The Hiring Manager's Guide to Running Their First Structured Interview

If you've always hired on instinct and conversation, switching to a structured approach can feel like going from free-form jazz to reading sheet music. This guide makes the transition as smooth as possible.

Day Before: Prepare Properly

The single biggest difference between a structured and unstructured interview is preparation. You need to spend 15–20 minutes before each interview (or interview round) doing the following:

1. Read the job description and remind yourself what the role actually requires
2. Review your scorecard — make sure you know the questions and what a good answer looks like
3. Read the candidate's CV and note any questions specific to their background
4. Prepare your interview room and your materials

If you haven't done these four things, you're not ready to run a structured interview.

The Opening: Set the Frame

Start every interview with the same introduction. This serves two purposes: it sets the candidate at ease and it sets the right expectations. Something like: "I'll be asking you a set of structured questions to help me understand your experience and approach to the key areas of this role. For each question, I'm looking for specific examples from your past experience. I'll be taking notes as we go."

This tells the candidate what to expect, reduces anxiety, and explains why you're writing things down.

During the Interview: Three Disciplines

1. Ask the questions as written. Resist the temptation to paraphrase, extend, or change the question. Consistency matters. If you change the question, you change what you're measuring.

2. Score immediately after each answer. Write your score and your key evidence notes before asking the next question. Don't wait until the end — memory distortion sets in quickly.

3. Probe for completeness. If an answer is vague or missing a key element (usually the result), use a standard probe: "Can you tell me more about the specific outcome?" or "What was your personal contribution to that?"

The Closing

Always give the candidate time to ask questions. Their questions tell you something additional about their engagement with the role. Then explain next steps clearly: when they'll hear from you, in what format, and what the process is from here.

After the Interview: Score, Don't Decide

Your job immediately after an interview is to complete your scoring and write up your notes — not to make a hiring decision. Decisions should be made after all candidates have been seen, using the data. Making decisions after each interview creates a comparison problem: you're comparing each candidate to an impression of the previous one, not to the role standard.