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Screening CVs is only the first filter.
Once you have reviewed applications and shortlisted a few people, the next challenge is understanding who they actually are, what they want, and whether they can do the job in your specific environment.
This is where the interview process matters.
A strong interview process does not need to be long for the sake of it. But it does need to be structured enough to test the right things at the right stage.
For employers, especially in edtech, education, healthcare, public sector and other relationship led sectors, interviews should help you understand more than skills on paper. They should help you assess motivation, communication style, sector knowledge, commercial judgement, resilience and how the person will work with your team.
The first conversation is often a short 15 minute call. Some people call it an informal chat, but it is worth being careful with that phrase.
It may feel informal, but it is still part of the hiring process.
At this stage, you are not trying to test every detail of the person’s experience. You are trying to understand where they are now, what they are looking for, and whether there is enough alignment to move forward.
This conversation helps you understand the person behind the CV. Why are they interested in the role? What type of move are they looking for? What matters to them in their next role? Do they understand the opportunity? Can they communicate clearly? Do they seem credible and engaged?
It is also a chance to sense check the basics. Salary expectations, notice period, location, working pattern, motivation for leaving or moving, and whether the role fits what they are actually looking for.
This stage should be light, but not vague. You are not trying to catch people out. You are trying to avoid wasting time later in the process.
A good first call gives you a clear answer to one question: is this person worth a deeper conversation?
Once the initial call confirms there is potential fit, the next stage is usually a longer conversation with the hiring manager.
This is where you go deeper.
The hiring manager should explore the detail of the person’s experience, how they work, and whether they have solved similar problems before.
For a sales role, especially a new business role, this stage should be specific. You want to understand how they sell, who they sell to, what kind of deals they have closed, and how much ownership they have had across the sales cycle.
A useful question is:
“Can you walk me through a deal you managed from start to finish?”
This question is simple, but powerful. It shows whether someone can explain their process clearly. It also gives you insight into whether the deal was inbound or outbound, how the opportunity started, who the buyer was, what objections came up, how the deal progressed, and what the final outcome was.
You can then dig further. What market were they selling into? What was the sales cycle? What was the deal size? Who were the stakeholders? What part did they personally own? What went wrong? What would they do differently now?
The best candidates will not present everything as perfect. Sales is rarely smooth. There are objections, delays, lost deals, difficult stakeholders and changes in direction. You want someone who can talk honestly about challenges and show how they responded.
That is often where you see their real judgement.
Candidates should be encouraged to answer deeper questions using the STAR method.
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result.
Situation means the context. What was happening at the time?
Task means what they were responsible for. What needed to be done?
Action means what they personally did. What steps did they take?
Result means what happened. What changed because of their work?
This method helps avoid vague answers. It also helps you separate people who were involved in something from people who actually owned the outcome.
For example, “I helped grow revenue” is not enough.
A stronger answer would explain the market, the target account, the challenge, the actions taken, the stakeholders involved, the objections handled and the commercial result.
The more specific the answer, the easier it is to assess fit.
For sales roles, especially in edtech or other sector based markets, you want to understand both sales skill and market relevance.
It is not enough to know that someone has sold before. You need to understand what they sold, who they sold to, and how similar that is to your world.
Useful areas to explore include their target market, buyer personas, average deal size, sales cycle length, new business versus account management split, outbound experience, CRM discipline, pipeline generation, forecasting, objection handling and close rate.
You also want to understand whether they have sold into a similar environment. Selling to universities, schools, NHS trusts, local authorities or enterprise clients often requires patience, stakeholder mapping and an understanding of long decision cycles.
Someone may be a strong seller in one market but need support to adapt to another.
That does not make them wrong for the role. But it helps you understand ramp time and risk.
Another useful question is:
“What would your first 30, 60 and 90 days look like in this role?”
This shows how the candidate thinks about joining a new business.
A strong answer should include listening, learning the product, understanding the customer, reviewing the existing pipeline, meeting key internal stakeholders, learning the market, and building a clear plan.
For sales roles, you may also expect them to talk about target accounts, outreach, pipeline building, CRM hygiene and learning from top performers.
For leadership roles, the answer should be more strategic. You would expect them to talk about team structure, priorities, risks, performance gaps, customer insight and how they would build trust before making major changes.
This question helps you understand whether someone is thoughtful, practical and commercially aware.
A good interview is not just about checking experience. It is about understanding how someone operates.
How do they make decisions? How do they respond to pressure? How do they handle feedback? How do they work with other teams? What motivates them? What frustrates them? How do they manage setbacks?
This matters because skills can look strong on paper, but the wrong working style can create problems later.
You want to understand how they communicate, how they build relationships, how much structure they need, and whether they are likely to work well in your environment.
This is especially important in smaller or scaling companies where roles are rarely neat. People need to deal with change, ambiguity and shifting priorities.
After the hiring manager interview, you may want to involve senior stakeholders.
This is especially useful for strategic, commercial or leadership roles.
Senior stakeholders are not there to repeat the same interview. Their role is to assess broader fit.
They may want to understand how the candidate thinks about the market, how they align with the company’s direction, and whether they can contribute beyond the day to day tasks of the role.
This stage can cover vision, values, leadership style, commercial thinking, customer understanding and long term potential.
Some questions may overlap with earlier stages, and that is fine. Repeated questions can sometimes be useful because they show whether the candidate is consistent and whether they adapt their answer depending on the audience.
But the focus should be different.
At this stage, you are asking: can this person grow with us? Do they understand where we are going? Do they bring the judgement and values we need?
The final stage often includes other people from the organisation. This may be future colleagues, cross functional stakeholders, or members of the leadership team.
Where possible, this is useful to do in person. If that is not possible, a video call can still work.
The purpose is not to run another technical interview. It is to understand how the candidate interacts with the wider team.
Do they listen well? Do they ask good questions? Do they seem curious? Do they understand the company culture? Can people imagine working with them?
This stage should not become a popularity contest. You are not hiring someone because everyone “vibes” with them. But you are checking whether there is enough working chemistry and mutual understanding.
That matters, especially in roles where the person will need to work closely with sales, customer success, product, marketing, implementation or leadership.
A strong interview process should feel clear for both sides.
Candidates should understand what each stage is for, who they are meeting, and what they are being assessed on.
Hiring teams should also be aligned before interviews begin. Everyone involved should know what good looks like, which criteria matter most, and what feedback they need to provide afterwards.
Without that structure, interviews become subjective. One person likes the candidate. Another is unsure. Someone else asks completely different questions. Feedback becomes vague, and decisions drag.
Clear criteria make better decisions faster.
