Use these prompts to investigate the responsibilities that matter to the role. Select relevant questions in advance and apply the same core criteria across candidates. This is a practical discussion guide, not a validated assessment or an automated ranking tool.
Establish the context
What did the organization need to accomplish? What conditions made the work difficult? What resources, people, and responsibilities were within the candidate’s scope?
Follow-up: What was already in place when you began, and what did you need to create or change?
Identify the person’s contribution
Which decisions did the candidate make? What did they do personally? Which results depended on other people or functions?
Follow-up: Describe one decision you owned and the information you used to make it.
Examine the outcome
What changed, over which period, and how was it measured? Which figures are supported, estimated, or unavailable? What else influenced the result?
Follow-up: What evidence would let another person understand the improvement?
Explore a relevant challenge
Choose a challenge genuinely connected to the open role. Ask how the candidate approached a comparable situation, what options they considered, and what they learned.
Follow-up: What would you approach differently now, and why?
Address the open questions
Where does the candidate’s experience differ from the role? Which differences are material, which are trainable, and which need specialist review?
Follow-up: What support or knowledge would you need to take responsibility for this part of the job?
Record the evidence consistently
For each essential requirement, record the candidate’s example, the scope of responsibility, the result, and what remains uncertain. Separate a reported fact from an independently checked fact.
Requirement: __________________
Evidence discussed: ____________
What is established: ___________
What remains to examine: _______
Follow-up owner: _______________
Use job-related information. Do not request or rely on discriminatory criteria in candidate evaluation. The EEOC explains the rules governing employment agencies’ referral practices. Source