I've had two separate AT&T recruiter phone screens in the past year. First one was after a layoff (different company) and I was applying to a business analyst role. Second one this spring for a data operations position. Same recruiter team, similar script both times, so I feel like I can actually be useful here.
The AT&T recruiter phone screen is 30 minutes. It's not technical. Do not stress about coding in it.
What they consistently asked: Walk me through your background. (Standard, but AT&T recruiters seem to actually listen here. I got a follow-up question about a specific thing on my resume both times.) Why AT&T / why telecom? They're a big enough company that they can tell when someone just shot off 40 applications. Having a real answer matters. I mentioned interest in their FirstNet work the second time and the recruiter lit up a bit. Location and hybrid flexibility. AT&T has a fairly aggressive return-to-office stance for most roles. This came up immediately. If the job is listed as hybrid, expect 3 days/week in office to be presented as non-negotiable. Work authorization. They ask directly. Straightforward. Compensation expectations. They asked "what are you looking for" early in the call. I gave a range. They didn't push back or try to anchor me low, just noted it. Timeline. They asked when I could start and whether I had other processes going on. I said I did (which was true) and they noted it without urgency.
What they did NOT ask: Nothing technical. No behavioral STAR questions. No coding. This is genuinely just a fit + logistics screen.
Duration: Both calls ran almost exactly 25 minutes. Felt scripted but not rushed.
One thing: the recruiter was really clear about the next steps and timeline both times, which I appreciated. They said "we target to have a decision on moving forward within one week" and they actually hit that window both times.