Interview question generator
Pick the competencies the role actually turns on and take the questions. All 16 of them are on this page with what a strong answer sounds like, plus the scorecard row each one contributes. No signup, no email, nothing held back for a paid version.
Pick what the role turns on
Tick nothing to see everything.
All 16 questions are on this page. Tick nothing to see them all.
Composure under pressure
Most roles fail at the busiest hour, not the average one.
Tell me about the busiest or worst day you have had in a job. What did you do?
A good answer: Names a specific day with enough detail to be real, and describes what they did instead of how they felt. Strong answers include something they decided to drop.
How is your work different in the last hour of a long shift?
A good answer: Honest that it takes effort, and names something concrete they do about it. 'It's exactly the same' is what everyone says and is almost never true.
Scorecard row: Describes a specific bad moment analytically. A 2 stays general or blames everyone else.
Owning mistakes
The errors that hurt are the ones nobody mentions until later.
Tell me about a time you got something wrong at work.
A good answer: A real mistake, owned without a cushion, and what changed afterwards. The tell is whether they told anyone at the time.
You have just realised you made an error that has already affected someone else. What now?
A good answer: Surfaces it immediately, with the fix in motion. Anyone who would quietly correct it first is telling you what happens with the errors you never hear about.
Scorecard row: Names a real error, what it cost, and what changed. A 2 gives an error that was really someone else's fault.
Prioritising under competing demands
Almost every job is several things needing you at once.
Three people need something from you at the same time. How do you decide the order?
A good answer: A stated basis (urgency, who is blocked, who has waited longest) plus acknowledging the ones who will wait. The acknowledgement is the part most candidates leave out.
Two things are due today and you can only finish one.
A good answer: Tells both people quickly instead of quietly choosing. Silent choosing produces one surprised person at 5pm.
Scorecard row: Orders competing demands on a stated basis and tells the people who will wait; a 2 just works faster.
Delivering unwelcome news
Waiting for certainty before speaking is the most expensive habit in most roles.
Something you're responsible for is going to be late. When do you say so, and to whom?
A good answer: As soon as they believe it, not when it is certain, with a revised expectation the other person can plan around.
Tell me about a time you had to tell someone no.
A good answer: Says the no plainly and early, gives a real reason, and offers the next best thing. Watch for candidates who can't recall ever saying no.
Scorecard row: Raises a problem as soon as they believe it, with options. A 2 waits until it is undeniable.
Coachability
It predicts the second six months better than anything on a CV.
Tell me about a time someone told you your approach wasn't working.
A good answer: Names the feedback plainly, describes what they changed, and says whether it worked. A specific behavioural change, not 'I took it on board'.
What is something you believed about this kind of work two years ago that you no longer believe?
A good answer: A specific reversal with a reason. Hard to prepare convincingly, and the best available proxy for whether someone is still learning.
Scorecard row: Names critical feedback and the specific change that followed. A 2 recalls the feedback but not what they did.
Self-direction
On a small team, the gap between people who need telling and people who don't is most of the value.
You have finished everything you were asked to do and nobody is available. What next?
A good answer: Anything self-directed and concrete. This separates people who need a queue from people who find one.
What is something you improved or simplified in a previous job?
A good answer: Anything concrete — a template, a checklist, a recurring task automated. Separates doing the work from improving it.
Scorecard row: Names concrete things they would do unprompted. A 2 waits to be told.
Explaining clearly
Whatever the role, someone has to understand the answer the first time.
Explain something you know well to me as though I know nothing about it.
A good answer: Picks the right level and checks in not lecturing. Strong answers lead with what the thing is for. Length is a signal here.
How would you explain a decision someone won't like?
A good answer: Leads with the decision, gives the reason in one sentence, and moves to what can be done instead. Hiding behind policy is the weak version.
Scorecard row: Lands the explanation in one pass at the right level. A 2 needs a second attempt or pitches it wrong.
Judgement on rules and exceptions
Following every rule literally and breaking them freely are both expensive.
When would you make an exception to a rule, and when would you not?
A good answer: Has an actual basis not 'it depends'. Strong answers mention checking with someone not deciding alone on the big ones.
Someone senior asks you to do something you think is a bad idea.
A good answer: Says the concern once, clearly, then does it if they still want it. Never objecting and refusing outright are both failures.
Scorecard row: Has a stated basis for bending or holding a rule. A 2 does one or the other without a reason.
What this does not do
It builds a set from a fixed library of general competencies. It doesn't write questions from your job description, and a page claiming otherwise from a checkbox form would be lying. For questions specific to a job, the role guides go considerably deeper, including what candidates for that job get wrong.
This tool is free and always will be, with no signup. If you want the same thinking applied to your actual applicants — questions written for the role, every answer transcribed and scored against your criteria, the list ranked — that's what VoxScreen does, free for 50 candidates a month.