A key element of structured interviewing is using a standard rating scale. The term “rating” or “rating scale” may seem a little obscure, but it is simply a range of values to choose from to evaluate each answer, just like a survey. The most straightforward approach is to adopt a standard Likert scale for “quality,” with the following five options:
Ultimately, the ratings for each question would get averaged, forming the score portion of a candidate’s scorecard.
There are more customized rating scales than described above. However, in our experience, getting too fancy with ratings doesn’t improve the process and may be impractical due to the effort.
The subject matter expertise of interview panels may vary. So while we have previously emphasized connecting questions clearly to their assessed competencies, defining each competency provides additional context to support interviewers.
