Run the same interview, so you compare the same evidence

This kit helps panel members prepare shared questions, listen for specific evidence, and write notes on their own before the panel talks. The sample setting is fictional: Northstar Works is hiring a Service Operations Coordinator, and three panelists each take part in a 45-minute conversation. Swap in your own role outcomes, but keep the shape: same core questions for every candidate, same follow-ups, notes first, discussion second.

A meeting room set for a handful of people

The 45-minute agenda

Agree before the interview who opens, who asks each core question, and who keeps time.

  1. 5 min

    Role outcomes and introductions

    Introduce the panel by role. Describe the two or three outcomes the role is accountable for, so the candidate knows what your questions are probing.
  2. 25 min

    Shared questions

    Ask the same four core questions, in the same order, to every candidate (about 6 minutes each). Use the agreed follow-ups; keep your own notes as the candidate answers.
  3. 10 min

    Candidate questions

    Invite the candidate's questions. Answer only what the panel can answer accurately, and make a note of anything to be confirmed through the hiring process afterwards.
  4. 5 min

    Explain next steps

    Tell the candidate what happens next using the timing your hiring contact has confirmed. Do not signal a view of how the interview went.

Role outcomes, core questions and evidence anchors

Sample for a Service Operations Coordinator. Anchors are discussion aids for describing what you heard, not scores and not a hiring decision.

Role outcomes, core questions and evidence anchors
Role outcome Core question Specific evidence sounds like Weaker signal
Keeps competing requests moving Tell me about a time you had more requests than time. How did you decide what came first, and who did you tell? Names the requests, the criteria used, who was told and when, and what happened “I multitask well.” No situation, criteria or outcome
Hands work over cleanly Describe a handoff you made that someone else could pick up without you. What did you include? Lists the context passed on, how receipt was confirmed, and how it turned out “I just send an email.” No detail on what the receiver needed
Handles a missed commitment Walk me through a time a promise to a customer or colleague was about to be missed. Says when they noticed, what they communicated, which options they offered, and the result Blames others; describes no action of their own
Improves how work flows Tell me about a recurring problem you fixed in how work was tracked or shared. Describes what they observed, the change they made, and whether it held Describes an idea only, or a change made by someone else

Worked example: one question, two answers

Core question 1: “Tell me about a time you had more requests than time. How did you decide what came first, and who did you tell?” Both answers below are invented for illustration.

A vague answer

“I multitask well. I’m always juggling a lot and I just stay on top of it.”

  • Note what was said word for word; avoid writing “good prioritizer.”
  • Missing: a specific situation, the actions taken, the outcome.
  • Ask: “Can you take me through one particular week? What was on your list?”
  • Ask: “What was your own part in deciding the order?”
A specific account

“Three teams asked for rush set-ups on the same Friday. I ranked them by the customer deadline, told two requesters their new dates by noon, and asked my lead to weigh in on the third. All three shipped; one slipped a day, as agreed.”

  • Situation: three rush requests, one Friday.
  • Actions: ranked by customer deadline; informed two requesters by noon; escalated one.
  • Outcome: all shipped; one a day late by agreement.
  • Still ask: “What would you do differently?”

Adapting the core question to the team

Change the setting, not the question. Every candidate for the same role gets the same core question and the same follow-ups.

  • Customer-facing requests Ask: “…more customer requests than time…” Listen for how the candidate decided order and what they told the customer.
  • Internal handoffs Ask: “…more requests from other teams than time…” Listen for how they weighed competing deadlines and who they kept informed.
  • Distributed or remote teams Add one follow-up: “How did the other person know where things stood without asking you?” Use it with every candidate for the role.
  • Candidates with less workplace experience Accept an example from study, volunteering or another setting. Keep the same follow-ups: situation, own actions, outcome.

Independent feedback: notes first, discussion second

This page is a reference for how to take notes. It does not submit, score or approve anything.

During and right after
Capture what you heard

For each core question, write the example the candidate chose, the actions they described, and the outcome they reported.

  • Use the candidate’s own words where you can.
  • Write “not answered” where a follow-up wasn’t reached.
  • Finish your notes before you talk with other panelists.
Writing it up
Keep observation and interpretation apart

Put what happened on one side and what you make of it on the other, so the panel can test your reading against the evidence.

  • Observed: “Ranked three rush requests by customer deadline; told two requesters new dates by noon.”
  • Interpretation: “Seems organized.” Keep this separate and say what it rests on.
  • Leave out guesses about age, background, personality fit or anything unrelated to the role outcomes.
Before the debrief
Bring open questions, not conclusions

When the panel meets, each person starts from their own notes, and differences become the discussion.

  • Share evidence for each outcome before sharing a view.
  • Flag questions to clarify, such as an example that needs another follow-up.
  • Take the decision itself through your organization’s hiring process.

Where decisions, records and questions go

This kit prepares you to ask and record consistently. It doesn’t decide who is hired, and it doesn’t replace your organization’s hiring process.

  • Decisions: follow your established hiring process for the debrief, the decision and the offer.
  • Notes and records: handle and store them as that process directs; don’t keep separate copies for your own use.
  • Questions about approved interview practice: raise them with Talent and Learning, who maintain this kit, or with your hiring contact before the interview.