How many questions, and how long for each?

Practical defaults for a first round: four to six questions, two to three minutes each, about 15 minutes in total.

Candidates finish short interviews. A first round that takes 10 to 20 minutes of recording gets more completed answers than one that takes 40.

  • Four to six questions is plenty for a first round.
  • 2 minutes for factual or motivation questions, 3 minutes for a story ("Tell me about a time…"). Keep 4 to 5 minutes for the one question that needs it.
  • Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order, so you compare like with like.
  • Start with an easy question. The practice question warms people up, but a gentle first real question helps too.
  • Say in the interview Description roughly how long it takes and why you're using video.

For example questions by role, see one-way interview questions. For running a fair review, see reducing bias in one-way video interviews.

Last checked against the app on 16 October 2026. Something here doesn’t match what you see? Tell us and we’ll fix it.

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