Feature guide · Interview roles
Prepare your interview questions before the first candidate
· 3 min read · OperatorOS
When an interview lands between a delivery and a shift change, it is easy to spend the first few minutes deciding what to ask. A saved role guide lets you do that thinking beforehand. Whether you hire for one location or several, you can return to a clear set of questions about the work instead of rebuilding your notes every time.
These steps use Interview Roles in the live web companion for existing OperatorOS customers. They prepare a written interview guide; recording and AI analysis have separate account requirements. Web-only signup and billing remain coming soon.
Start with the work the person will do
Imagine a fictional manager, Avery, preparing to interview for a shift leader at Cedar Market. The role involves explaining priorities, handling a busy handoff and helping a new colleague learn a task. Avery wants concrete examples of those activities, rather than a collection of general questions.
Choose a few responsibilities that matter for the role. Write questions that invite the candidate to describe a situation, what they did and what happened. The guide gives the conversation a useful starting point while leaving room to listen and ask follow-up questions.
Tell me about a time you explained changing priorities to a team. Describe how you handled a handoff when work was still unfinished. How have you helped someone learn an unfamiliar task?
Create the role guide
- 1Sign in to the OperatorOS web companion with your existing account, then use the Open Interview Roles link at the end of this guide. The page heading is Interview Roles.
- 2Check whether the role already exists. Choose Edit to update an existing guide, or Add Role to create a new one.
- 3Enter a recognizable Role Name, such as Shift leader — Cedar Market. In Interview Questions, put each question on its own line. Numbering is optional.
- 4Choose Create Role, or Save Changes when editing. Check the role card and its question count to confirm that the guide saved.
The web form treats each nonempty line as a question. Keep headings and background notes out of that field unless you intend them to appear as questions. A short paragraph split across several lines can otherwise become several entries.
Check the guide before the interview
Read the questions in order and remove anything that repeats the same point. Ask yourself what each answer will help you understand about the actual work. For Avery, two questions about handoffs may be useful only if they explore different responsibilities.
The role card previews up to five questions. A longer guide shows how many more it contains; choose Edit to review the full question list. Do that before the conversation rather than assuming the preview is the entire guide.
Preparing a role does not start a recording, schedule an interview or invite a candidate. It creates the written guide you can return to as part of your preparation. Keep candidate-specific notes in the appropriate interview record, rather than adding them to a reusable role template.
Make the next interview easier to prepare
Practical tip: name guides for the role and add a location only when the questions truly differ there. For several stores using the same responsibilities, one clearly named guide is easier to maintain than several nearly identical copies.
The expected result is a saved, readable set of questions ready before the candidate arrives. After using it, revisit any question that was confusing and improve the wording for future conversations. The guide supports your listening and judgment; it does not make the hiring decision.