Small-business hiring often starts with a messy mix of resumes, phone calls, and notes nobody can compare later. A simple workflow works better: create 4 to 6 role-specific questions, reuse them for every candidate, and score responses on the same few criteria, such as communication, relevant experience, and problem-solving. Tell candidates upfront what the screening covers, how long it takes, and who will review it. Let them respond by voice or video on their own time, then have a person review the responses, transcript, and a simple scorecard before deciding who moves forward. AI summaries can save time, but they should never make the hiring or rejection decision. I built Aural as one optional way to run this workflow. It supports reusable interviews, adaptive follow-up questions, transc