Peer interviews offer a unique opportunity to get direct input from your team on your candidates.

But what do they look like and how to conduct them in a fair and efficient way ?

Here's a guide to the peer interview process with concrete examples. 

What is a Peer Interview?

A peer interview is a meeting where a job candidate sits down with potential future coworkers instead of just managers or HR representatives.

For team members, recruiters and managers, peer interviews offer a clear glimpse into a candidate’s interpersonal and teamwork skills. They help you gauge if the person is someone your team would enjoy working with daily.

For the candidate, it’s also an opportunity to understand the company culture in a real and practical way. They get a chance to talk directly to their potential peers—people who can answer questions about the actual day-to-day work. This transparency can help set accurate expectations for the job, reducing any surprises after hiring.

These interviews are often casual, but they’re incredibly insightful. You’ll get to see how candidates behave when they’re not directly under the spotlight of traditional interviews. How do they handle informal conversations? Are they respectful, collaborative, and curious? Do they communicate effectively?

18 Essential Questions to Ask in a Peer Interview

To make the most out of a peer interview, it’s important to ask the right interview questions. Here are 18 essential questions, grouped by different aspects you want to evaluate.

1. Questions About Teamwork and Collaboration

These questions aim to understand how the candidate works with others in a real team setting.

• “How do you usually collaborate with your peers on a project?” This helps you understand their approach to team interactions and their sense of cooperation.
• “What do you do when a team member is struggling to meet a deadline?” This question reveals their willingness to support others and how they contribute to the team’s success.
• “How do you handle different working styles among team members?” This helps you see if they are adaptable and open to working with diverse personalities.

2. Questions About Adaptability and Problem-Solving

Adaptability is crucial, especially in fast-changing environments. These questions help you understand if the candidate is flexible and open to change.

• “How do you handle sudden changes in priorities that affect your team?” This reveals their ability to stay calm and adjust plans in response to shifting dynamics.
• “Can you describe a time when your team faced an unexpected issue? What role did you play in resolving it?” This question helps gauge their problem-solving skills and whether they proactively contribute to finding solutions.
• “What do you do if your team disagrees on the best way to solve a problem?” This shows how they approach conflict and whether they focus on collaborative problem-solving.

3. Questions About Communication

Strong communication is key to successful teamwork. These questions evaluate how well the candidate can convey their thoughts and understand others.

• “How do you ensure everyone on your team is on the same page?” This shows whether they prioritize clear and effective communication.
• “Can you describe a situation where a lack of communication caused an issue in your team? How did you address it?” This helps you see if they recognize communication gaps and are willing to take action to fix them.
• “How do you provide updates to your teammates on your progress?” This helps determine their openness and transparency with team efforts.

4. Questions About Cultural Fit

These questions help determine if the candidate will mesh well with the existing team culture.

• “What do you think makes your ideal work culture?” This helps gauge whether their values align with your team’s dynamics.
• “How do you build relationships with new colleagues?” This question gives insight into how they will integrate themselves into the team.
• “How would you describe the working relationship that makes you feel most productive?” This helps see if their expectations align with your work environment.

5. Questions About Handling Feedback and Growth

It's important to understand if the candidate is coachable and open to growth.

• “What is the most helpful feedback you’ve received from a colleague, and how did it impact your work?” This question shows if they value peer feedback and are willing to make changes.
• “How do you usually approach your peers for feedback?” You want to see if they actively seek constructive input from those they work closely with.
• “Can you give an example of how peer feedback helped you grow?” This reveals their openness to change and how they turn suggestions into improvement.

6. Questions About Work Habits and Personal Contribution

These questions help understand how the candidate manages their workload and contributes individually.

• “How do you prioritize tasks when working in a team with overlapping responsibilities?” This reveals their ability to manage shared duties effectively.
• “What do you do to maintain a positive atmosphere in your team?” You want to know if they take an active role in boosting team morale.
• “How do you ensure that your individual contributions support your team’s overall goals?” This helps you understand their sense of accountability and team orientation.

Peer Interview Best Practices

Peer interviews can be powerful tools for hiring, but only if they are done correctly. To make the most out of peer interviews, follow these best practices:

1. Prepare Your Team Members

Peer interviews should not be improvised. Your team members need to be clear on the role they play in the interview process. Provide training or at least a briefing to ensure everyone knows what to look for and what questions to ask. The goal isn’t to conduct a formal interview like an HR professional would, but it’s still important to evaluate consistently across candidates.

2. Focus on Team Fit

Peer interviews are about finding someone who will fit in well with the existing team. While it’s crucial to understand a candidate’s skills, this isn’t the place to test their technical capabilities. Instead, encourage your team to focus on whether the candidate’s work style, attitude, and approach to collaboration match the dynamics of the group.

By doing this, you can gain a more authentic sense of whether the person would be a positive addition.

3. Encourage Honest Feedback

Honesty is key to a successful peer interview process. Your peers need to feel empowered to give genuine feedback, both positive and critical. Make it clear that their opinions will carry weight in the final decision.

Peer input is most valuable when team members feel comfortable expressing any concerns they have.

4. Collect Structured Feedback

To avoid inconsistency and bias, use a structured feedback form for your peer interviewers. This form should include questions on teamwork, communication, cultural fit, and overall impressions.

By using a standardized form, you ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly and that no key aspects are overlooked. Structured feedback also helps make comparisons between candidates easier when making the final decision.

5. Follow Up with Team Discussion

After conducting the interviews, bring your team together for a discussion. A collaborative conversation can highlight different perspectives and provide a fuller picture of the candidate.

During this debriefing, encourage your team to share specific examples from the interview that led them to their conclusions. The group discussion is where final impressions are formed, and it’s crucial to ensure everyone feels heard before making a decision.

Streamline and Record Your Peer Interviews : Noota

Managing peer interviews effectively can be challenging, especially when coordinating multiple panelists, recording notes, and keeping track of feedback. This is where Noota's AI meeting assistant can make a real difference : 

• ‍Automatic Recording & Transcription : One of the biggest challenges in peer interviews is keeping an accurate record of what was said. Taking notes during a discussion can be distracting, and it’s easy to miss important details. Noota solves this by automatically recording and transcribing interviews in real-time. ‍
• Structured Summaries : After each interview, Noota provides a structured summary that highlights the key points of the conversation. Instead of combing through pages of raw notes, you get an organized overview of the most important takeaways. ‍
• Easy Sharing and Collaboration : Noota also simplifies sharing and collaboration. After interviews, you can gather all the records in one place and share them with your hiring team. You can even share specific clips from interviews to focus on particular responses, which makes it easier to discuss and evaluate candidate fit.

Want to streamline your peer interview process and keep track of critical information? Try Noota for free.