Give each question a distinct key.
Recording	Whether Record and transcribe starts selected in the call confirmation. You can turn it off for an individual call.
Recording consent	The announcement or keypad confirmation the candidate receives when recording is selected.
Maximum call length	The call limit, from 5 to 90 minutes; the default is 30.
Caller ID	An optional number for calls made at this stage.

Preview the announcement in the stage settings. Kit uses the candidate’s language when set, otherwise the posting’s communication language, with English as the fallback.

Recording Choices

• Confirm: the candidate presses 1 to continue with recording or 2 to continue without it. No response or another digit also continues without recording.
• Announce: the candidate hears that the call will be recorded and transcribed. If they ask to stop, use Stop recording during the call.
• By country: Kit selects confirmation for German and Spanish numbers, and for countries outside its configured list. French, Polish, and US numbers use an announcement. Choosing Announce does not override a country’s confirmation requirement in Kit.

These settings describe the call behavior. Choose a recording process that fits your organization’s requirements; the country setting is not a legal determination. Application-form disclosures are configured separately in Candidate Privacy & Consent.

Place the Call

1. Open an application whose current stage is Screening Call and choose Call [name].
2. Check the candidate’s number, your phone, the From number, and Record and transcribe. If the candidate’s number is missing or invalid, use the phone-number link to correct it, including its country code.
3. Choose Start call and answer your phone. Kit then rings the candidate.
4. Use the call bar to follow the status, take notes, stop recording, or end the call. The candidate and job remain visible while you browse; select the candidate to return to the application. Open Call script to consult the questions, including on mobile.
5. Notes save automatically. Check the save status before leaving; if saving fails, keep the page open and choose Retry saving.

If your phone cannot be reached, the candidate is not called. The call bar remains available while you browse Kit, provided you retain access to the application.

Log the Outcome

After the call, choose Reached, No answer, Voicemail, Call back requested, or Wrong number, and add notes. Review Kit’s suggested outcome before saving: a connected call can still be voicemail.

You can return to the call record later and choose Log outcome or Edit outcome, including after dismissing the outcome sheet.

Reached completes the screening-call stage. Advancing or rejecting the candidate remains a separate hiring decision. Call back requested lets you record a time for the next attempt; you still start that call yourself.

For a conversation outside Kit, choose Log a call on the application, enter when it happened in your time zone and its duration, then save the outcome. This creates a manual call record without placing a call or importing audio.

Review the Transcript and Summary

Open a call from the application’s call history. The processing sections update automatically while you keep the page open. When processing finishes, recorded calls can include a searchable transcript, audio playback, and an AI summary with answers to the script questions. When audio is available, select a transcript line or summary timestamp to listen to that part of the recording. Search shows matching lines; choose Clear search to restore the full transcript. After audio is deleted, the transcript remains readable without playback controls.

Verify the wording, speaker attribution, concerns, and suggested next step against the conversation. The summary supports your review; it does not advance or reject the candidate. The caller or an authorized admin can edit the summary. Regenerate replaces those edits after confirmation.

If AI credits are exhausted, the summary pauses until credits reset. When credits are available, you can retry from the call record. A failed summary also offers Retry summary when a transcript is available. A failed transcript or summary does not erase the call’s notes and outcome.

Manage Recordings and Call Preferences

Set Call recording retention in Hiring → Settings → Privacy & Consent. Available periods are 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months; the default is 6. Each recording shows its scheduled retention date. Changing the setting applies to recordings processed afterward.

The caller or an authorized admin can choose Delete recording on the call page. Confirming removes the audio; the transcript and summary remain. Their retention follows the candidate’s data retention and anonymization.

On the candidate profile, Do not call blocks new calls through Kit for that candidate across their applications. Use it when a candidate asks not to be called. Allow calls reverses that preference. Declining recording affects that call’s recording; it does not set Do not call.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
Twilio is not connected	Ask an account admin to connect or reverify Twilio.
No calling phone	Save your number in My calling phone.
Missing or invalid candidate number	Use the phone-number link on the application to correct it, including its country code.
Candidate asked not to be called	Respect the preference; change it only when appropriate.
Another call is in progress	Wait for that attempt to end before starting another.
Country blocked	Enable the destination in Twilio, then refresh the connection in Kit.
Account suspended or out of credit	Resolve the account issue in Twilio and reverify the connection.
Call ends before connecting	Check the connection’s last error. Ask your admin to inspect Twilio’s call errors if it repeats.
Call placement cannot be confirmed	Do not redial while Kit checks the attempt. Wait for its status to settle before trying again.
Transcript unavailable	Use the recording when available and keep your own notes.
Summary paused	Check the account’s AI credits.