Why this matters
The single biggest cause of bad hires isn't bad candidates — it's bad interviews. Most interviewers were trained the first time someone said "go interview this person" and never received structured feedback.
The 4-session program
Session 1 (60 min): Why structured. Walk through the data. Show our internal data on rubric-trained vs untrained outcomes. Get buy-in.
Session 2 (60 min): Question construction. Practice writing behavioral, situational, and technical questions for the actual roles being hired. Workshop in pairs.
Session 3 (60 min): Shadowing. New interviewer shadows an experienced one. Then debriefs together: what would you have rated, what evidence, what bias did you notice in yourself?
Session 4 (60 min): Reverse shadow. New interviewer leads, experienced one shadows and gives feedback after. Goes live only after this session.
Ongoing reinforcement
- Quarterly calibration sessions where 4 interviewers re-rate the same candidate (anonymized).
- Public dashboard of inter-rater agreement.
- Pair new and experienced interviewers in panel format for first 5 panels.
What kills interviewer skill
- "Pinch hit" interviews assigned same day.
- No access to the role's rubric.
- No debrief norms — interviewers ask after, "What did you think?" before submitting independent ratings.