The interview is the front door to your organization. What candidates experience during those conversations shapes their perception of your culture, your values, and whether they want to work with you. Yet most interview processes were designed decades ago — and they show it.
The Problem with Traditional Interviews
Unstructured interviews are one of the weakest predictors of job performance. Research consistently shows that interviewers form impressions within the first few minutes and spend the rest of the conversation confirming those impressions. This is not a recipe for finding the best talent — it's a recipe for finding people who remind us of ourselves.
Common problems include:
- Inconsistent questions across candidates, making fair comparison impossible
- "Culture fit" as a vague filter that often penalizes non-traditional candidates
- Overweighting credentials like specific degrees or company pedigree instead of demonstrated competencies
- Homogeneous interview panels that unconsciously favor candidates who mirror existing leadership
Designing a Better Process
Start with Competencies, Not Resumes
Before posting a role, define the 4–6 core competencies the position requires. These should be specific, observable, and directly tied to job success. Then design every interview question to evaluate those competencies.
This approach does two things: it gives you a consistent rubric for evaluating all candidates, and it widens the aperture for who "qualifies" — because you're evaluating what people can do, not where they've been.
Standardize the Structure
Every candidate for the same role should face the same questions, in the same order, evaluated against the same criteria. This doesn't mean interviews become robotic — there's room for follow-up questions and conversation. But the core structure ensures fairness.
Create a scoring rubric before interviews begin. Define what a strong, adequate, and weak answer looks like for each question. This reduces the influence of gut feelings and recency bias.
Build Well-Rounded Panels
Interview panels should include people of different backgrounds, levels, and functions. Well-rounded panels ask different questions, notice different strengths, and challenge each other's assumptions during debrief.
Train every interviewer on structured interviewing techniques and unconscious bias. Make this training mandatory, not optional.
Evaluate Holistically
Candidate evaluation should happen through a structured debrief, not informal hallway conversations. Use the scoring rubric to anchor discussion. Require interviewers to share their ratings independently before group discussion to prevent anchoring bias.
Pay attention to patterns: if your process consistently screens out candidates from certain backgrounds, the process — not the candidates — needs fixing.
The Candidate Experience Matters
A strong interview process isn't just about reducing bias — it's about creating a positive experience for every candidate. This means:
- Transparency about what to expect: share the interview format, timeline, and evaluation criteria upfront
- Accessibility in scheduling: offer flexible times, remote options, and accommodations without making candidates ask
- Respect for time: consolidate interviews where possible and make timely decisions
- Feedback: provide substantive feedback to candidates, especially those who aren't selected
Candidates talk. The way you treat people during the hiring process becomes your employer brand — for better or worse.
Measuring What Matters
Track your interview process the same way you'd track any critical business function:
- Pass-through rates at each interview stage
- Interviewer scoring patterns to identify potential bias
- Candidate experience surveys for all interviewees, not just those who accept offers
- Quality of hire metrics correlated back to interview scores
If the data reveals problems, act on them. Measurement without action is just documentation.
Moving Forward
Redesigning your interview process isn't a one-time project — it's an ongoing commitment to evaluating talent fairly. The organizations that get this right don't just build better teams. They build stronger ones, because they're actually selecting for the competencies that matter.
"The best interview process is one where every candidate — regardless of outcome — walks away feeling they were seen, heard, and evaluated fairly."
