Interview Questions Prompt Templates
You get interview questions tied to the skills the role needs, with follow-ups and clear signs of a strong or weak answer, so interviewers can score consistently. The prompt below works in any AI assistant. It comes with a worked example, the mistakes that make AI output for this task weak, and variations for common situations.
Create interview questions for a role.
## Role
Title and level: [e.g. senior backend engineer]
What the person must be able to do: [3 to 5 key skills or outcomes]
Interview stage and length: [e.g. 45-minute hiring manager interview]
## Instructions
- Write [number, e.g. 6] questions, each mapped to one of the skills above.
- Prefer behavioral questions ("Tell me about a time...") and practical scenarios over hypotheticals or trivia.
- For each question, give 2 follow-up probes.
- For each question, describe what a strong answer includes and what a weak answer looks like.
- Avoid questions about age, family, health, religion, nationality or other protected topics.
- Keep the wording neutral so it does not hint at the "right" answer.
## Output format
For each question: skill, question, follow-ups, strong answer signals, weak answer signals. Then a simple 1 to 4 scoring guide.How to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt
Use the copy button, or type its Retext trigger in any app to paste it.
- 2
Open your AI assistant
Start a new chat in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or whichever assistant you use, so earlier messages don't steer the answer.
- 3
Fill in the brackets
Replace every [bracketed] part with your real details. Specific inputs are what make the answer specific.
- 4
Check and refine
Read the result against the goal above, then reply with one change at a time.
Worked example
What you give it
Role: customer success manager, mid-level. Key skills: handling unhappy customers, prioritizing a book of 50+ accounts, spotting expansion opportunities. Stage: 45-minute hiring manager interview, after a recruiter screen. Number: 3 questions. Interviewers are two managers who have not hired for this role before.
What a good answer looks like (shortened)
1. Skill: handling unhappy customers Question: Tell me about a customer who was close to canceling. What did you do? Follow-ups: What did you learn about why they were unhappy? What would you do differently? Strong: names the root cause, describes specific actions, shares the outcome, even if they lost the account. Weak: blames the customer or product, vague about their own actions. 2. Skill: prioritizing a large book Question: Walk me through how you decided where to spend your time last week. Follow-ups: What did you choose not to do? How do you spot an account at risk early? Strong: uses a clear system, like health scores or renewal dates, and can name tradeoffs. Weak: responds to whoever emails first. 3. Skill: expansion Question: Describe an account that grew because of something you noticed. Strong: links a customer need to an upsell, with numbers. Scoring: 1 no evidence, 2 some evidence, 3 clear evidence, 4 clear evidence with results.
Tips for better results
- •Spend time on "What the person must be able to do." Every question should map back to one of those skills.
- •Share the strong and weak signals with all interviewers before the interviews, so scoring stays consistent.
- •Use the follow-ups. The first answer is often rehearsed, and the second question shows real experience.
- •Avoid this: Using brain teasers or generic questions like "What is your biggest weakness?" that do not predict job performance.
Get the free prompt pack
Our best AI prompts in one Markdown file, delivered by email. The templates here stay free either way — the pack just saves you the copying.
Variations
Technical screen
Add this line to Instructions: Include one practical exercise that takes 20 minutes, with the prompt and a scoring rubric.
Culture and values
Replace the skills with our values [list them] and write one behavioral question per value.
Candidate prep
Change the audience: I am the candidate for this role. Give me the likely questions and help me outline answers from my experience [paste].
Save it as a Retext snippet
Retext is a free text expander for Mac. Save this prompt once, then type ;interviewq in any app (ChatGPT, Claude, your editor, a browser tab) and the full prompt is pasted in.
- Click Add to Retext. The prompt installs as a snippet with the trigger ;interviewq.
- Change the trigger in Retext if you prefer a different one.
- Type the trigger wherever you want the prompt, then fill in the brackets.
Frequently asked questions
Are behavioral interview questions better?
They tend to be more useful than hypotheticals because they ask about what someone actually did. Pairing them with a clear scoring guide makes interviews fairer and more consistent.
What questions should interviewers avoid?
Avoid questions about age, family plans, health, religion, nationality and other protected characteristics. Laws vary by country and state, so check with your HR or legal team.
How do I reuse this prompt without copying it every time?
Click Add to Retext to save it as a snippet. Then type ;interviewq in any Mac app, including your AI tool, and the full prompt is pasted in.
Related Templates
Get the free prompt pack
Our best AI prompts in one Markdown file, delivered by email. The templates here stay free either way — the pack just saves you the copying.