# Technical Hiring — Walkthrough ## Before We Begin **Diagnostic Question:** What's the difference between a structured interview and an unstructured one? When might each be appropriate? **Checkpoint:** You recognize that structured interviews use consistent questions and rubrics for fairness; unstructured interviews feel more natural but risk bias. Both have tradeoffs. --- ## Step 1: Create an Interview Scorecard **Task:** For a role you hire for (or a hypothetical mid-level engineer), create a scorecard. List 4–6 competencies. Mark each as must-have or nice-to-have. For each, specify how you'll assess it (behavioral, technical, system design, resume). **Question:** How do you avoid "kitchen sink" scorecards? What makes a competency truly must-have? **Checkpoint:** Scorecard has 4–6 competencies, must/nice classification, and assessment method for each. --- ## Step 2: Write a Behavioral Question + Rubric **Task:** Pick one must-have competency from your scorecard. Write a behavioral question in STAR format. Then write a 3-level rubric: strong, medium, weak. What would each look like in practice? **Question:** How do you make the rubric useful without being rigid? What if the candidate's story doesn't fit the expected mold? **Checkpoint:** One question and rubric; usable by another interviewer. --- ## Step 3: Write a Technical Question + Rubric **Task:** Pick one technical competency. Write a coding or debugging question that's bounded (15–20 min). Write a rubric: what does strong/medium/weak look like? Include: correctness, edge cases, explanation quality. **Question:** How do you balance "can they code?" with "can they think?"? When do hints help vs. hurt? **Checkpoint:** Question is unambiguous; rubric has clear levels. --- ## Step 4: Design Your Debrief Process **Task:** Document your debrief process: Who attends? Do interviewers score before or during? How do you resolve disagreement? What's the hire/no-hire bar? Keep it to one page. **Question:** What happens when two interviewers strongly disagree? How do you avoid groupthink? **Checkpoint:** Process is documented; disagreement resolution is clear. --- ## Step 5: Audit for Bias **Task:** Review your current (or a past) interview process. List 3 potential bias sources (e.g., similarity bias, halo effect, anchoring). For each, propose one mitigation. **Question:** What's the tension between "culture fit" and bias? How do you assess culture add without filtering for similarity? **Checkpoint:** Three bias sources identified; three mitigations proposed. --- ## Step 6: Improve Candidate Experience **Task:** Map the candidate journey from application to offer/reject. Identify 3 pain points (e.g., long wait, unclear feedback, disorganized onsite). Propose one improvement for each. **Question:** What does a great candidate experience cost? What does a bad one cost? **Checkpoint:** Journey mapped; three improvements proposed.