What to include on a checklist for interviews

A checklist for an interview breaks down specific steps for your hiring team to complete before, during and after the interview.

1. Identify the interviewing stages

Companies may conduct multiple rounds of interviews, including phone screens and one or more full interviews. You might conduct multiple rounds of interviews for more senior positions or roles that require highly specialized skills. These individual rounds should be established beforehand to enhance the candidate experience and provide transparency about your hiring process.

2. Clarify the candidate criteria

Determine how many people you plan to hire, interview and your criteria for selecting candidates. For example, if you’re hiring an emergency medical technical (EMT), you might look for candidates with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) certification.

Once you’ve narrowed down your candidate pool, consider conducting a phone screening interview with six to 10 candidates. From there, select who you’d like to bring in for interviews with the hiring manager.

3. Choose the interview format

You might include multiple types of interviews on your checklist to help hiring managers choose an appropriate format. The type may vary during each round. Here are some examples of interview formats to consider:

• Video conference interview: These types of interviews may occur via Zoom or Teams. The hiring manager or a human resources team member generally emails a meeting invite in advance. Video interviews may benefit your company if your employees are remote or you’re interviewing candidates who are out of state.
• Pre-recorded interview: You might send candidates a pre-recorded list of questions, providing them several minutes to review and consider before their recorded video begins. If you use this style, consider sharing the expected time each interview should take and how many questions candidates should expect to answer.
• Panel interview: For a more rounded perspective of candidates, you might use a panel interview. This approach involves several team members who typically work alongside the employee in your vacant position.
• Group interview: The group interview style can be a good format for retail positions or roles that don’t require one-on-one interviews. For example, you might ask all sales associate applicants to sit in a circle and share about themselves, making the interview process more interactive.

4. Designate the selection committee

Screening interviews may be conducted by a recruiter or HR team member. A hiring manager may manage the later interviews with potential involvement from other department leaders or team members. Including multiple interviewers can provide diverse perspectives to improve hiring decisions and reduce bias.

5. Develop interview questions

You can provide a list of general interview questions on the checklist, but hiring managers typically develop job-specific questions as well.

Behavioral interview questions to ask:

• Tell me about a time you had to work with a colleague who had a different approach from you. How did you collaborative to reach a common goal?
• Have you ever had to handle a difficult client, and if so, how did you respond to their frustrations?
• What was a mistake you’ve made at work, and what did you learn from it?

Situational interview questions to ask:

• How would you handle an upcoming deadline that you didn’t think you could meet?
• How do you approach conflicts with coworkers?
• If you received feedback from a manager, how would you respond and implement it?

Job/industry-specific questions:

• Do you have any experience with Adobe Fresco or Procreate?
• What is one skill you’d hope to refine while working at this company?
• What is your typing speed in words per minute?

Interviewers may benefit from an interview scoring sheet. It can include ratings for answers and space for notes to make the interview process fair and objective.

6. Plan for the logistics

Whether you conduct in-person or video interviews, choose a quiet, private location that provides enough space for all participants. Consider offering multiple time slots, and be flexible while candidates schedule interviews. You might also write an agenda for each interview. Here’s an example:

• Greetings and introductions from the participants
• Interview questions
• Questions from the candidate
• Tour of the facility (for in-person interviews)
• Computer-based skills test
• Communicating next steps in the hiring process

7. Establish scheduling and communication methods

Applicant tracking software (ATS) often features scheduling and communication tools to automate these steps. Identify when and how you’d like to communicate with candidates. Examples include:

• Call or email to schedule an interview
• Text or email interview reminder
• Follow-up call to share interview results

8. Review the interview results

Reviewing the information quickly after the interview can help you determine which candidates have the necessary skills or experience for your open position. It can also be a good time to add notes about your interaction and things you observed about their communication style or skills that aren’t apparent from their resume.

9. Conduct additional screening procedures

For some positions, you might conduct pre-employment testing to assess hard and soft skills. The screening process can also include license verifications, background checks, employment verifications and reference checks.

10. Meet as a team to select a candidate

If several employees are involved in your hiring process, consider scheduling a meeting with all interviewers to compare rubrics, score sheets and notes about each candidate. You may notice consistent or differing opinions, which require further discussions about each candidate’s skills, how they may add to your company culture and their long-term potential with your company.

11. Extend a job offer

When you make your final decision, finalize the details of the job offer, including the salary, benefits and start date. Express your appreciation for their interest in your company and potentially list some reasons for your decision. You might also include a deadline for accepting or declining the offer.

Job interview checklist for employers

Before the interview

Identify interview stages

[ ] Define the number and type of interviews (phone screen, video, in-person)

Clarify candidate criteria

[ ] List essential qualifications, certifications and skills

[ ] Decide how many candidates to screen and hire

Choose an interview format

[ ] Select formats like video call, pre-recorded video, panel or group interview

[ ] Set expectations for time, structure and number of questions

Designate the selection committee

[ ] Assign roles to HR, hiring managers and team members

[ ] Ensure diverse input to reduce bias

Develop interview questions

[ ] Prepare standard and role-specific questions

[ ] Use a scoring sheet with space for ratings and notes

Plan interview logistics

[ ] Book a quiet location or set up a video link

[ ] Prepare a clear agenda including introductions, questions, candidate Q&A and next steps

[ ] Offer flexible scheduling options

Establish communication methods

[ ] Use email, phone or text to send invites, reminders and follow-ups

[ ] Consider using applicant tracking software to streamline communications

During the interview

Follow the agenda

[ ] Begin with introductions

[ ] Ask prepared questions and record answers

[ ] Leave time for candidate questions

[ ] Include a facility tour or skills test if applicable

Maintain consistency

[ ] Use the same questions and scoring system for each candidate

After the Interview

Review interview results

[ ] Compare notes and scores soon after each interview

[ ] Discuss discrepancies and align on candidate strengths

Meet to select a candidate

[ ] Use interview data to reach a group decision

Extend a job offer

[ ] Confirm salary, benefits and start date

[ ] Send an offer with a deadline to accept or decline

Frequently asked questions about interview checklists

How do you know if your interview checklist is effective?

Requesting feedback from the hiring managers who use the interviewing checklist can determine how easy the list is to use. You might also receive suggestions on how to improve the template. The company’s hiring metrics might provide information on the checklist’s effectiveness and how well it helps your team make hiring decisions.

How do interview checklists help support inclusive hiring?

Interview checklists can help standardize the hiring process by defining interview rounds and questions to ask every candidate. Using the same assessment methods with each candidate helps create a fair evaluation process without bias.