This is something I first heard suggested several years ago, and at the time many saw it as a progressive move. Some businesses have since adopted it, but it’s not taken off in a big way. And for various reasons, many businesses will not be doing it. You can see more of my thoughts below, together with those of Managers, Directors, and HR and Talent Acquisition professionals.
Many of us have left an interview and thought ’why didn’t I say that?!’ when thinking of an answer we gave to a question.
An interview is not always a comfortable situation; for students and graduates in particular, as they often have limited experience of interviews. Sometimes even the most confident and prepared can underperform, especially if they really want the job. As the example in this blog shows. An interview is to see who is most suited to the job; but there is a risk that it may instead show who is the best at interviews, which is a different scenario.
Most interviewees will prepare for an interview, and often they will try to work out what questions may be asked, and think of potential answers. But some can be missed, meaning that they have to think of the best answers and examples on the spot. Allowing some time to prepare may result in more comprehensive answers being given; and a better comparison of respective abilities.
This may particularly apply in relation to giving competency based examples. Someone may have done something that fits perfectly with what you are looking for; but they may not give full details (or worse, may not mention it at all). So, you could miss out on them.
So, is there a case for giving questions before the interview? The HR Manager of one business I spoke with feels there is scope to do this. But the hiring Manager would need to ask follow up questions to probe further. And a Director of another business feels it would be ideal for the type of candidates he looks for, and agrees that follow up questions would also be needed.
And a Head of Sales and Marketing likes the idea of a mix. She believes that interviewees need to do their research before attending an interview, and feels that students and graduates are particularly good at this. If they are given appropriate questions beforehand they can think about it; but the concern is that many would rely on AI to do the work, so they would need to expand on the answer in the interview. She also wants to see how an interviewee would react to unplanned situations, and this can only be gauged by asking unpredictable questions. She feels that every job is different and needs to be treated accordingly.
The Operations Director of a Civil Engineering business feels that there is not enough time in a first interview to give out questions before, as he would not see the ‘real them’. He likes to add in a couple of trick questions to test lateral thinking, and also for the candidates to come with their own questions, which inspire discussion and engagement. The business does have a 2nd interview stage, and he feels that giving a couple of questions before this may be a good way to help choose between candidates.
Many other employers are not keen, for a variety of reasons. But there are other ways that they can enable students to do their best,
One potential issue is that some candidates would get help from other people. Or they may prepare too well, and give a false impression of their competencies. Though follow up questioning can challenge this to some extent.
Many larger employers with graduate schemes have specific concerns. An Early Careers Talent Acquisition Manager expanded on this. Firstly, if the candidate has enough of the relevant skills, they’ll usually get the job even if they mess up an answer or two. It’s not feasible to be perfect, but the aim should be to always look to improve in some way- which is why feedback from employers after the interview is important, pass or fail.
He also feels that use if AI would be an issue, and expects there would be a load of AI generated answers that have just been edited slightly differently.
He sees interviews as a potential source of bias, and prefers the use of assessment centres. For a variety of reasons, these are not usually feasible for smaller businesses, but are a very good solution for larger ones; they include a range of exercises, assessed by different assessors, which can in many cases result in a more fair, objective, unbiased and consistent assessment process.
A Director of a renewable energy business also has concerns that many candidates would use AI to generate answers. He feels that the questions should be like a maths exam: some no brainers, some reasonable questions, and then some really stretching stuff to let outstanding candidates stand out. And he also pointed out that they already look good on paper (qualifications etc), which is why they are interviewing them. So the interview is more to assess approach and personality.
A common pattern is that employers want to see how people think on their feet. An Operations Director of an engineering business explained to me that their graduates deal with clients, who can ask unexpected questions or go off at tangents. So the business needs to be sure that they can give logical and reasoned answers to unexpected questions or problems. They focus less on the technical side, trusting that they can do this as they have a degree. And they are not necessarily expecting a perfect answer; it’s more about seeing how the interviewee handles unexpected questions when they are under pressure. The Engineering Director of the same business agrees, and adds that the main thing for him is expanding on what is already on the CV.
This was echoed by the General Manager of an IT support business, who said they don’t ask overly technical questions at graduate level. It’s more about giving examples of past experiences (projects, additional learning, etc), with evidence of soft skills, problem solving, overcoming difficult situations, etc. Yes, he is looking for good examples, but this is combined with seeing evidence that they can come up with something on the spot. His advice for preparation is to think of a range of answers for common interview questions, then use these as a base to build on.
Other employers feel no need to give out questions, due to the format of their interviews. An HR Business Partner explained that their interviews are aimed at making the candidate feel relaxed and able to talk fluently. And she has confidence that their interviewers are skilled enough to draw out relevant information. They look at the interview holistically, and hope that if something is missed they give enough elsewhere to give the interviewer enough to work on. It’s not just the answer that they look at, but the person as a whole. She added that the candidate is welcome to get in contact with additional information afterwards, should they forget something.
For some interviewers, the questions are not always planned. For example, a Head of Product Development who takes a fluid approach; starting as more of a conversation around the CV and building from there. He does ask competency questions but may add one in based off the chat beforehand, and will skip any where the answer has already been given in a previous part of the interview.
So, there are different views on whether to give questions before interview or not; neither are right or wrong and it’s largely down to preference. Some employers now do provide questions before interviews, but I think that the majority will stick with the traditional way.
A lot may depend on the job itself, and the skills and personal qualities you are looking for. If you are assessing how they think on their feet, then it’s not going to work. But if the answer itself is the most important thing, then it may be worth considering.
Or a mix may work for some: giving some questions before, and keeping a couple back.
On a related sidenote: employers do need to be aware that sharing of questions is classed as a reasonable adjustment for helping with an interview if requested by someone who declares a condition or disability; for example a neurodiverse candidate.
Though there is concern from some larger well-known businesses, that the questions may find their way online. With social media and many public or private platforms, there is a chance that it will be shared online at some point. Which then gives an advantage to those who see it. So instead, there may be other solutions that can be offered. For example one Talent Acquisition team with a large employer offers candidates other options including a combination of: Interview preparation advice; deeper descriptions of what they assess for and look for; extra time per exercise before or during the assessment centre; and an additional briefing call. These all help the candidates to do their best.
Matthew Parry
Director. SME Graduate Employment
Email: matthew@sme-graduates.co.uk Telephone: 0370 7749500