<aside> 💡 Creating interview structure is actually easier than you think! It can be done at the earliest stages of any start-up with applicant tracking software like Greenhouse, Lever, or Applied.

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Basics of Structured Interviews

Creating a structured interview process helps mitigate unconscious bias.

1. Define the business objectives of the role.
   • What skills, traits and qualifications does the candidate need to accomplish the objectives?
2. Develop a standardized, repeatable process to assess all candidates.
   • How many interviews will you have and what is the goal of each interview? (e.g., The purpose of this interview is to determine whether this candidate can build relationships with cross-functional partners).
   • Develop a question bank for each of the interviewers, so that all candidates are evaluated using the same questions.
3. Develop a rubric for the interviews before starting the interview.
   • What does a bad, fair, good and great answer look like for each questions?

Benefits of Structured Interviews

1. Evidenced based decisions that have stronger indications of candidate success than subjective/biased questioning methods.
2. Candidates and interviewers make good use of their time, due to an intentional interview process—candidate experience is more positive.
3. Hiring decisions are more objective when they are based on data and evidence.

Behavioral & Situational Interview Questions

Stay away from questions like, “What is your greatest strength?” or Google-esque brain teasers like, “Why are manhole covers round?” These questions often lead interviewers to confirm their own bias, as opposed to situational/behavioral questions which are more clearly linked to job success.

• Situational Questions—ask candidates how they would respond in specific scenarios, such as, "What would you do if you were asked to perform a task that was completely new to you?" or "What would you do if an angry customer confronted you.
• Behavioral Questions—ask candidates for specific examples from past work, such as, "Tell me about a time you had to complete a project with limited resources" or "Tell me about a time you failed to complete a task on time."

Sources & Additional Resources

The Best Process for Interviewing Candidates

Is a structured interview really necessary? Yes and... | Greenhouse