The UK Interview Process: A Guide for International Employers Hiring in Britain

Create an interview process that helps you confidently identify and hire the right person for every role.

With clients headquartered around the world, our specialists at Goodwille are here to bridge the gap between your current hiring processes and UK workplace culture.

 

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What is the Interview Process?

The interview process is the stage of recruitment where employers meet candidates to discuss their suitability for a role. It usually involves multiple stages, each designed to assess different aspects of a candidate’s fit. The more effective your interview process, the better your chances of making strong, long-term hires.

What are the Stages of the Interview Process in the UK?

While interview stages vary between employers and industries, most UK businesses follow a similar structure when assessing candidates.

Initial Screening Interview

The initial screening interview is often the first conversation between a candidate and a hiring manager or recruiter, and it’s generally more casual than the other interview stages – lasting between 10-20 minutes.

Usually conducted as a phone call or video interview, it’s an opportunity to discuss the role, get to know the candidate’s background, and see whether there is a strong skills match before moving forward.

Interview Tasks

Many employers include tasks as part of their interview process, which can take place before the first interview or at any stage before hiring. These tasks give you a clear idea of what sets each candidate apart in terms of skills and highlight strengths that might not come through in a standard interview.

If you include an unpaid task, it’s important to keep it reasonable in length and ensure it is genuinely designed to assess skills. Otherwise, you may be legally required to pay the candidate at least the National Minimum Wage.

First Interview

The first interview is a more in-depth discussion with the employer and usually takes place as a video interview or in person. During this stage, employers explore the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and career goals while assessing the candidate’s suitability for both the role and the organisation.

Second Interview

The second interview is usually more detailed and is often conducted as an in person interview, although the format will depend on the role and employer. Candidates may meet additional stakeholders, discuss role-specific responsibilities, and answer more in-depth questions about their experience and approach to work.

Third Interview

A third interview is often considered the final interview and is typically reserved for situations where there is strong competition between shortlisted candidates. While many recruitment processes conclude after the second interview, a third stage may be used to support decision-making during the final stages of hiring.

 

Examples of UK Interview Questions

UK interviews are often skills-based, with employers focusing on how candidates have applied their experience in real-world situations. The most effective interview questions help you understand not only what a candidate has done in the past, but how they think, solve problems, and approach their work.

Competency Questions

Competency questions ask candidates to describe a specific example from their past experience. They often begin with phrases such as “Tell me about a time…” or “Give me an example of when…”.

Examples:

• Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight deadline.
• Give me an example of a difficult customer interaction and how you handled it.
• Tell me about a time you worked as part of a team to achieve a goal.

Situational Questions

Situational interview questions present candidates with hypothetical situations and ask how they would respond. Unlike competency questions, they focus on future behaviour rather than past experience.

Examples:

• What would you do if a project was falling behind schedule?
• How would you handle a disagreement between two team members?
• If a customer complained about your service, how would you respond?

Technical Questions

Technical questions focus on the knowledge and technical skills needed for the role. The complexity of these questions will vary depending on the position and industry.

Examples:

• Which software platforms have you used in previous roles?
• How would you troubleshoot a network connectivity issue?
• Can you explain your approach to financial forecasting?
• Walk me through how you would complete this task.

Motivational Questions

Motivational questions explore what drives a candidate and why they are interested in the role, industry, or organisation. These questions can help you understand whether a candidate is enthusiastic about the opportunity.

Examples:

• What attracted you to this role?
• Why do you want to work in this industry?
• What are you looking for in your next position?

Personality Questions

Personality questions help you understand how a candidate may fit within your team and company culture. While they shouldn’t be used as the sole basis for hiring decisions, they can provide valuable insight into interpersonal skills.

Examples:

• What type of working environment helps you perform at your best?
• How do you prefer to receive feedback?
• What do you enjoy most about working with others?

 

Does Your Interview Process Align With UK Hiring Norms?

