How to structure the interview to assess skills and cultural fit for {role_name}

Work sample test (Home assignment)

Assess the candidate’s practical skills by assigning a real-world task similar to the work they would do if hired.

• Title: Improve the Checkout Experience of an E-commerce App
• Objective: Evaluate the candidate’s ability to understand user pain points, prioritize solutions, and define a product approach.
• Requirements: The candidate must submit:
  
  • A short problem statement
  • Two user personas
  • A prioritized list of 3 features or improvements
  • Simple mockups or flow (optional)
  • Success metrics (how improvement will be measured)
• Time Frame: 3 to 5 hours of work, submitted within 3 calendar days.

Questions based on home assignment : 

Once done with work sample test evaluate the candidate’s technical proficiency based on the work sample task.

Technical questions

Duration : 10 minutes/question

1. Question: How would you prioritize the product improvements you suggested?
   
   1. Expected Answer: Mentions a framework such as RICE, MoSCoW, or value vs effort analysis.
   2. Sample Answer: “I used the RICE framework to evaluate each feature. The guest checkout scored highest because it impacts conversion and has relatively low effort.”
      
      
2. Question: What metrics would you use to measure success
   
   1. Expected Answer: Mentions measurable product KPIs such as conversion rate, checkout drop-off rate, time-to-checkout, or successful order completion.
   2. Sample Answer: “The primary metric is checkout conversion rate. Secondary metrics include cart abandonment reduction and time taken to complete checkout.”
      
      
3. Question: How did you identify the user pain points?
   
   1. Expected Answer: References data, user research, competitor benchmarking, or usability findings.‍
   2. Sample Answer:“I reviewed common industry reports and patterns. Checkout friction usually comes from mandatory account creation and unclear fees, so I used those insights.”

Behavioral questions

Duration : 10 minutes/question

1. Question:Tell me about a time you had conflicting priorities and how you managed them.
   
   1. Expected Answer: Demonstrates prioritization using a framework, stakeholder alignment, and clear communication.
   2. Sample Answer: “When engineering bandwidth was limited, I worked with the tech lead to evaluate effort and impact and communicated trade-offs with stakeholders so everyone aligned on the decision.”
      
      
2. Question: Describe a situation where your idea was challenged. What did you do?
   
   1. Expected Answer: Shows openness, collaboration, data-driven reasoning, and flexibility.
   2. Sample Answer:“I listened to the feedback and gathered additional user and performance data. Once shared, the team agreed to test my approach as an A/B experiment.”
      
      
3. Question: How do you handle disagreement between teams like engineering and design
   
   1. Expected Answer: Looks for conflict resolution, empathy, and decision-making frameworks
   2. ‍Sample Answer: “I ensure both teams explain their reasoning, then align the discussion toward user outcomes and business goals. The final call depends on measurable success criteria.”

How to evaluate and compare candidates after interviews?

After interviews, it's important to evaluate and compare candidates based on a set of predefined criteria.Use scorecard to evaluate each candidate.

Sample scorecard based on pre-defined criteria. Here’s an example:

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What criteria should be used to make the final hiring decision?

Final decisions should be based on the candidate's overall evaluation score, with a focus on important qualifications. Prioritize technical skills above everything else for a {role_name}, but do not forget about communication and cultural fit.