The Hiring Manager's Guide to the Structured Interview
The article explains that structured interviews, which involve asking all candidates the same standardized questions and evaluating them with consistent criteria, help reduce hiring bias, improve the accuracy of predicting job performance, and clarify expectations for candidates, thereby providing a fairer and more effective hiring process.
An interview is still the most common way to learn more about a candidate beyond what’s listed on their resume. Job seekers probably have a general idea of what to expect in an interview, but that experience can vary widely from company to company. Structured interviews are a way to reduce variability and evaluate all candidates according to the same set of criteria.
What Is a Structured Interview?
In a structured interview, all candidates are asked the same questions or presented with the same scenarios. It systematically assesses a candidate’s competencies and past experience, resulting in a standardized score for comparison with others. Typically administered by a panel of interviewers, a structured approach seeks consensus among all the parties present at the interview.
Benefits of Structured Interviews
A structured interview comes with some significant benefits, including:
Reducing Hiring Bias
Research indicates there are many types of hiring bias. Outright bias that leads to discrimination is protected by federal law, but hiring bias can be more subtle and even unconscious. When hiring managers are drawn to candidates similar to themselves, or when they judge a person based on their perceptions about the group they belong to, they may dismiss high-quality candidates because those perceptions outweigh other, more objective criteria.
Predicting Job Performance with Greater Accuracy
Researchers at McGill University found that structured interviews which focused on:
- job-relatedness of the interview
- standardization of the process
- structured use of the data to evaluate the candidate
helped organizations focus on candidates with the greatest potential for high job performance. It also reduced reliance on the “interviewers’ implicit theories of the job requirements rather than the actual job requirements.”
Making Expectations Clear
Unstructured interviews can have a more informal tone, which can help a candidate feel at ease or produce an interesting conversation. But job seekers and hiring managers may leave that kind of interview without a clear understanding of what the job requires and if the person is the best suited to the work. Ideally, structured interviews place candidates in scenarios that demonstrate their competence in the tasks they would be hired to do.
How to Craft Effective Structured Interviews
In creating its internal interview structure, Google identified three categories of hiring attributes to inform the conversation. These may prove helpful for your company, too:
- Role-related knowledge
- The goal: discover if the candidate has job-related skills, experience, and expertise
- Problem-solving
- The goal: measure a candidate’s critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities
- Leadership
- The goal: observe a candidate’s leadership skills and abilities specifically related to the role
With each of the hiring attributes in mind – and any others that are specific to your industry – you create a structured list of questions or role-playing scenarios with a corresponding grading system.
Step 1: Introductory Period
Keep the introductory period welcoming but brief to avoid asking conversational questions that can introduce unconscious bias (e.g., “What are your hobbies?” “Tell us about yourself.”). Help the candidate understand the interview structure and introduce each person who will be present. Let them know when in the interview they can ask questions, tell them you will take notes, or offer them a notepad to take notes themselves. Try to help them feel comfortable with your warmth and professionalism.
Step 2: Questions
There are two types of structured interview questions: hypothetical or behavioral. Using the job description as a guide, draft questions that are specific to the job. For example, if your job description says you are seeking someone with strong collaboration skills, possible questions may be:
- Behavioral: “Describe a time where you disagreed with a co-worker. How did you resolve your concerns?”
- Hypothetical: “Imagine you are nearing a deadline on a project, and you and another colleague disagree on the next steps. How would you resolve this conflict to meet the deadline?”
Present your questions to each candidate in the same order, and emphasize the positive aspects of this approach. Explain that you want to evaluate each candidate fairly and on professional merit.
Step 3: Evaluation
Evaluate answers according to your established rubric. You can use a scoring system, such as a five-point grading scale, where 1 is Very Unsatisfied, and 5 is Very Satisfied. You can hire the candidate with the highest overall score. When the hiring team agrees on the scoring structure in advance, you’re less likely to have strong internal disagreements.
Step 4: Feedback
With objective data, you can offer constructive criticism to the candidates you didn’t hire. This can help them see where they scored lower and show them areas they could work on for similar job tasks and responsibilities.
A large body of research shows that structured interviews provide a fair approach to hiring, reducing bias and helping your company identify the candidate whose skills best match the job requirements.
ApplicantStack makes it easy to schedule and conduct interviews, as well as keep all hiring team members on the same page. With features like interview scoring and scheduling, your team can identify and meet with top candidates. Explore how implementing this applicant-tracking system can streamline your recruiting efforts and support your plans to conduct more structured interviews.
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