The Interview Process
Design interviews that accurately assess candidates while providing a great candidate experience.
Interviewing Is a Two-Way Street
Great interviews don't just evaluate candidates—they sell your company. The best candidates have options. Your interview process should be rigorous enough to filter well while being respectful enough that candidates leave impressed, whether or not they get the job.
"Hiring is not about finding people with the right experiences, it's about finding people with the right mindsets." — Reed Hastings
Designing Your Interview Structure
Building a consistent, fair process
Standard Interview Loop
Recruiter/Founder Screen (15-30 min)
Basic qualifications, motivation, logistics. Quick filter.
Hiring Manager Screen (30-45 min)
Deeper dive on experience, skills, and fit for specific role.
Skills Assessment (1-3 hours)
Take-home project, live coding, case study, or work sample.
Final Round (2-4 hours)
Multiple interviewers: team fit, deep technical, values alignment.
Interview Design Principles
Structured
Same questions for all candidates in same role. Enables fair comparison.
Scored
Use scorecards with clear criteria. Reduces bias and gut decisions.
Diverse Panel
Multiple perspectives. Different interviewers assess different dimensions.
Time-Bounded
Respect candidate time. 4 interviews max. Complete in 2-3 weeks.
Phone Screens
Filtering efficiently before deeper investment
Initial Screen Questions
Motivation
"What attracted you to this role and our company?"
Looking for: Genuine interest, not just "any job"
Relevant Experience
"Tell me about your most relevant experience for this role."
Looking for: Clear connection between past work and role requirements
Timeline & Logistics
"What's your availability? Any constraints we should know about?"
Looking for: Availability matches your timeline
Compensation Expectations
"What are you looking for in terms of compensation?"
Looking for: Alignment with your budget
Screen Red Flags
- • Can't articulate why they're interested in your company specifically
- • Badmouths previous employers excessively
- • Compensation expectations way out of range
- • Can't explain gaps or job changes
- • Shows up late or unprepared
Behavioral Interviews
Past behavior predicts future performance
The STAR Method
Ask for specific examples and listen for complete stories:
Context and background
Their responsibility
What they did
Outcome and impact
Key Behavioral Questions
Problem Solving
"Tell me about a time you faced a problem you didn't know how to solve. How did you approach it?"
Conflict Resolution
"Describe a disagreement with a colleague. How did you handle it?"
Failure & Learning
"Tell me about your biggest professional failure. What did you learn?"
Initiative
"Tell me about something you did that wasn't asked of you but that you thought was important."
Ambiguity
"Describe a time when you had to make a decision with incomplete information."
Probing Deeper
When answers are vague, probe: "What specifically did you do?" "What was the measurable outcome?" "What would you do differently?" Don't let candidates hide behind "we."
Technical & Skills Assessment
Evaluating actual ability to do the job
Assessment Types
Take-Home Project
Best for DepthGive a realistic problem (2-4 hours max). See how they think, code quality, communication.
Pros: Real work sample. Cons: Takes candidate time, some decline.
Live Coding/Pairing
Good for ProcessWork through a problem together in real-time. See thinking process and collaboration.
Pros: See thought process. Cons: Interview pressure, not always realistic.
Case Study / Presentation
Good for StrategyGive a business problem. Have them present their approach. Great for PM, ops, strategy roles.
Pros: Tests strategic thinking. Cons: Less about execution.
Portfolio/Work Review
Good for CreativeReview past work in depth. Have them walk through decisions and trade-offs.
Pros: Real work, no extra time. Cons: May not be relevant to your needs.
Take-Home Best Practices
Don't
- • Assign work that takes 10+ hours
- • Use real company problems (free labor)
- • Give trick questions or gotchas
- • Require specific tech stack
Do
- • Time-box to 2-4 hours
- • Make expectations clear
- • Provide a rubric
- • Give feedback to all candidates
Assessing Culture Fit
Values alignment without bias
Culture Fit vs. Culture Add
"Culture fit" can be code for hiring people just like you. Instead, assess for "culture add"— people who share your values but bring diverse perspectives.
Assess For (Values)
- • Alignment with company mission
- • How they treat others
- • Communication style fit
- • Working style compatibility
- • Growth mindset
Don't Assess For (Bias)
- • "Would I get a beer with them?"
- • Same hobbies/interests
- • Same educational background
- • Personality style (intro vs. extro)
- • "Gut feeling"
Values-Based Questions
Map questions to your actual company values:
If your value is: Ownership
"Tell me about a time you saw a problem outside your job description. What did you do?"
If your value is: Customer Obsession
"Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer or user."
If your value is: Transparency
"Tell me about a time you delivered difficult feedback. How did you approach it?"
If your value is: Continuous Learning
"What have you learned in the past year that changed how you work?"
Making Hiring Decisions
Synthesizing feedback and deciding
The Debrief Process
Each interviewer submits feedback before seeing others'
Compare ratings across dimensions
Dig into areas where ratings differ significantly
Hiring manager makes final call with input from team
Scorecard Example
| Dimension | 1-2 | 3 | 4-5 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Skills | Gaps | Meets bar | Exceeds | _ |
| Communication | Unclear | Clear | Exceptional | _ |
| Values Alignment | Concerns | Aligned | Strong fit | _ |
| Overall Hire? | No | Maybe | Strong Yes | _ |
The "Hell Yes" Rule
If you're not excited about a candidate, don't hire them. "Maybe" often becomes "no" 6 months later when performance doesn't meet expectations. Early stage startups can't afford mediocre hires—hold the bar high.
Practice Exercise
Design your interview process:
- 1Map out your interview stages for your most important open role
- 2Create a scorecard with 4-6 key dimensions you're evaluating
- 3Write 3 behavioral questions mapped to your company values
- 4Design a skills assessment (take-home or live)
- 5Do a mock interview with a colleague to test the process