Prepare and run an interview
When to use
You're preparing to interview candidates for a role.
What you'll get
A structured interview guide with behavioral questions, scoring rubrics per capability, and flags for when first-impression bias is most likely to distort judgment.
The prompt
I'm interviewing candidates for [ROLE]. The capabilities that matter most for success: [LIST 3-5 KEY CAPABILITIES].
Two things that reliably undermine interview accuracy:
- First impressions formed in the opening minutes — warmth, confidence, attractiveness, similarity to people we already like — predict interview ratings far more than they predict actual job performance. Asking the same questions in the same order for every candidate, and scoring before moving on, significantly reduces this.
- Once we form a positive or negative impression early, we unconsciously look for evidence that confirms it for the rest of the conversation. Pre-defined rubrics — knowing in advance what a strong vs. weak answer looks like — are the main defense.
Design a structured interview guide with: one behavioral question per capability ("tell me about a time when..."), a specific rubric for strong / adequate / weak answers for each, a flag for the moments when first-impression bias is most likely to distort judgment, and a scoring sheet to complete before discussing with other interviewers.Why this prompt works
The rubric requirement is the most important element. Without pre-defined criteria, post-interview discussion is dominated by overall impression rather than evidence.
The psychology behind this
The Halo Effect
Read the full experiment →20_halo_effect.mdThin Slices
Read the full experiment →46_thin_slices.mdConfirmation Bias
Read the full experiment →51_confirmation_bias.md