A structured interview guide is the hiring manager's script for running one competency-based interview the same way with every candidate: a fixed question bank, follow-up probes for each competency, and a description of what a strong answer looks like. Use it so every candidate for a role answers the same core questions in the same order.
Give this guide to anyone running a competency interview for a role, so the questions and follow-up probes stay consistent across candidates and interviewers. It focuses on what to ask and how to dig deeper on an answer - pair it with a separate scorecard if you also want a formal rating for each candidate.
Competency 1: [e.g. OWNERSHIP] - why it matters here: [ONE LINE ON WHY THIS MATTERS FOR THE ROLE]
Competency 2: [e.g. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT] - why it matters here: [ONE LINE]
Competency 3: [e.g. PROBLEM SOLVING UNDER AMBIGUITY] - why it matters here: [ONE LINE]
Competency 4: [e.g. COMMUNICATION] - why it matters here: [ONE LINE]
Say the same opening to every candidate: welcome them, explain the interview format, and confirm the time available.
State how many competencies you will cover and roughly how long each will take.
Ask if they have any questions about the format before you begin - not about the role itself, save that for the end.
Move straight into the question bank below in the same order each time.
Behavioural question: Tell me about a time you [SITUATION TIED TO THIS COMPETENCY].
Follow-up probe: What was your specific role in that situation, versus the team's?
Follow-up probe: What would you do differently if you faced the same situation again?
What good looks like: a specific, first-person, STAR-style answer - situation, action taken and result - not a general description of how they usually approach things.
Behavioural question: Describe a situation where [SITUATION TIED TO THIS COMPETENCY].
Follow-up probe: How did you know that approach was working, or that it was not?
Follow-up probe: Who else was involved, and how did you handle any disagreement?
What good looks like: [DESCRIBE THE MARKERS OF A STRONG ANSWER FOR THIS COMPETENCY]
Behavioural question: Give me an example of [SITUATION TIED TO THIS COMPETENCY].
Follow-up probe: What information did you have, and what was missing?
Follow-up probe: Looking back, what would have changed your decision?
What good looks like: [DESCRIBE THE MARKERS OF A STRONG ANSWER FOR THIS COMPETENCY]
Leave the last part of the interview for the candidate's own questions.
Tell them what happens next and roughly when they will hear back.
Write your notes against each competency immediately after the call, using the guide's own headings, before you move to the next candidate.
Pass your notes and any follow-up probes you did not get to into the debrief.
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