Structured interviews
Consistent questions mapped to a rubric defined before the process, scored independently before any discussion, by interviewers calibrated on the bar. Eighty-five years of selection research place them among the most valid predictors of job performance, and they are fairer as well.
Evidence grade: research Peer-reviewed or large-sample empirical work supports it.
Use it when
Every hiring evaluation. The same discipline governs promotion decisions.
Where it stops working
Structure reduces noise, and on its own it does not remove bias. A rubric carries its authors' assumptions; the remedy is deliberate design and a panel whose members do not all share them.
Where the standard uses it
- PL-3Hiring and onboardingStructured evaluation, calibrated standards, assessing capability rather than tool access.
Sources
- Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter. The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 85 Years of Research Findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–274, 1998. In the bibliography
Used alongside it
- Calibration practice
- Hiring as a system practice
- The first ninety days practice
- The halo effect research
Cite this model
Chicago, BibTeX and licence →Engineering Management Academy. (2026). Structured interviews. In Engineering Management Academy Body of Knowledge (Version 3.1, TEC.structured-interviews). https://www.engineeringmanagement.academy/body-of-knowledge/techniques/structured-interviews