Unstructured interviews tend to reward confident talkers rather than strong performers. Structured, behaviour-based questions, asked consistently to every candidate, give you comparable answers and fairer decisions.
How structured interviewing works
Prepare the same set of questions for every candidate for the role, link each to a skill you need, and score answers against agreed criteria straight after the interview.
Motivation and fit
- What attracted you to this role and to our company?
- What kind of manager brings out your best work?
- What would make you leave a job within the first year?
Past behaviour
- Tell me about a time you had to learn a new skill quickly. What did you do?
- Describe a mistake you made at work. What happened and what changed afterwards?
- Give an example of a disagreement with a colleague. How was it resolved?
- Tell me about a time you worked under serious time pressure.
Job-specific skills
- Walk me through how you would handle [a realistic task from this role].
- What tools, systems or equipment have you used, and at what level?
- How do you check the quality of your own work?
Closing
- What questions do you have for us? The quality of their questions is a signal itself.
Score, don't just remember
Rate each answer on a simple scale and note the evidence. Compare scores across interviewers before discussing candidates together to avoid anchoring on the loudest voice.
