How to Conduct a Job Interview: Questions and Process for Companies

A good interview is above all prepared and structured. Clarify in advance what skills the position requires, prepare the same set of questions for all candidates (a mix of behavioral and competency questions), take notes, and evaluate according to predetermined criteria. This way you'll get comparable results, make fairer decisions, and reduce the risk that first impressions mislead you.

An interview is a two-way test: you learn about the candidate, and the candidate learns about you and your company. If you wing it, you risk hasty decisions, incomparable impressions of different people, and in the worst case, crossing legal boundaries with an inappropriate question. This guide will walk you through the entire process from preparation to final decision.

Preparation: the foundation of a successful interview

Most mistakes happen before the candidate even walks through the door. Before you start inviting people to interviews, clarify:

What you really need from the candidate — list the key skills and qualities the candidate must have, and separate them from those that are "nice to have."
How you'll evaluate — prepare simple criteria or a rating scale so you measure everyone by the same standard.
Who participates in the interview — who asks questions, who takes notes, who decides.
A set of questions — prepare them in advance and ask the same ones to all candidates for the role.

Before you sit down with a specific person, read their resume again and note what you want to ask about. Nothing looks worse than an interviewer opening the CV for the first time at the table.

Interview structure step by step

A solid structure helps you not forget anything important and makes it easier to compare candidates. A proven approach:

Introduction and ice-breaker (a few minutes). Introduce yourself and the company, explain how the interview will proceed and how long it will take. A relaxed atmosphere will show you the candidate in a better light than stress.
Questions about experience and skills (main part). This is where behavioral and competency questions come in (see below). Let the candidate talk and ask for details.
Present the position and company. Describe the job duties, the team, expectations, and what the company offers. Be honest — a distorted picture will backfire during the trial period.
Space for the candidate's questions. Quality questions reveal a lot about how well the candidate prepared and what matters to them.
Closing. Say what the next steps are and when you'll get back to them. Then stick to the deadline.

Rule: listen more than you speak

A good interviewer speaks for the minority of the time. When you talk, you don't learn anything new about the candidate. Ask open-ended questions and let silence work — pauses often prompt the candidate to add valuable details.

Behavioral questions: how the candidate behaved in the past

Behavioral questions are based on the assumption that the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. You ask about specific situations, not hypotheticals. Avoid asking "How would you handle conflict in a team?" and instead ask "Tell me about a time you had a conflict in your team — what happened and how did you resolve it?".

The STAR method is useful for evaluating answers:

S (Situation) — what was the situation and context?
T (Task) — what was the task or goal?
A (Action) — what specifically did the candidate do?
R (Result) — how did it turn out and what did they learn from it?

If the candidate speaks generally ("we resolved it"), ask about their own role. Example questions:

"Think of a time when you missed a deadline. How did you handle it?"
"Describe a case where you had to convince colleagues of your opinion."
"When did you make a mistake at work and what happened next?"

Competency questions: can they do what we need?

While behavioral questions focus on past behavior, competency questions target specific skills needed for the role. For technical positions, this also includes a brief practical demonstration or sample task.

For technical positions, assign a small sample task that reflects the actual work.
For management positions, ask about leading people, prioritization, and conflict resolution.
For customer-facing positions, assess communication, patience, and handling objections.

A sample task should be proportionate — a few minutes or a brief assignment, not an unpaid project for the entire weekend.

Evaluating candidates: how to decide fairly

To base your decision on facts rather than mood, follow a few principles:

Take notes during the interview, not after. Memory is unreliable and after five interviews everything blurs together.
Evaluate according to predetermined criteria and ideally use a simple scale (e.g., 1–5) for each key area.
Evaluate each candidate separately before comparing results. This prevents the first candidate from "setting the bar" for everyone else.
Meet together if there were multiple interviewers and compare notes before you influence each other with discussion.

The goal is for your decision to be backed by specific answers and criteria — not by the statement "they just didn't fit."

