# Draft interview questions: checklist Turn a job description into one set of job-related interview questions that every candidate gets, each tied to a duty, with what a good answer includes and a check that no question touches a protected topic. ## Before you start - [ ] Have ready: The job description Paste the job description, or at least the duties and the must-have requirements. The questions are built only from this text. - [ ] Have ready: How many questions (optional) A whole number from 4 to 10. Leave empty for 6. ## Step 1: List what the job needs - [ ] Pick out each duty and must-have from the job description, quoted word for word, as the list the questions will cover. - [ ] You have: A numbered table of the duties and must-haves, each quoted from the job description. - [ ] Check: Each quote in the What the job needs (quote) column appears in the job description, with shortened fragments in the same order. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Draft one question for each area - [ ] Write job-related questions, each tied to one item on the list, with what a good answer includes. - [ ] You have: A table of questions, each tied to an item, with a type and what a good answer includes. - [ ] Check: Every row of the table has one of "past experience", "work sample" or "situation" in the Type column. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Screen every question for protected topics - [ ] Test each question for a protected topic and for a link to the job, and give a safe replacement for any that fail. - [ ] You have: A table that screens each question, with the duty it tests and a replacement where needed. - [ ] Check: Every row of the table has one of "age", "family or marital status", "pregnancy", "religion", "race or ethnicity", "nationality or origin", "disability or health", "gender or identity", "other protected topic" or "none" in the Touches column. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Write the interview guide - [ ] Put the cleared questions into one guide that every candidate gets, with fixed follow-ups and a place to note evidence. - [ ] You have: A structured interview guide that every candidate is asked in the same way. - [ ] Check: The answer contains the text fragment "Check this guide with your HR or legal team before you use it." (including inside a longer word). A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks - [ ] Check: Every row of the table has something written in "Question" and "Good answer includes" (a blank or a dash does not count). A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Each quote in the Duty it tests (quote) column appears in the job description, with shortened fragments in the same order. A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Count the rows of the table in the answer. The number asked for was below; if it was empty or outside 4 to 10, the right number is 6, but fewer is fine when the list of items is shorter. Does the count match? Answer FAIL and give the count and the number asked for. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Read every question in the guide. Does any of them ask, or invite the candidate to talk, about age, family or children, marital status, pregnancy, religion, race or ethnicity, nationality or origin, accent, disability or health, gender or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, injuries or sick leave, family medical history, union membership, arrests or convictions, or current or past pay? Do any depend on a particular kind of school, employer or life? Answer FAIL and quote each such question or phrase. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Read the guide. Does it contain anything that changes the questions for a particular candidate, such as "if the candidate is a graduate, ask", a follow-up that depends on a person's background, or a question that is missing a Tests or Good answer includes line? Answer FAIL and quote each place. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Look at the table below. For each row where Replacement is not keep, is the original question gone from the guide and the replacement in its place? Answer FAIL and quote each original that is still there. Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. - [ ] Check: Read each question as a candidate from a very different background. Could they answer from their own life, or does it assume one kind of past? Ask a person who does or knows the job whether the good-answer points are the right ones. Make sure the whole panel uses the guide the same way, and have your HR or legal team check it against your own policy and local rules. Only a person can say what is fair in your setting. Checked by you. If not: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## You end up with - [ ] A set of job-related interview questions, each tied to a duty or must-have. - [ ] What a good answer includes, for each question, taken from the job description. - [ ] A screen that shows which questions touched a protected topic and what replaced them. - [ ] A structured guide that every candidate is asked in the same way, with a place to note evidence. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.