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Course 197 · Work course 67

Evaluate Candidates with a Structured Interview

Practice evaluate candidates with a structured interview with supplied workplace records, concrete methods, worked decisions and a changed-case test.

Before you start

Paper or a local document is sufficient; the complete fictional case is supplied.

Work Ready: Communication and Professionalism See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A fictional role/competency map, standardized question set, anchored rating rubric, independently scored responses and a bias-aware comparison memo.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ exploring future team responsibilities through harmless fictional cases.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Paper or a local document is sufficient; the complete fictional case is supplied.
  • Recommended prior course: Work Ready: Communication and Professionalism. No personal or employer data should be submitted.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A fictional role/competency map, standardized question set, anchored rating rubric, independently scored responses and a bias-aware comparison memo.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A task-to-competency map with evidence requirements and excluded impressions.
  • Three original interview questions with shared wording and allowed probes.
  • Two three-level practice rubrics applied consistently to all supplied responses.
  • A candidate-by-competency evidence sheet with gate results.
  • An independent-rating and reconciliation log with reasoned revisions.
  • A comparison memo preserving competency gaps, common protocol and assessment limits.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Roles, constraints and permissions are preserved and tied to supplied evidence.
  • The original case is worked with visible intermediate decisions and units.
  • Changed cases revise the affected record and preserve unresolved questions.
  • Six lesson outputs form one usable, dated team-operations file with a supported next step.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Start from the work

Questions and criteria must trace to the supplied booking task rather than personal resemblance.

02

Hold opportunity consistent

Use the same core protocol and neutral evidence probes for each supplied response.

03

Preserve limits

A practice score is bounded evidence, not proof of future performance or a real hiring authorization.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Competency
An observable work capability linked to a role’s tasks.
Behavior anchor
A description of evidence corresponding to a specified practice rating.
Neutral probe
A follow-up that asks for missing evidence without supplying the desired answer.
Independent rating
An initial evidence-based score made before discussing another rater’s judgment.
Assessment gate
A declared condition that every essential competency must meet in this fictional protocol.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Choose observable job-related competencies

    Translate a fictional role’s tasks into observable interview competencies.

  2. 2
    13 min

    Write the same bounded questions for everyone

    Write a standardized question set and bounded follow-up prompts for the supplied competencies.

  3. 3
    15 min

    Build behavior-anchored rating criteria

    Build separate behavior-anchored scales for accuracy and handoff clarity.

  4. 4
    15 min

    Score supplied responses against evidence

    Score supplied responses independently and record the supporting phrases.

  5. 5
    13 min

    Review disagreements and unsupported impressions

    Reconcile rater disagreements using anchors and evidence rather than unsupported impressions.

  6. 6
    18 min

    Recommend a fair next assessment step

    Compare complete fictional interview evidence and choose a standardized next assessment step.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Evaluate Candidates with a Structured Interview practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

U.S. OPM — Structured Interviews
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read the shared question/order and rating-standard principles. No training-video playback is claimed.

Access: Readable official webpage or PDF text opened with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No video playback, authenticated service or software operation is certified.

Reuse: Original fictional role, records, questions, data and worked practice; concepts paraphrased with attribution. No agency exercise or rubric copied.

U.S. OPM — How do I create structured interview questions?
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Read job-linked, open-ended, understandable question and situation/action/result guidance. The BA1 questions are original fictional wording.

Access: Readable official webpage or PDF text opened with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No video playback, authenticated service or software operation is certified.

Reuse: Original fictional role, records, questions, data and worked practice; concepts paraphrased with attribution. No agency exercise or rubric copied.

U.S. OPM — How do I develop a customized rating scale for structured interviews?
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Opened the official rating-scale guidance. The course’s three-level behavioral anchors are original educational criteria, not copied validated scales.

Access: Readable official webpage or PDF text opened with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No video playback, authenticated service or software operation is certified.

Reuse: Original fictional role, records, questions, data and worked practice; concepts paraphrased with attribution. No agency exercise or rubric copied.

U.S. OPM — Structured Interview Guide (2008)
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Opened the 36-page historical methodological guide; inspected common behavior anchors and independent rating followed by evidence-based reconciliation. No current federal legal procedure is asserted.

Access: Readable official webpage or PDF text opened with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No video playback, authenticated service or software operation is certified.

Reuse: Original fictional role, records, questions, data and worked practice; concepts paraphrased with attribution. No agency exercise or rubric copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one