Building your interview process
Creating an effective interview process requires careful planning and structure. A well-designed process helps you evaluate candidates thoroughly while respecting their time and providing a positive experience.
Design your interview stages
Dover recommends limiting your process to 4 key phases for optimal efficiency:
Phone screen
Duration: 30 minutes
Purpose: Initial qualification and mutual interest assessment
Key areas to cover:
Candidate motivation and career goals
Interest in company and role
Role-specific experience
Logistics (compensation, timeline)
Second conversation
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Purpose: Deep dive into experience and role selling
Focus areas:
Detailed experience exploration
Role expectations and responsibilities
Team structure and company goals
Career growth opportunities
Skills assessment
Duration: 1-2 hours
Format options:
Take-home project
Live technical exercise
Pair programming session
Best practices:
Keep time commitment reasonable
Offer clarification calls
Make assignments relevant to role
Provide clear evaluation criteria
Final interview round
Duration: 1-4 hours
Components:
Role-specific technical evaluation
Behavioral interviews
Team social interaction
Hiring manager deep dive
Company culture discussion
Creating effective assessments
Skills assessments are crucial for evaluating a candidate's capabilities in action. The key is designing assessments that are both meaningful and respectful of the candidate's time.
Assessment design principles
Map directly to job responsibilities
Limit time commitment to 2 hours maximum
Provide clear instructions and expectations
Include resources candidates can reference
Offer opportunity for questions
Assessment formats
Live technical exercises
Take-home projects
Case studies
Role-playing scenarios
Portfolio reviews
Evaluation framework
Consistent evaluation criteria ensure fair assessment across all candidates and help teams make data-driven hiring decisions. Here's how to structure your evaluation process.
Creating interview scorecards
Define clear evaluation criteria
Use consistent rating scales
Document specific examples
Include both technical and behavioral components
Rating methods
1-5 numerical scale
Level-based assessment (Basic/Proficient/Expert)
Yes/No hiring recommendation
Strengths and growth areas
Key evaluation areas
Role-specific technical skills
Problem-solving ability
Communication skills
Culture alignment
Leadership potential (if applicable)
Best practices for success
Success in interviewing comes from both thorough evaluation and creating a positive candidate experience. These best practices will help you achieve both goals.
Communication guidelines
Set clear expectations upfront
Provide interviewer names and roles
Give prompt feedback after each stage
Maintain consistent contact throughout
Interview team preparation
Share candidate materials in advance
Assign specific focus areas
Use standardized question banks
Document feedback promptly
Candidate experience
Keep process length reasonable
Offer flexible scheduling
Provide detailed preparation guides
Create opportunities for questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should the entire interview process take?
Aim to complete the process within 2-3 weeks to maintain candidate engagement and compete effectively for top talent.
Should we include take-home assignments?
Take-home assignments can be valuable if they're relevant, time-boxed, and well-designed. Consider offering live assessment alternatives.
How many interviewers should be involved?
Research shows diminishing returns after 4-5 interviewers. Focus on quality of interactions rather than quantity.
What's the best way to make the final decision?
Hold a structured debrief meeting with all interviewers, review scorecard data, and make decisions based on predetermined criteria rather than general impressions.