1. Gather Role Context: Understand the job title, level, team structure, reporting line, and business context
2. Define Criteria: Separate must-have from nice-to-have qualifications with clear, observable indicators
3. Build Scoring Rubric: Create a weighted rubric anchored to behavioral evidence, not gut feeling
4. Generate Interview Questions: Produce competency-specific behavioral and situational questions
5. Create Evaluation Matrix: Design a standardized matrix every interviewer on the panel can use
6. Identify Flags: List concrete red flags and green flags grounded in the role requirements
7. Draft Reference Checks: Provide targeted reference check questions that surface real signal

• Title: [Job Title]
• Level: [Seniority Level]
• Department / Team: [Team name and context]
• Reports To: [Manager title]
• Role Type: [Technical / Non-Technical / Hybrid]
• Date Created: [Date]

"Tell me about a time when [specific scenario relevant to this role and competency]."

• What was your specific role vs the team's?
• What was the outcome? How did you measure success?
• What would you do differently?

"Imagine you are in this role and [specific realistic scenario]. How would you approach it?"

• What information would you need first?
• Who would you involve?
• How would you handle [complication]?

"[Role-specific question testing depth]"

• [Probe that tests depth vs surface knowledge]
• [Probe that tests judgment, not just knowledge]

**Question quality standards**:
- Never ask illegal or discriminatory questions (age, family status, religion, disability, etc.)
- Behavioral questions must reference specific, job-relevant situations
- Situational questions must reflect realistic challenges of THIS role, not generic hypotheticals
- Every question must have a clear "what good looks like" so interviewers calibrate consistently
- Include at least one question per competency that probes failure/adversity -- how candidates handle setbacks reveals more than how they handle wins
- For technical roles: include a live problem-solving or system design component, not just Q&A
- For leadership roles: include questions about difficult people decisions (firing, reorganizing, managing out)

---

• Strong Hire
• Hire
• Lean Hire
• Lean No Hire
• No Hire
• Strong No Hire

• [Specific observable behavior and why it matters for this role]
• [Another specific red flag]
• ...

• [Specific technical gap or pattern]
• ...

• [Specific misalignment signal]
• ...

• [Resume inconsistencies, reference dodging, etc.]
• ...

• [Specific observable behavior and why it predicts success]
• [Another specific green flag]
• ...

• [Specific technical strength or pattern]
• ...

• [Specific alignment signal]
• ...

• [Preparation quality, follow-up quality, etc.]
• ...

**Flag guidelines**:
- 8-12 red flags, 8-12 green flags per scorecard
- Every flag must be tied to an observable behavior, not an inference about personality
- Flags should be calibrated to the seniority level (what is a red flag for a VP is normal for a junior hire)
- Include at least 2 flags specific to the team context if provided
- Never include flags that proxy for protected characteristics

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• "Thanks for taking the time. I want to make sure we set [candidate] up for success if they join. Your honest input helps us do that."
• "We are considering [candidate] for a [title] role focused on [key responsibility]. Can you help me understand how they performed in similar areas?"

1. "On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate [candidate]'s overall performance? ... What would it take to be a 10?"
2. "What was [candidate]'s most significant accomplishment while working with you? What made it significant?"
3. "Can you describe a project where [candidate] fell short of expectations? What happened and how did they respond?"

1. "How would you describe [candidate]'s working style? What type of environment do they thrive in?"
2. "How did [candidate] handle disagreements with colleagues or leadership?"
3. "If I asked [candidate]'s peers to describe them in three words, what would they say?"

1. "[Question specific to the primary competency of the role]"
2. "[Question specific to the team context or a known challenge of the role]"
3. "[Question probing a specific concern that emerged during interviews]"

1. "How many people reported to [candidate]? How did they handle underperformers?"
2. "Did anyone from [candidate]'s previous teams follow them to their next role? Why or why not?"
3. "How did [candidate] handle making an unpopular decision?"

1. "If you could give us one piece of advice for managing [candidate] effectively, what would it be?"
2. "Is there anything I have not asked that you think is important for us to know?"

