Structured interviews, scored fairly.
Pick a role to get a question kit. Each interviewer scores every answer from 1 to 4; the tool averages scores, flags disagreements and suggests a decision.
Interviewers
Scoring rubric (1–4)
- 1 · Strong no
- Clear gap or a red flag on this competency.
- 2 · Weak
- Some relevant points, but below the bar for this level.
- 3 · Good
- Meets the bar: specific, structured, credible answer.
- 4 · Excellent
- Well above the bar: depth, judgement and evidence.
- System designAvg –
1. How would you design a simple URL shortener that handles a sudden spike of traffic?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Clarifies requirements, chooses storage and keys sensibly, discusses caching, rate limits and trade-offs.
Red flag: Jumps to buzzwords without clarifying scale or trade-offs.
- DebuggingAvg –
2. A page that was fast last week now takes 8 seconds. Walk me through how you find the cause.
What a good answer looks like
Good: Measures first, narrows down (network, DB, code), uses logs and profiling, verifies the fix.
Red flag: Guesses and changes code without measuring.
- Code qualityAvg –
3. What does a good pull request look like to you?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Small, focused, tested, explains why, easy to review; mentions feedback etiquette.
Red flag: Thinks tests and reviews slow things down.
- ShippingAvg –
4. Tell me about a feature you shipped. What did you cut to ship on time?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Explains scope trade-offs, measured impact after launch.
Red flag: Cannot explain any trade-off or outcome.
- Security basicsAvg –
5. How do you store user passwords and protect an API from abuse?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Hashing with a slow algorithm (bcrypt/argon2), no plain text, auth, rate limiting, input validation.
Red flag: Suggests encryption with a reversible key or plain storage.
- OwnershipAvg –
6. Tell me about something you owned end to end that did not go to plan. What did you do?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Takes clear personal responsibility, explains specific actions, shares what changed afterwards.
Red flag: Blames others or the situation; cannot name what they personally did.
- CollaborationAvg –
7. Describe a disagreement with a teammate or manager. How was it resolved?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Seeks to understand the other view, uses data, disagrees respectfully and commits once decided.
Red flag: Describes "winning" the argument, or avoids conflict entirely.
- Learning speedAvg –
8. What is something you taught yourself in the last year, and how did you go about it?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Concrete example, a deliberate method, and evidence they applied it.
Red flag: Vague answer such as "I keep learning", with no example.
- Startup readinessAvg –
9. What would make this role a great next step for you, and what might frustrate you here?
What a good answer looks like
Good: Has researched the company, is honest about trade-offs such as ambiguity, pace and pay mix.
Red flag: Only talks about title or salary; expects big-company structure.
Notes
Common questions
Why use structured interviews?
Asking every candidate the same questions and scoring against the same rubric makes decisions fairer and more predictive than unstructured chats.
How is the recommendation calculated?
The overall score is the average of each question’s average score. 3.5 or more suggests a strong hire, 2.75 or more a hire. Any score of 1, or interviewers 2+ points apart, asks you to discuss first.
Should interviewers see each other’s scores?
Not before they submit. Score independently first, then discuss; it reduces groupthink.
Interview kits available
Software Engineer (Full-stack) · Frontend Engineer · Backend Engineer · Mobile App Developer (Android / cross-platform) · DevOps / Cloud Engineer · QA / Test Engineer · Data Analyst · Data Scientist / ML Engineer · Product Manager · Product Designer (UI/UX) · Sales Executive / Account Executive · Business Development Representative (BDR/SDR) · Customer Success Manager · Customer Support Executive · Marketing / Growth Marketer · Content Writer · Operations Executive · Finance & Accounts Executive · HR & People Generalist · Intern (Generalist)
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