# Interview question bank and debrief agenda
*Module 7, Lessons 2 and 6.*

## Build rule
Two questions and three probes per interview-stage competency. Every question traces to
a scorecard line — if it does not, delete it or add the competency it is really testing.

## Question types
| Type | Shape | Best for | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behavioural | "Tell me about a time you…" | Competencies with a track record | Heavily rehearsed |
| Situational | "What would you do if…" | Judgement, prioritisation | Measures stated intention |
| Work sample | A scaled-down version of the task | Actual capability | Costly; keep under an hour |

## Template — one per competency
**Competency:** ___________________
**What a 3 looks like:** ___________________

**Question 1:** ___________________
**Question 2:** ___________________

**Probes:**
- What did you try first, and why did that not work?
- Who disagreed with you, and what was their argument?
- What would you do differently?
- **What was the part you did personally, as opposed to the team?**

*That last probe is the most useful in behavioural interviewing. Rehearsed answers are
told in "we"; the probe forces a switch to "I".*

## Questions to strike
Anything touching family plans, age, health, religion, nationality or relationship
status — in most jurisdictions unlawful, and everywhere indefensible. **This includes
small talk**, which is where these questions almost always enter. Brief every
interviewer explicitly.

Also remove: greatest weakness, where do you see yourself in five years, why this
company. They measure preparation access, not capability.

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# Debrief agenda
*30 minutes. The recruiter facilitates and does not score.*

**Before the meeting:** every interviewer submits scores and evidence. Locked. Not
"please avoid discussing it beforehand" — locked.

1. **(2 min)** Facilitator restates the competencies and the bar. No opinions yet.
2. **(15 min)** Competency by competency. Where scores agree, move on. Spend the time
   on divergence. **Least senior speaks first** on each. Evidence before opinion.
3. **(5 min)** Decision against the bar, not against the other candidates.
4. **(5 min)** Record: decision, scores with evidence, and the substance of any
   material disagreement. Note what changed anyone's mind.

## Bias interrupts — use the exact words
- "What is the evidence for that?"
- "Is that about the job, or about the interview?"
- "Would we say that about a candidate with a different background?"
- "Which competency is that?"
- "Are we comparing them to the bar or to each other?"

**"Culture fit" is a stop signal.** Ask which competency. The objection either becomes
concrete or disappears — both are useful.