How to write questions that predict performance
Most interview questions test confidence, not competence. Here's how to flip that.
Brain-teasers and trivia feel rigorous, but they mostly measure how comfortable someone is performing under a spotlight. The questions that predict on-the-job performance look a lot more like the job itself.
Anchor questions in real work
Take a problem your team actually solved last quarter, strip the proprietary details, and ask the candidate to work through it. You'll learn more from one realistic scenario than from a dozen abstract puzzles.
- Ask for a decision and the trade-offs behind it, not a textbook definition.
- Follow up with 'what would change your mind?' to probe depth.
- Score the reasoning, not whether they reached your preferred answer.
Behavioral questions work the same way: ask about a specific past situation, then dig into what they did versus what the team did.
Head of Talent at Northwind. Riya has built hiring teams at three startups and writes about making interviews fairer and faster.