The job interview

Interview Question Guide

This question guide is a tool for the interview and the subsequent selection of the candidate. The question guide ensures structure during the interview and that all candidates are asked the same questions and assessed on the same basis. The first page consists of a guide to good interview practice. On the following pages you will find the question guide itself, which can be printed and used for all candidates. On the last page you will find a series of questions that you can use or be inspired by when completing the question guide.

Preparation is important

Before you have even posted a job advert, you should have prepared a job- and personal- profile where the most important competences for the position have been defined. It is these competences that you need to highlight in the interview. Therefore, make sure that the question guide include questions that address this. You can take inspiration from the last page.

Make sure the framework for the interview is in place

Often 45 minutes is allotted for a interview. To ensure that you don't spend too much time on individual topics, it can be a good idea to set aside time for each topic. This can be written on the template. It is also important that the hiring committee has clarified who will take the floor during the meeting, who will ask certain questions and who will keep an eye on the time so that the schedule does not slip. It's important to get through all the questions and not go over time so that the committee can prepare for the next interview. You should also strive to ensure that candidates don't bump into each other on the way to and from the interview.

Let the candidate have their say

The candidate should have the majority of the speaking time during the interview. The interview often starts with the hiring committee describing the position and the company, but then the focus should shift to the candidate. Make sure to ask open-ended questions, preferably followed by clarifying questions to help the candidate unfold their answers.

Take notes along the way

After a full day of interviews, it can be difficult to remember exact answers and impressions from each candidate. This is why the template provides space for notes after each question. There is also space to give the candidate a number score (1-5) for each topic/competency in the question guide. This score should not determine the final choice of candidate. Instead, it should be seen as a score that reflects the impression made during the interview - making it easier to identify the most competent candidates after a full day of interviews.

Be aware of bias

We all have a number of unconscious biases that can influence our final choice of candidate. For example, there is a tendency to hire people who are very similar to oneself or who are extroverted and good at interviews. You should therefore try to be aware of this as much as possible when assessing candidates so that you ultimately choose the best candidate based on competences and match to the original job profile.