**Reference check guidelines**:
- Always ask the 1-10 rating question -- it anchors the conversation and the follow-up ("What would it take to be a 10?") reveals real development areas
- Ask about failures, not just successes. A reference who cannot name a single shortcoming is not being candid.
- Customize 2-3 questions based on concerns or open questions from the interview process
- For back-channel references (with candidate permission), adjust tone to be more conversational
- Pay attention to what references do NOT say as much as what they do say
- If a reference is clearly reading from a script or giving only generic praise, probe deeper with specific scenario questions

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• All interviewers submit their scoresheets independently (no sharing before the meeting)
• Hiring manager collects and reviews all scoresheets for patterns
• Identify any score discrepancies of 2+ points on the same competency

1. Individual Summaries (2 min each): Each interviewer shares their overall recommendation and top 1-2 observations. No rebuttals yet.
2. Competency Walk-Through (20-30 min): Go through each competency. For each:
   • Share scores (reveal simultaneously to avoid anchoring)
   • Discuss discrepancies -- what did each interviewer see?
   • Reach consensus score with documented evidence
3. Red Flag Review (5 min): Did anyone observe a red flag? Discuss as a group.
4. Green Flag Review (5 min): What were the strongest positive signals?
5. Must-Have Checklist (5 min): Go through must-have criteria. Does the candidate pass all of them?
6. Final Vote (5 min): Each interviewer gives their final recommendation. Hiring manager makes the call.

• Any must-have not met = No Hire (no exceptions)
• Weighted score below [threshold] = No Hire (set threshold at 60% of max)
• Weighted score above [threshold] = Proceed to offer (set threshold at 75% of max)
• Between 60-75% = Discuss. Consider: Would you bet your own quota/OKRs on this person?
• Split panel = Hiring manager decides, but must document reasoning

• Are we comparing this candidate to the job requirements or to other candidates?
• Are we weighting recent interviews more heavily than earlier ones? (Recency bias)
• Did a single strong/weak moment override the full picture? (Halo/horn effect)
• Are we penalizing this candidate for traits we would praise in a different demographic? (Affinity bias)
• Would we make the same decision if this candidate had a different background but identical answers?

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1. Provide the basics: At minimum, give the job title and key requirements. The more context you provide (team size, culture, level, industry), the more tailored the scorecard will be.
2. Review and customize: The generated scorecard is a strong starting point. You should review and adjust:
   • Criteria weights based on your specific priorities
   • Behavioral anchors based on your team's standards
   • Interview questions based on your known challenges
   • Red/green flags based on lessons from past hires
3. Distribute before interviews: Give each interviewer their assigned competencies and the relevant questions BEFORE the interview, not after.
4. Enforce independence: The evaluation matrix must be completed independently. This is the single most important anti-bias mechanism in the process.

• Technical depth: For engineering, data science, or other technical roles -- includes system design evaluation, coding assessment rubrics, and technical depth probes
• Leadership focus: For manager, director, VP, or C-level roles -- includes organizational design questions, P&L evaluation, and executive presence assessment
• Sales/GTM focus: For sales, marketing, or go-to-market roles -- includes quota attainment verification, deal review exercises, and customer-facing assessment
• Creative focus: For design, content, or creative roles -- includes portfolio review rubrics, creative process evaluation, and taste/judgment assessment
• Operations focus: For ops, finance, or analytical roles -- includes case study evaluation, process design assessment, and quantitative reasoning tests
• Culture-heavy: When team fit is paramount -- includes values alignment assessment, working style evaluation, and team simulation exercises

1. Hiring on vibes: Every score requires written behavioral evidence
2. Halo effect: Structured competency-by-competency evaluation prevents one strong area from masking weaknesses
3. Anchoring bias: Independent scoresheets before debrief prevent the loudest voice from dominating
4. Moving goalposts: Must-have criteria are defined before interviews begin, not adjusted to fit a preferred candidate
5. Confirmation bias: Red flag checklist forces interviewers to consider disconfirming evidence
6. Recency bias: Debrief structure gives equal weight to all interviews, not just the most recent
7. Similarity bias: Anti-bias checklist in debrief guide surfaces unconscious preference for candidates who "look like us"
8. Reference theater: Targeted reference questions go beyond "Would you hire them again?" to surface real signal

• Remote interviews: Add notes about video quality assessment, async communication evaluation, and remote collaboration signals
• Panel interviews: Assign specific competencies to specific interviewers to avoid redundancy
• Case studies / work samples: Include rubric for evaluating the work product, not just the presentation
• Take-home assignments: Include time-boxed evaluation criteria and rubric for assessing approach vs just output
• Trial days / contract-to-hire: Include structured observation checklist for the trial period

• All questions must be job-related and consistent across candidates
• Do not ask about age, marital status, family plans, religion, disability, national origin, or other protected characteristics
• Document the business justification for every must-have criterion
• Keep all scoresheets on file per your company's retention policy
• If using AI-assisted screening, ensure compliance with local AI hiring laws (NYC Local Law 144, Illinois AIPA, etc.)