What is a role-play interview?

When you conduct a role-play interview, you present the interviewee with a job-specific scenario and ask them to act out how they would handle it. Most scenarios used in this type of interview involve conflict or difficult situations the person might face on the job. The candidate usually gets at least a few minutes to prepare for the role-playing scenario, but this can depend on the complexity of the situation and what you’re asking them to do. You’ll typically pull in other employees or members of the interview team to play the other people in the scenario.

Benefits of role-play interviews

Why should you conduct a role-play interview? Here are some benefits to consider:

• Assess skills: With role-playing, you can see each candidate’s skills in action. This can give you a better idea of their skills than just having them describe what they can do.
• See interactions: Since a role-play interview typically involves people from your organization, you can get a glimpse of how the candidate interacts with them. You can also get feedback from those employees to see how they might add to the team.
• Handling pressure: Role-playing can be stressful for candidates, but this gives you a chance to see how well they perform under pressure. This can be especially important if the role is a high-pressure job.

Drawbacks of role-play interviews

There are some potential drawbacks to consider with role-play interviews. Some of those include:

• Time: It takes more time to set up the scenario and give the candidate time to prepare than it does to simply ask traditional interview questions.
• Candidate comfort: Some candidates might feel intimidated by the role-playing format. Going to an interview can cause enough anxiety. Knowing they have to act out situations can be overwhelming for some people. This could interfere with their performance.
• Limited scope: Some positions have a wide range of duties and potential scenarios, so it’s not possible to capture everything in a role-playing interview.

Interview role-play scenario examples

The interview role-play scenarios you create should relate directly to the position. They should describe a situation that allows the candidate to show their skills as they pertain to the position. Think about a job-specific scenario that would be difficult or force the person to perform their duties under pressure. Here are some interview role-play scenario examples:

• A marketing job candidate giving a marketing pitch to a difficult client
• A customer service manager diffusing a situation with an angry customer
• A chef talking with a restaurant customer with a food allergy who received food containing the allergen
• A teacher dealing with a child who won’t cooperate
• A manager mediating a conflict between two team members
• A salesperson overcoming objections from a prospective client
• A warehouse manager dealing with staff members ignoring safety protocols
• A recently promoted manager supervising former colleagues who are upset they didn’t get the promotion

What to look for in candidates

What should you look for during a role-playing interview? You want the candidate to show that they have the skills to handle the position. However, you can also look for soft skills that could help them within the role. This might include:

• Following the instruction you provide
• Paying attention to the details of the scenario you describe
• Showing professionalism throughout the scenario
• Displaying the ability to stay calm and work well under pressure
• Engaging in positive interactions with others in the scene
• Using industry and position-specific knowledge
• Showing confidence

How to use role-playing in interviews

If you’re ready to give a role-playing interview a try, these steps can help you get started.

1. Choose roles for this type of interview

You might not ask candidates for all positions to do a role-playing interview. It works well for jobs that interact with customers or clients extensively. Role-playing can also be useful for assessing candidates for supervisory roles.

2. Identify the skills you want to assess

Keeping the specific role in mind, determine what types of skills you want to assess. For a customer service position, you might want to assess their conflict management skills. If you’re hiring a salesperson, key skills might include negotiation and active listening.

Look at the job description to identify the key skills and duties for the position. Think about common situations the person will face in the role and what skills they would need to handle those scenarios successfully.

3. Create a scenario that incorporates those skills

Think of a situation that happens regularly in that position that would incorporate the skills you want to assess. If you’re not familiar with the day-to-day of that job, talk to the people who currently do it or the team leader for that position. They can help you brainstorm some realistic situations you can use for this interview exercise. The interview will be more effective if the scenario you choose is realistic.

4. Write details and instructions about the scenario

Set up the scenario for the candidate with plenty of details. Describe the setting and other people involved in the scene. Make the duties of the candidate in this situation very clear. For instance, if they’re dealing with an upset customer, are they the highest-ranking person on duty or is there a manager above them they could ask for help? You might ask current employees in that position for input to make sure the scenario details are accurate.

5. Develop assessment sheets

Creating an interview scoring or assessment sheet helps the interview team evaluate each candidate’s performance. If you’re looking for specific skills or responses, you might include those things on the evaluation sheet. You can also add general categories, such as preparation or calmness, that are important to the role. Leave space for comments and feedback so the interviewers can remember their thoughts.

6. Do a trial run

Practicing the role-playing scenario with your current employees helps you see how well it’ll work. You can get feedback from the people who participate so you can adjust the exercise and make it more effective.

Best practices for role-playing interviews

The following best practices can help improve the results from your role-playing interviews.

• Communicate with the candidate. Don’t spring a role-play interview on them when they arrive. Explain how you’ll conduct the interview and what they can expect when you schedule the interview.
• Put the candidate at ease. It’s not always easy for interviewees to act out scenarios in front of an interview committee. Welcome them and help them stay calm from the time they walk in the door or connect to the virtual interview .
• Provide detailed instructions. Go through the general expectations for the interview and the specific details of the scenario. Be as detailed and clear as possible so the candidates know what to expect.
• Encourage questions. Despite how detailed you are, the interviewees might have questions or need clarification. Ask them if they have any questions, and answer those questions thoroughly.
• Allow preparation time. This lets the candidates think through their past experiences and skills to offer the best possible performance. It can help them fully develop their strategies for the scenario. Plan to give them at least 5-10 minutes if they need it.
• Be sensitive to candidates being nervous. Being asked to perform in front of an interview panel can make candidates nervous. They might not perform to their full ability or show all of their skills.
• Be consistent. All candidates who make it to that point should be asked to go through the same role-playing scenario. This creates a consistent evaluation method that can help you make more objective hiring decisions.
• Assess in other ways. While role-playing can let you see a candidate’s skills in action, it can be helpful to use multiple methods to assess their suitability for the job.