Interviewing candidates in the UK can feel quite different from hiring in other countries, and it’s easy to make mistakes without realising it.

Our multilingual specialists at Goodwille are here to help, translating cultural differences for you so that you can stay compliant throughout the interview process and make the right hire. From software and retail to MedTech and manufacturing, we’ve helped businesses across a wide range of sectors successfully hire in the UK.

Reviewing Your Interview Process

We’ll look at how you currently interview candidates and design an effective interview process for the roles you’re looking to hire. That includes making sure your approach is structured, consistent, and fair, so every candidate is assessed properly.

Keeping You Compliant

It’s important to be aware of the laws you need to comply with during the interview process, such as:

• The Data Protection Act – This requires you to make sure candidate details are handled properly, including interview notes and any recordings.
• The Equality Act – Complying with this law includes asking candidates about any reasonable adjustments they might need (such as wheelchair access) and avoiding questions that could unintentionally discriminate.

We’ll go through these with you so that you can rest assured your interviews are set up for full compliance.

Preparing Interviewers

We can make sure your hiring team has the right guidance before interviews take place, from the types of questions that help you properly assess suitability to the rules around fair and lawful interviewing.

If needed, we can also connect you with experienced recruiters who regularly hire for roles like yours and can handle the first stage interview process on your behalf.

Tell us about your hiring plans today.

 

UK Onboarding Advice for International Companies

Getting the hiring process right from the start helps you avoid problems later on.

Our team at Goodwille are here to support you at every stage, from writing clear, effective job descriptions that attract the right candidates to preparing compliant employment contracts.

When each step is handled properly, your new hires can settle in faster without unnecessary delays or admin pressure on your side.

And if you’d prefer to take the risk and workload off your plate completely, the entire process can be managed for you as a fully outsourced international HR function – giving you a UK-ready setup without the cost of building it in-house.

Tell us about your business – we’ll take the time to listen and design a bespoke package for you.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I set tasks as part of the interview process?

In some cases, yes. If completing practical tasks is an important part of the role you’re hiring for, asking candidates to complete a relevant task can be a useful way to assess their skills.

For example, a software developer might be asked to complete a coding exercise, while a marketing candidate may be asked to write a sample advert.

It’s important to make sure any task is relevant to the role you’re hiring for and manageable for candidates to complete. Candidates should understand why they’re being asked to complete it and what you’re looking to assess.

Is it better to have one or two interviews for candidates?

For many entry-level roles, a single interview may be all you need. For senior, specialist, or leadership positions, however, a second interview can be valuable. It gives you the chance to look at a candidate’s experience in more depth and involve other decision-makers.

A short phone interview can also be a useful first step, as an alternative to doing two full interviews.

Remember that an unnecessarily long series of job interviews can discourage strong applicants and increase the risk of losing them to another employer. Keeping the process as efficient as possible can help encourage candidates to stay engaged while still giving you the information you need to make the right choice.

What does “structured interview” refer to?

A structured interview is an interview where every candidate is asked the same set of questions and assessed using the same criteria. This creates a more consistent and objective process, making it easier to compare candidates fairly.

This differs from unstructured interviews, where questions are asked more casually and may vary from one candidate to another. While unstructured interviews can feel more conversational, they can also make it harder to compare applicants fairly and increase the risk of unconscious bias influencing decisions.

What is the best way to ask about a candidate’s salary expectations?

The best approach is usually to discuss salary early in the recruitment process rather than leaving it until the final stages. Be upfront about the salary range for the role and ask whether it works for them.

Meet Our HR Manager

Jacqui Brown

As our HR Manager, Jacqui provides high quality and compliant HR advice across the full spectrum of HR services for a portfolio of Goodwille clients. She offers pragmatic advice on technical matters relating to HR issues including employee relations, organisation design, policies and procedures, implementation of new contracts and staff handbooks, benefits and salary levels, recruitment and training solutions.