Template

Job interview template

A structured hour: their story, the job's hardest problem, and their questions.

60 minutesFor Hiring managers and interview panelsAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. How the hour will run3 min
    • Is there anything you need from us before we start?
  2. Their background, in their own words12 min
    • Tell me about the work you are proudest of.
    • What was your part in it, exactly?
  3. The hardest problem in this job15 min
    • Here is the hardest thing about this job. How would you start?
    • What would you want to know first?
  4. A worked example15 min
    • Talk me through a time you did something like this.
    • What would you do differently now?
  5. Their questions for us10 min
    • What do you want to ask us?
  6. What happens next and when5 min
    • Say when they will hear, and from whom.

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Their background. Led a team of four rebuilding a billing system; wrote the migration plan herself.

The hardest problem. Asked first who the customers are and what breaks most often, before proposing anything.

Their questions. Wanted to know how decisions get made when product and engineering disagree.

Next. An answer by Friday, from Maya.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Thirty-minute first conversationBackground, one question about the hardest part of the job, and their questions. Leave the worked example for the next round.
Panel of threeGive each interviewer one part of the agenda, so the candidate is not asked the same thing three times.
Work-sample roundSwap the worked example for a small real task, and say beforehand how it will be judged.

When to skip it. When you already know the answer is no. Tell the candidate, rather than run an hour for the sake of it.

Questions

What is a structured interview?

One where every candidate for the job is asked the same core questions in the same order, and the answers are compared afterwards. It is the fairest way to interview.

Does Meetful score candidates?

No. It writes down what was said and who said it. The judgement stays with the people in the room.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

New hire 30-day check-inA month in: what makes sense, what does not, and what they need to do the job properly.Exit interviewWith somebody who is leaving: why, what would have changed their mind, and what the company should fix.Interview debriefAfter the interviews: each interviewer's view, written before the meeting, and a clear yes or no at the end.Project kickoffWhy the project exists, what done means, and who owns what — agreed on day one.Sprint retrospectiveWhat went well, what did not, and the one or two changes you will actually make.Sprint planningOne goal for the sprint, the work that serves it, and who takes what.Board meetingHighlights, the numbers, the asks, and the votes — in that order.Client check-inWhat changed, how it is going against the goals you agreed, and what is next.

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