Seeking to organize your interview process ?

An interview guide is your solution. It gives a clear roadmap to follow for your team.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to build an effective interview guide—from the essential components to a template you can use right away.

What is an Interview Guide and What Is Its Purpose?

An interview guide is a document that display all the structure and elements of your interview process.

It lists all the key questions you need to ask, along with follow-up questions that help you dig deeper into the candidate's answers

This guide keep you on track during every interview. Without a guide, it’s easy to lose focus, skip important questions, or spend too much time on less relevant details.

It helps you to :

• Maintain control over the interview, making sure you get all the information you need to assess the candidate properly​.
• Standardize your interviews, making it easier to compare candidates. When you ask each person the same set of questions, you can evaluate their responses more objectively.
• Have better teamwork and clearer evaluations, since with a guide, everyone follows the same process. This consistency is crucial when you need to make a collaborative decision about who to hire​.

What to Include in an Interview Guide

Your guide should be a comprehensive roadmap, covering everything from the job description to the specific questions you plan to ask.

Here’s what you need to include :

1. Job Description
Start by including a clear job description. This ensures that both you and the candidate understand the role’s responsibilities and expectations. The job description helps you frame your questions around the specific skills and experiences needed for the position

2. Core Competencies
List the core competencies or skills you’re looking for in a candidate. Whether it’s leadership, problem-solving, or technical abilities, identifying these in advance allows you to tailor your questions to evaluate each candidate’s qualifications. This also gives you a clear basis for comparing candidates later​

3. Structured Interview Questions
Your interview guide should include a set of structured questions. These questions should be the same for every candidate, ensuring consistency across all interviews. Make sure to include a mix of open-ended questions that allow candidates to showcase their experiences and follow-up questions to explore their responses in more detail​

4. Rating Criteria
It’s important to include a rating system in your guide. A clear, objective scoring system helps you evaluate candidates based on their answers, reducing the influence of personal biases. You might use a scale from 1 to 5 or a point-based system to grade each response. This will make it easier to compare candidates side by side after the interviews​

5. Logistics and Interview Format
Finally, include the logistical details of the interview. This covers the format (in-person, virtual, or hybrid), the time allotted for each section, and any necessary accommodations for candidates. Having these details set in advance helps the interview run smoothly and keeps both you and the candidate on track​

Structured Interview Guide Template

Here’s a detailed interview guide template that you can copy, paste, and personalize to fit your specific needs. You can also download the document here :

Position: [Insert Job Title]
Department: [Insert Department]
Interviewer: [Insert Interviewer Name]
Date: [Insert Date]

1. Introduction (3-5 minutes)

• Greet the Candidate: "Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today."
• Briefly Explain the Interview Process:
  "In today’s interview, I’ll be asking you questions related to your experience, skills, and how they align with this role. Feel free to ask any questions as we go along."
• Provide Context About the Role:
  "This position involves [brief overview of the role and its responsibilities]."

2. Core Interview Questions (30-40 minutes)

Ask these questions to assess the candidate’s fit for the role based on the job description and required competencies.

• Question 1: Role-specific
  "Can you tell me about a time when you successfully managed [specific task relevant to the job]?"
  Follow-up: "What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?"
• Question 2: Problem-solving
  "Describe a situation where you had to solve a complex problem on the job. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?"
• Question 3: Teamwork
  "Can you give an example of how you worked effectively within a team to achieve a goal?"
• Question 4: Adaptability
  "Tell me about a time when you had to quickly adapt to a significant change at work. How did you manage that situation?"
• Question 5: Leadership (if applicable)
  "Describe an experience where you led a project or team. What did you do to ensure success?"

3. Behavioral and Situational Questions (15-20 minutes)

Ask these questions to assess how the candidate might perform in specific scenarios.

• Behavioral Question:
  "Tell me about a time when you had to handle a difficult client or colleague. How did you manage the situation?"
• Situational Question:
  "If you were faced with [insert hypothetical job-related scenario], how would you handle it?"

4. Candidate Questions (5-10 minutes)

Invite the candidate to ask any questions they may have.

• "Do you have any questions for us about the role or the company?"

5. Conclusion (2-3 minutes)

• Thank the Candidate:
  "Thank you for taking the time to interview with us today. We’ll be in touch regarding the next steps."
• Provide Next Steps:
  "We will be concluding the interviews this week and plan to make a decision by [insert time frame]."

6. Evaluation

Use this section to evaluate the candidate based on their responses and performance during the interview. You can use a rating scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is "Poor" and 5 is "Excellent."

• Technical Skills: [Rating]
• Problem-solving Ability: [Rating]
• Teamwork/Collaboration: [Rating]
• Adaptability: [Rating]
• Leadership (if applicable): [Rating]
• Overall Impression: [Rating]

7. Additional Comments

Use this space to note any standout qualities or concerns about the candidate.

Example Rating Scale:1 = Poor
2 = Fair
3 = Satisfactory
4 = Good
5 = Excellent

Personalization Tips

• Adjust the Core Interview Questions to fit the specific requirements of the job. For example, if the role requires technical skills, focus more on technical problem-solving scenarios.
• Customize the Behavioral and Situational Questions based on challenges that are relevant to your industry or the specific role.
• Update the Evaluation Criteria based on what you value most in the candidate, such as leadership, technical expertise, or cultural fit​

Noota: Integrate Your Interview Guide into Your Interview Process

With Noota, you can integrate your interview guide directly into your process, making your interviews more efficient and organized. Here’s how it works step by step:

• Reminders for Key Interview Questions : You won’t need to worry about forgetting important questions. Noota automatically reminds of your questions during your interview.
• Real-Time Transcriptions : During the interview, Noota provides real-time transcriptions. You can focus entirely on the candidate, knowing that everything they say is being accurately recorded.
• Structured Meeting Minutes : After the interview, Noota organizes the transcription into structured meeting minutes. The responses are automatically categorized based on the questions you asked, making it easy for you to review and compare answers later.
• Easy Sharing and Collaboration : Noota makes it simple to share the interview transcripts and structured minutes with your team. You can easily send the detailed notes to your colleagues, allowing for faster and more collaborative decision-making

You want to integrate your guide into every step of your interview process ? Try Noota for free.