| name | interview-question-bank |
| description | Creates role-specific interview question banks with behavioral, situational, and technical categories for structured hiring interviews. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Interview Question Bank
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Build a role-specific interview question bank organized by category
- Create behavioral, situational, and technical questions for a hiring interview
- Design questions that reveal real competency versus rehearsed answers
- Standardize interview questions across multiple interviewers or hiring rounds
DO NOT use this skill for hiring scorecards (use hiring-scorecard), job descriptions, or interview scheduling. This is for creating the questions themselves.
Core Principle
THE BEST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REVEAL HOW A CANDIDATE ACTUALLY BEHAVES, NOT HOW WELL THEY INTERVIEW — BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS ABOUT PAST ACTIONS PREDICT FUTURE PERFORMANCE BETTER THAN HYPOTHETICALS.
Phase 1: Role Requirements
Define what the questions need to assess.
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Role title | "What role are you hiring for?" | No default |
| Key competencies | "What are the top 3-5 skills or traits this role requires?" | No default |
| Employment type | "Full-time, part-time, or contractor?" | Contractor |
| Interview stages | "How many interview rounds? (screen, technical, final)" | 2 rounds |
| Culture priorities | "What working style or values matter most?" | Self-starter, communicative |
| Deal-breakers | "What would immediately disqualify a candidate?" | No default |
GATE: Confirm competencies before building the question bank.
Phase 2: Build Question Bank
Create categorized questions mapped to competencies.
Question Categories
Behavioral Questions (STAR format):
Ask about past behavior. Best predictor of future behavior.
Format: "Tell me about a time when..."
Situational Questions:
Present a hypothetical relevant to the role.
Format: "How would you handle..."
Technical/Skill Questions:
Test specific knowledge or ability.
Format: "Walk me through..." or practical assessment.
Culture/Values Questions:
Assess working style and alignment.
Format: "Describe your ideal..." or "What matters most to you about..."
Question Bank Template
## Interview Question Bank: [Role Title]
---
### Competency 1: [Competency Name]
**Behavioral:**
1. "Tell me about a time you [relevant scenario]. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the result?"
- *Listen for:* [Specific evidence of competency]
- *Red flag:* [Vague answers, blame-shifting, no measurable outcome]
2. "Describe a situation where [challenge related to competency]. How did you handle it?"
- *Listen for:* [What good looks like]
- *Red flag:* [What bad looks like]
**Situational:**
3. "Imagine you are [scenario relevant to role]. What would your approach be?"
- *Listen for:* [Structured thinking, relevant tools/methods]
- *Red flag:* [No framework, just buzzwords]
**Technical:**
4. "[Role-specific skill question or mini-task]"
- *Listen for:* [Depth of knowledge, practical application]
- *Red flag:* [Surface-level answers, cannot explain reasoning]
---
### Competency 2: [Competency Name]
**Behavioral:**
5. "Tell me about a time you [scenario]."
- *Listen for:* [Evidence]
- *Red flag:* [Warning sign]
...
---
### Culture Fit
**Values:**
9. "Describe your ideal working relationship with a manager or client."
- *Listen for:* Alignment with your management style and communication norms
10. "What does accountability look like to you?"
- *Listen for:* Ownership mindset, proactive communication about challenges
11. "When you disagree with a decision, what do you do?"
- *Listen for:* Constructive pushback, willingness to commit after discussion
---
### Closing Questions
12. "What questions do you have for me about the role or the business?"
- *Listen for:* Thoughtful questions that show research and genuine interest
- *Red flag:* No questions, or only questions about pay and time off
13. "Is there anything we did not cover that you want me to know?"
- *Listen for:* Self-awareness, relevant strengths they want to highlight
GATE: Present the question bank for review.
Phase 3: Interview Guide
Organize questions into interview stages.
Stage-by-Stage Question Assignment
## Interview Flow
### Stage 1: Screen (20-30 min)
**Goal:** Confirm basic fit, motivation, and availability
**Questions:**
- [Culture question 1]
- [Behavioral question for top competency]
- [Logistical questions: availability, rate, start date]
- [Closing question]
### Stage 2: Deep Dive (45-60 min)
**Goal:** Assess core competencies in depth
**Questions:**
- [Behavioral question for competency 1]
- [Behavioral question for competency 2]
- [Situational question]
- [Technical question or mini-task]
- [Culture question 2]
- [Closing question]
### Stage 3: Final (30 min) — if applicable
**Goal:** Validate decision, address remaining concerns
**Questions:**
- [Situational question for remaining competency]
- [Questions addressing any concerns from previous rounds]
- [Candidate's questions about the role]
STAR Assessment Guide
Train interviewers to listen for all four STAR elements:
## STAR Response Evaluation
| Element | What to Listen For | If Missing |
|---------|-------------------|-----------|
| **Situation** | Specific context — when, where, what was happening | Ask: "Can you set the scene?" |
| **Task** | Their specific role or responsibility | Ask: "What was your role?" |
| **Action** | What THEY did (not the team) | Ask: "What specifically did YOU do?" |
| **Result** | Measurable outcome | Ask: "What was the result? Any numbers?" |
Phase 4: Maintain
Keep the question bank relevant and effective.
Post-Interview Calibration
After each hire, review:
- Which questions best predicted the candidate's actual performance?
- Which questions did not differentiate between candidates?
- Are any questions getting rehearsed answers? (Retire and replace them)
Question Bank Updates
- Add new questions when new competencies become important
- Retire questions that every candidate answers the same way
- Refresh situational questions with current, relevant scenarios
- Review annually for legal compliance (avoid questions about protected characteristics)
Legal Guardrails
Never ask about:
- Age, marital status, children, or family planning
- Religion, national origin, or immigration status
- Health conditions or disabilities
- Arrest record (conviction may be asked in some jurisdictions)
- Any protected characteristic not relevant to job performance
Anti-Patterns
- Leading questions — "You are a self-starter, right?" telegraphs the answer. Ask "Tell me about a time you identified and solved a problem without being asked."
- Hypothetical-only interviews — "What would you do if..." reveals idealized behavior. "What did you do when..." reveals actual behavior.
- Same questions for every role — a developer and a marketer need different questions. Customize to the competencies.
- Not listening for red flags — candidates who say "we" for everything may be taking credit for team work. Probe for individual contribution.
- Asking too many questions — depth on 5-6 questions beats surface coverage of 15. Allow follow-up probing.
Recovery
- All candidates give similar answers: The questions are too common. Add role-specific scenarios or mini-tasks that require demonstration, not just description.
- Interviewer is not sure what "good" looks like: Define the ideal answer for each question before the interview. Compare responses against that standard.
- User is hiring for the first time: Start with 3 behavioral questions + 2 culture questions + 1 closing question. That is enough for a strong 30-minute screen.
- Candidate gives short answers: Prompt with "Can you walk me through that in more detail?" or "What happened next?" Use silence — most people will fill it.
- User needs to assess a skill that is hard to interview for: Add a paid trial task or short project. Real work reveals more than any question.
