Karim Recruitment & Advisory

Hiring Advice

Why structured interviews lead to better hires

17 October 2026 · 6 min read

Assessment research is clear: structure beats intuition. A practical guide for hiring managers.

Unstructured interviews feel natural, but they are one of the weakest predictors of performance.

A structured interview asks every candidate the same core questions, linked to the competencies the role really needs, and scores answers against a shared scale.

Start by defining four to six competencies. For each, write one behavioural question ("Tell me about a time…") and agree in advance what a strong answer looks like.

The result is fairer for candidates, easier to compare, and much more predictive.

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