Assessment Resources
The assessment stage helps you gather direct, role-relevant evidence from candidates.
Structured interviews allow candidates to describe how they have approached situations in the past. Job simulations provide an opportunity to observe how candidates organize information, make decisions and communicate in a realistic scenario.
These tools can be used separately or together, depending on the role and the competencies being assessed.
Estimated completion time: up to ~30 minutes each.
Before you begin
Determine which competencies still require assessment and select the most appropriate method for gathering that evidence.
Structured interviews are useful for exploring examples from a candidate’s experience and understanding how they approached previous situations. Job simulations are useful when you need to observe how someone organizes information, communicates, prioritizes or makes decisions in a role-relevant scenario.
Use the same core questions, instructions, time limits and scoring criteria for every candidate completing the same assessment. Interviewers and assessors should review the materials and scoring approach before the first candidate begins.
Assessments should be relevant to the role, reasonable in length and designed to evaluate identified competencies—not personality, similarity to the existing team or personal preference.
For the most effective experience, complete these tools in order or select the tool that best matches your current needs.
Run Structured Interviews
Conduct competency-based interviews using consistent questions and scoring criteria. Use this tool when you're 1) candidates have been shortlisted, 2) interviewing multiple candidates for the same role, 3) assessing competencies that can be demonstrated through examples and discussion, and/or 4) more information is required following application review.
What this tool does
- Helps you ask each candidate the same core questions.
- Connects interview questions to the competencies required for the role.
- Supports more reliable comparisons between candidates.
- Provides a structured way to record evidence and scores.
What you will do
- Choose or create competency-based questions.
- Ask candidates the same core questions.
- Use follow-up prompts to gather sufficient detail.
- Evaluate responses using consistent scoring criteria.
Use a Job Simulation
Observe how candidates approach a short task or situation that reflects the work of the role. Use this tool when you're 1) additional evidence is needed after interviews, 2) important competencies are difficult to assess through questions alone, 3) candidates have demonstrated similar interview performance, and/or 4) the role involves practical decision-making, prioritization, communication or problem-solving.
What this tool does
- Helps you assess how candidates organize tasks, interpret information and make decisions.
- Provides direct evidence of competencies that may be difficult to assess through conversation alone.
- Creates a consistent scenario that can be used with multiple candidates.
What you will do
- Create or select a short, role-relevant scenario.
- Give each candidate the same instructions and preparation time.
- Ask candidates to explain or demonstrate their approach.
- Observe how they organize information, make decisions and communicate.
Information to have ready
You can begin without all of this information but having it available will make the process easier and help produce a more accurate result. This includes (but is not limited to) the following:
- The priority competencies being assessed, as per the previous steps
- The evidence already collected during application review.
- A list of competencies that require further exploration.
- Clear candidate instructions.
- The expected length of each activity.
- Examples of weak, acceptable and strong evidence, where appropriate.
- Interview or assessment scorecards for each candidate.
- The timeline and responsibility for making the final decision.
The two tools above will help with creating a consistent and structured assessment of each candidate, including both interviews and role simulations (if needed). The criteria for both should be based on the previous steps within our Competency Match program.
Note that a job simulation should reflect a realistic aspect of the role without asking candidates to complete unpaid productive work. Keep the exercise focused, provide clear instructions and assess only the competencies identified in advance.
Next Step: Final Review
Review the evidence gathered through application review, interviews and simulations together. Avoid relying on a single score or interaction where several forms of relevant evidence are available.
Document the reasons for the final decision and retain hiring information in accordance with your organization’s policies.
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