Start with relevant skills
Agree a small set of skills the interview can illuminate. For customer service, these might include clarifying requests, prioritizing cases and explaining solutions.
Define the level required on entry and what can be learned. French Labour Code rules connect requested information to the job and professional abilities; avoid unrelated personal questions.
Ask for concrete examples
Ask about a situation, the person’s actions and the outcome. Neutral follow-ups clarify their role and choices rather than steering toward a preferred answer.
For early-career applicants, training and project examples may be relevant. France Travail describes preparation, conducting the interview and analysis as connected parts of the process.
Use a common foundation without rigidity
Keep common themes for the same vacancy while exploring individual experience. This helps prevent one applicant being assessed on an essential skill that another was never asked about.
Leave time for applicants’ questions and explain the process and any exercises. A recruitment exercise should be proportionate and should not become unpaid work on a real business project.
An adaptable scorecard
This fictional customer-service example is an organizational aid, not a scientifically validated assessment or automatic ranking method.
- Not assessed: insufficient information was collected.
- Explore further: the example or contribution remains unclear.
- Expected level observed: evidence matches the agreed requirement.
- Beyond expected: additional evidence, without automatically compensating for an essential missing requirement.
| Criterion | Possible question | Evidence to record |
|---|---|---|
| Clarification | Describe an initially unclear request. | Questions, reformulation and confirmation. |
| Prioritization | How would you handle two urgent requests? | Criteria, constraints and communication. |
| Explanation | Describe a difficult solution to communicate. | Vocabulary and checking understanding. |
| Cooperation | When did you involve another team? | Context, useful handover and follow-up. |
Separate facts and impressions
Recording three prioritization criteria is different from saying someone seems organized. Link interpretations to the evidence that produced them.
Do not penalize an unasked question as a missing skill. Record uncertainty and decide whether follow-up is needed. Notes contain personal data and are subject to GDPR requirements, including access, accuracy and retention.
Debrief before one opinion dominates
Have reviewers prepare individual feedback before discussion. Compare criteria and evidence, then identify whether disagreements concern facts or expectations.
Averaging scores can conceal incompatible assumptions. A scorecard supports consistency but does not guarantee freedom from bias or replace human judgment.
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Record
Write observations and uncertainties individually.
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Compare
Review shared criteria and available evidence.
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Clarify
Discuss disagreements and missing information.
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Decide
Prepare the conclusion and candidate feedback.
Connect the interview to aiKip
aiKip connects interviews and feedback to applications. Assisted preparation can suggest points to explore, which recruiters should review and adapt.
AI suggestions do not establish facts about a person. The example scorecard here helps prepare your method; it is not a promise of automatic template import.
Improve the method over time
Review questions that produce little useful information and criteria that reviewers struggle to distinguish. If criteria change during a process, consider comparability for applicants already interviewed.
Check whether someone can later understand why a conclusion was reached. Clear evidence supports both internal decisions and useful candidate feedback.
Frequently asked questions
Are structured interviews impersonal?
No. Common themes leave room for listening and individual experience while preventing important omissions.
Should all scores be added together?
Not necessarily. First understand the evidence and essential requirements; a total may conceal uncertainty.
Can AI assess applicants for us?
aiKip assists reading and preparation. Recruiters verify information, conduct conversations and make decisions.