1.4Conduct a recruitment interview
The essentials in 30 seconds
- STAR framework for all: same behavioral questions (Situation, Task, Action, Result) + work samples — comparable and more predictive.
- 70% listening: framed welcome, silences and prompts, position pitched honestly — score during, decide after.
- Scored decision: shared grid, references checked with consent, replies to all within announced times.
Running case — Amira runs STAR interviews
Amira invites her short list (1.3) with the same framework for all: «tell me about a sale you nearly lost» (STAR), a field work sample, then the honest pitch of the position and its constraints. She listens, scores during, bans any off-skill question — and decides on grid with the manager, references checked with consent.
Continues the 1.1-1.3 case — Amira assesses proven behaviors.
1. Prepare: the same framework for all
The same questions for all guarantee comparability: STAR questions (Situation, Task, Action, Result — «tell me about a difficult sale») and work samples («what do you do if…»). Proven past predicts better than claimed qualities («I am tenacious»).
Forbidden questions are banned: anything touching private life or an off-position criterion is off-topic. Written framework = comparable and legal.
2. Run, then decide
70% listening: welcome (position, agenda, duration), owned silences, prompts («give me an example»), honest pitch of the position and its constraints (candidates who discover them leave within months). Score during, decide after: memory flatters.
Decision on a shared grid, references checked with the candidate's consent, replies to all within announced times (motivated yes, respectful no + pool). A dragging process loses the good ones: slowness is a competitor.
The sober interview blooper reel (do not reproduce)
Moral: written framework, real listening, grid and reply — the rest is theater.
🔎 Concrete example — STAR that really reveals
Amira's question and a good answer.
«Tell me about a sale you nearly lost».
S: key account at risk | T: save the contract in 1 week.
A: visits + gesture + follow-up | R: signed + 2-year loyalty.
→ proven behaviors, not promises.Result: real skill shows in the lived example.
Reflex: probe CV gaps without judging, listen first.
Section vocabulary
- Structured interview
- A prepared interview following a framework shared by all, for fair, predictive assessment.
Simple example: Amira's STAR framework asked of each candidate.
What it is not: a free chat, different with each.
Reflex: same framework, same criteria, for all.
- STAR method
- Questioning through concrete examples: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Simple example: «Tell me about a nearly lost sale: situation, task, action, result».
What it is not: «are you tenacious?» (claimed quality, unverifiable).
Reflex: always demand a lived example and probe.
- Behavioral question
- A question inviting a lived situation to assess real skills.
Simple example: «What do you do when a client threatens to leave?».
What it is not: a theoretical question with no lived content.
Reflex: lived past predicts better than promises.
- Assessment grid
- A form scoring each candidate on the same criteria after the interview.
Simple example: Amira scores each STAR on the shared grid with the manager.
What it is not: deciding from memory, on gut feeling, after the fact.
Reflex: score during, compare after.
- Discriminatory question
- A question unrelated to the position touching private life or a protected criterion; to ban.
Simple example: Asking about pregnancy, religion, health or opinions.
What it is not: asking about a position constraint worded through the position.
Reflex: off-skill = off-topic.
In practice — Run a structured interview
- Prepare: re-read CV and description, set the shared framework (STAR + work sample).
- Ask about lived situations and probe (examples, actions, results).
- Listen (70%), score factually, pitch the position honestly.
- Assess on a shared grid; no private-life or protected-criterion question.
Ready-to-say script — open the interview (1 min)
«Welcome. The position: inside sales, 60% prospecting — I will pitch it honestly, constraints included. Agenda: 3 identical questions for all about your experience, then your questions. I take notes during. We reply within announced times. Let us start: tell me about a sale you nearly lost.»
Framework set, agenda announced, note-taking owned.
Copy-paste template — interview framework + grid
CANDIDATE: _______________ | DATE: _______________
Q1 STAR: _______________ | SCORE: ___
Q2 WORK SAMPLE: _______________ | SCORE: ___
POSITION PITCHED (missions, constraints): _______________
REFERENCES (with consent): _______________
DECISION (grid, not memory): _______________Small business / tight budget
One-page framework + grid: even with no HR, the owner compares instead of improvising.
Algiers SME
Amira plans 2 short interviews rather than one long: STAR then field, decision by two.
Juniors / apprentices
STAR on internships, jobs, volunteering: lived experience counts, not only employment.
Executive / manager
Add a managerial work sample («team in conflict, what do you do?») scored on grid.
✓ Best practices
- Ask the same STAR questions to all.
- Listen 70%: silences, prompts, notes during.
- Decide on grid, within announced times.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Forbidden questions (private life, protected criteria).
- Company monologue (80% of speaking time).
- Deciding on gut feeling, replying two months later.
Key takeaways
- Structured (shared framework) is fairer and more predictive.
- STAR: assess on concrete examples, not promises.
- Listen, probe, score factually on grid.
- Only position-related questions, never private life.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Run your next interview with the shared STAR framework (template above): 70% listening, notes during, no off-skill question.
- I can name STAR and explain it in one sentence.
- I can ban any off-skill question.
- I ran 1 interview on framework + grid.
Frequently asked questions
Why is structured better than free chat?
Because free chat is unfair (different questions, resemblance bias) and unreliable (likeability poorly predicts success). Structured — shared framework, behavioral questions, grid — assesses all on the same bases and real skills: better decisions, less discrimination.
Which questions are forbidden?
General rule: only position- and skill-related questions. Banned: private life and protected criteria (family status and plans for children, origin, religion, opinions, orientation, health…). If a constraint exists (travel, hours), address it through the position, never through private life. The exact list depends on each country's law.
In an interview, a candidate is asked about plans for children and religion. Verdict?