Should You Share Interview Questions in Advance?

Sending candidates interview questions in advance is a technique that has gained popularity in recent years. Despite this, there’s been little research into its effectiveness for candidates and for recruiters.

Here we explore the potential benefits of sharing interview questions in advance with your candidates, and some of the challenges it may pose.

The benefits of sharing interview questions in advance

1. It gives candidates time to think

One advantage of sharing interview questions in advance is that it gives candidates more time to reflect on them. As a result, it can encourage them to come up with more meaningful and thoughtful answers.

Candidate’s answers might be more relevant to the question if they don’t have the time pressure of saying the first thing that pops into their mind. They can tailor their answers more effectively to showcase their skills and experience, and to sell their best selves.

2. It could support neurodivergent candidates

Sharing interview questions in advance can reduce stress and anxiety for candidates by not putting them on the spot. For some neurodivergent candidates, it may help to be able to plan answers and to process and retain any complex verbal information.

Being transparent with candidates and offering support at every stage of the recruitment process also reflects well on your organization―it shows that you care about the wellbeing of your employees.

3. It may level the playing field

Some candidates will have more experience with interviews and will therefore have a better idea of successful techniques. But others might be less confident―for example, those who are applying for their first job.

Sharing interview questions in advance means that all candidates have access to the same information upfront. This gives everyone a better chance to prepare. It also shows candidates that you’re an empathetic recruiter and you want them to do well in their interview.

The risks of sharing interview questions in advance

As we’ve seen, sharing interview questions may have benefits in terms of inclusivity and getting the best out of candidates. But is there a chance it might have the opposite effect?

1. It could lead to rehearsed ‘model’ answers

With questions laid out in advance, candidates might rehearse their responses to create overly polished answers. This could make it harder for recruiters to really learn about the candidate’s personality, values and day-to-day working style. This might be an issue for jobs where the ability to respond creatively under pressure is an important quality.

A possible alternative is to give candidates interview topics rather than the questions themselves. This way, they won’t know exactly what the questions are but they’ll know which areas to revise. For example, an interview topic could be ‘industry knowledge.’ This tells candidates they’ll need to show they’re up to date with current trends in their line of work.

2. Some candidates may get extra help

Another concern is that candidates could consult contacts who are experts in the field or who work at the organization they’re applying to. For candidates without such connections, this threatens the idea of a level playing field. And for recruiters, whose goal is to assess each candidate as an individual, it may be hard to spot collaborative answers.

One way to approach this is by giving candidates interview questions 30 minutes before the interview rather than a few days in advance. This reduces their ability to discuss them with other people, but still allows them some time to reflect on the questions in advance of the interview.

Another method to consider is giving candidates only some of the questions that’ll be used in the interview. This way you aren’t sharing everything, but you’re still giving them some idea of the key questions that will be asked.

Situational interview questions might be good ones to share in advance. These ask candidates how they’ve handled particular situations they’ve encountered at work or what they’d do in a hypothetical situation. For example, ‘describe a time when you had to work towards a tight deadline.’ These questions can require more time to reflect, so sharing them in advance might elicit more meaningful answers from candidates.

You can always ask extra follow-up questions to dig deeper into candidates’ responses and better understand what they’d bring to the table.

So, there are good arguments for and against sharing interview questions in advance. Doing so reduces the unpredictability of interviews and gives candidates time to think rather than being put on the spot. But it could also create an unfair advantage for those who have a strong network to call on for advice.

In the absence of substantial research, it’s a decision you’ll need to make based on what you feel is best for your charity and for your candidates.

Are you currently looking to recruit? Find the perfect package for you and get access to our anonymous recruitment tool for free when you post a role with us.