5 Tips to Ace Your Hiring Process: Best Practices for Conducting a Structured Interview

by Randy Hayes | January 10, 2025

In the quest for top talent, structured interviews have emerged as a game-changer. Unlike their unstructured counterparts, these interviews offer a standardized, objective approach to candidate evaluation. By asking the same set of pre-determined questions to each candidate, you can significantly reduce bias and gain a clearer picture of who truly fits the bill, but how do you ensure your structured interviews are hitting the mark? Here are some best practices to consider:

1. Lay the Foundation with a Thorough Job Analysis

Before crafting your questions, dive deep into the role you’re looking to fill. Identify the key skills, knowledge, and personal attributes that are essential for success. This analysis will serve as the bedrock for your interview questions, ensuring they’re relevant and targeted.

2. Crafting the Perfect Questions

The heart of a structured interview lies in its questions. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Behavioral questions: These questions look into past experiences to predict future performance. Frame them to encourage detailed responses, like “Tell me about a time when you…” (for example STAR Method)
• Situational questions: Present hypothetical scenarios relevant to the job and ask candidates how they would handle them. This assesses their problem-solving skills and judgment in the moment. (i.e. avoid leading questions and closed end questions)

 Skill-based questions: Directly assess specific skills required for the role, such as technical proficiency or communication abilities. (i.e. work samples, simulations, or online assessments)

 Use a Consistent Method or Scoring System

To maintain objectivity, create a scoring rubric or rating scale for each question. This allows you to evaluate candidates on the same criteria, reducing the influence of personal biases.

4. The Interview Itself: Maintaining Structure and Objectivity

With your questions and scoring system in place, here’s how to conduct the interview:

• Consistency is key: Ask each candidate the same questions in the same order. Deviating from this can compromise the validity of your results.

 Take detailed notes: Document candidate responses and your evaluations. This provides a valuable record for comparison and decision-making.

• Avoid leading questions: Steer clear of questions that suggest a desired answer. Your goal is to elicit genuine responses.
• Create a comfortable environment: While maintaining structure is crucial, ensure candidates feel at ease to encourage open and honest communication.

5. Post-Interview Evaluation: Making Data-Driven Decisions

Once the interviews are complete, it’s time to analyze your findings:

• Review your notes and scores: Compare candidates based on your pre-defined criteria.
• Consider multiple perspectives: If possible, have multiple interviewers evaluate candidates independently to gain a broader perspective.

• Make an informed decision: Use the data gathered to make an objective, data-driven hiring decision.

By following these best practices, you can transform your hiring process into a well-oiled machine, ensuring you consistently select the best candidates for your organization.