Common interviewer mistakes

Even experienced interviewers fall into mistakes that distort results:

Halo effect — one strong quality (appealing appearance, good school) overshadows everything else.
Similarity effect — we unconsciously favor people who are like us. This is a trap from a team diversity perspective too.
Leading questions — "You must be good at working under pressure, right?" directly tells the candidate the correct answer.
You talk more than the candidate and leave feeling it was a great interview, even though you learned nothing.
Relying only on first impression from the first few seconds and spending the rest of the interview just seeking confirmation.
No preparation — you improvise and ask each candidate something different, so they can't be compared.

How not to ask discriminatory questions and decide fairly

An interview should revolve around the ability to do the job, not the candidate's personal circumstances. In general, avoid questions about things unrelated to the work that could lead to unequal treatment — typically:

age and marital status,
plans for children and pregnancy,
health status (except health fitness directly required for the job),
religion, nationality, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.

Rules in Czech Republic are primarily governed by anti-discrimination law and the Labor Code. Since interpretation and details can change, it's best to verify the current wording or consult with an HR professional or lawyer for a specific case — don't rely on "what's usually done."

Practical principles for fair decision-making:

Ask about the job, not personal life. Instead of "Do you have small children?" ask "Does the working hours for this position suit you?".
The same set of questions for everyone in the role makes comparison easier and limits arbitrary decisions.
Decide based on criteria you can explain and document.
Be consistent across candidates and interview rounds.

How AI can help with position visibility

Before interviews even happen, the right people need to learn about your position. Candidates today increasingly don't just search job boards — they ask AI assistants directly: "Find me a remote accounting job near Brno." If your job posting isn't in a source that AI can read, a smart candidate might not see it at all.

That's where the free platform AssetLog (assetlog.ai) helps. A company posts an open position there, the data is structured (position, location, employment type, seniority), and the site lets AI crawlers in — so assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini can find and recommend it to a candidate asking about similar work. In ChatGPT or Claude, you can connect AssetLog as a Custom Connector using the address https://api.assetlog.ai/mcp and ask the assistant to add the position. It's free, AI indexing requires no registration, and publishing is confirmed by email. A larger and higher-quality pool of candidates at the start gives you better material for the interview itself.

Summary: interviewer checklist

Clarified skills the position really requires
Pre-prepared, identical set of questions for all candidates
Rating criteria or scale written down in advance
Mix of behavioral (STAR) and competency questions
Notes during the interview, evaluate each candidate separately
No questions about personal matters unrelated to the job
Clearly communicated next steps and met response deadline

When you prepare your interview and conduct it in a structured way, you save time, make fairer decisions, and most importantly greatly increase your chances of selecting someone who will truly fit your team.

Frequently asked questions

How long should an interview last?

For a first round, 45 to 60 minutes is usually enough. Shorter than half an hour typically doesn't leave room to know the candidate deeply, and longer than an hour and a half exhausts both sides. More important than length is structure — make sure you have time for your questions and the candidate's questions.

What's the difference between a behavioral and a competency question?

A behavioral question asks about a specific past situation ("Tell me about a time when…") and is based on the assumption that past behavior best predicts future behavior. A competency question targets a specific skill or ability needed for the role. In practice, the two often overlap.

What can't I ask according to the law?

In general, avoid questions unrelated to job performance that could lead to discrimination — typically age, marital status, plans for children, pregnancy, health status, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. Rules are governed by anti-discrimination law and the Labor Code; for specific cases, it's worth verifying current wording or consulting with an expert.

Is it better to conduct the interview alone or with two people?

Two interviewers reduce the risk of subjective bias and one can focus on questions while the other takes notes. For senior positions, multi-round meetings with different people are common. For simpler roles, one experienced interviewer usually suffices.

How do I give feedback to a candidate I won't hire?

Respond within a reasonable timeframe, thank them for their time, and convey your decision briefly and respectfully. If the candidate wants specific feedback, give them a substantive and concrete reason tied to the job requirements. Rejection with respect protects your company's reputation.

Can AI assistants help with recruitment?

Yes, mainly on the side of job visibility. When a company posts a position on the free platform AssetLog (assetlog.ai), the listing is structured and open to AI crawlers, so assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini can find and recommend it to a candidate asking about similar work. But you still conduct the interview yourself.