Are you getting the most out of your ServiceNow interviews?
When people think about interviews, they usually focus on the candidate. The preparation, the pressure and the performance. But in reality, just as much responsibility sits with the hiring manager.
If your interview process is inconsistent, unstructured or rushed, you could easily miss out on strong ServiceNow talent or end up making the wrong hire. A good interview should help you assess capability properly while also giving the candidate confidence in your business.
Here are five practical ways to improve your ServiceNow interview process and get more value from every conversation.
The quality of your hire is often a reflection of the quality of your interview process.
1. Choose the right interview format
Face-to-face interviews are no longer the only option. In the ServiceNow market, many businesses now use video interviews, phone screening calls and remote final stage meetings as part of their hiring process.
Each format has its own strengths, so it is important to be deliberate about the approach you take.
- In-person interviews: Great for building rapport and giving candidates a feel for your working environment. Make sure the setting is professional, welcoming and well organised.
- Video interviews: Efficient and convenient, especially for hybrid or remote roles. Think carefully about your background, the platform you are using and how you come across on screen.
- Phone interviews: Useful for early stage screening, but more limited when it comes to assessing communication style and presence.
The key is to choose a format that suits the role and then apply it consistently across your shortlist.
2. Avoid questions that can introduce bias
Unconscious bias can easily creep into interviews, often through casual conversation rather than formal questioning. Small talk might feel harmless, but it can influence your perception of a candidate in ways that have nothing to do with their ability to do the job.
For example, asking what someone did at the weekend may seem friendly enough, but if you happen to share similar interests or backgrounds, that can create an unintended connection that affects your judgement.
Keep your questions focused on experience, behaviours, delivery and suitability for the role. That will help you make fairer and more effective hiring decisions.
3. Use a clear interview structure
A structured interview process nearly always leads to better outcomes than an informal one. It helps candidates know what to expect and helps your team assess people more consistently.
For many ServiceNow roles, a sensible structure might include:
- a first stage interview to assess experience, communication and overall fit
- a second stage interview focused on technical depth, stakeholder management or relevant examples
- a final discussion if needed before making the offer
It is also a good idea to have two people from the hiring company involved in the interview process. This helps reduce bias and gives you a more balanced view of each candidate.
For many employers, first and second stage interviews can easily be carried out over Teams or Zoom.
4. Standardise your questions
If you ask every candidate completely different questions, comparing them fairly becomes much harder. Standardised questions make it easier to assess people against the same criteria and reduce the risk of bias affecting your decision.
For each ServiceNow role, create competency-based questions that relate directly to the skills and behaviours needed for success. You might ask candidates to talk through examples of leadership, problem solving, teamwork, stakeholder management or project delivery.
It also helps to score answers against a simple framework, so you can compare candidates more objectively once the interviews are complete.
That said, structure should not mean rigidity. Good interviews still need room for follow-up questions where necessary.
Useful prompts include:
- Tell me more about that decision
- Why did you approach it that way?
- What was the outcome?
- What would you do differently next time?
5. Take notes and follow up properly
It is surprisingly easy to leave an interview feeling confident about a candidate, only to forget key details later. Taking notes during and immediately after the interview will give you a much more reliable record of what stood out.
Make sure you capture both positives and concerns, along with any scores from your standardised questions. That will make the final review process far more effective.
Notes are also useful when it comes to follow-up. A personalised response that refers back to something discussed in the interview shows professionalism and genuine interest. In a competitive ServiceNow market, that can make a real difference to candidate engagement.
Final thoughts
If your interviews are not giving you the insight or results you need, it may be time to review the process. Often, small changes in structure, questioning and follow-up can have a significant impact on the quality of your hiring decisions.
Working with a specialist ServiceNow recruitment company can also help. The right recruitment partner will do more than introduce candidates. They can also advise on interview structure, market expectations and the kinds of questions that will help you identify the right person more effectively.
At Linking Humans, we help ServiceNow partners and end users across the UK, Europe and North America hire permanent and contract professionals who can make a real impact.
If you would like to speak to us, use the request call back option at the top of this page or get in touch here.