Free tool
Is Your Interview Loop Testing the Right Things?
Interview Loop Coverage Audit
Pick the role level and the stages in your loop, then check what each stage actually assesses. The audit shows overlap, blind spots and the round count the role needs. Nothing is stored.
How the audit scores a loop
The score starts at 100. It drops for every required competency nobody tests, for every time a competency is tested beyond three times, and for every round over the recommendation for the level.
| Rule | Effect |
|---|---|
| Required competency with no stage assigned | −15 each |
| Competency tested a fourth time or more | −5 per extra test |
| Round over the recommendation (4 mid, 5 senior and above) | −5 each |
| 85 and above | Balanced |
| 65 to 84 | Uneven |
| 40 to 64 | Lopsided |
| Below 40 | Broken |
What this audit gets wrong
- It assumes each stage tests what you say it tests. In practice, interviews drift toward whatever the interviewer finds interesting.
- The competency list is a starting set, not a standard. Roles differ, and so should the list.
- It counts coverage, not quality. A stage can be assigned collaboration and still test it badly.
- The round counts are rules of thumb. A complex senior role can justify more, but every extra round costs candidates time, and some of the best ones withdraw.
Questions
How do you decide which interviewer tests which competency?
Give each competency to the person best placed to see it. A cross-functional partner sees collaboration, a peer sees craft, the hiring manager sees execution. Keep each interviewer to two or three competencies, so they can go deep instead of skimming everything.
What competencies should an interview scorecard cover?
A common starting set is motivation, craft depth, execution, collaboration, communication and conflict resolution for every level. Senior roles add strategic trade-offs and scope independence. Manager roles add people leadership. Adjust it to what the role actually needs.
How do you avoid duplicate interview questions across a loop?
Assign each competency to one or two named stages before the loop starts, and give each interviewer only their assigned competencies on the scorecard. Duplication happens when every interviewer is told to assess overall fit.
Why are conflict resolution and scope independence so often missed?
They don't belong to any default stage. Recruiters screen for motivation, craft interviews test craft, and hiring managers cover execution. Unless someone is assigned conflict and scope explicitly, the loop ends with no evidence on either.
Where the loop lives
Interview Loop & Scorecards keeps the signals a role needs, the stages that test them, and a scorecard from every interviewer in one place. It flags signals nobody tests, and candidates you're about to decide on before everyone has submitted feedback.
For the reasoning behind the rules, read how to design an interview loop.
Built by Dominique Simmons, a former CX/UX researcher in big tech and now a strategist for early-stage startup teams, with a background in cognitive psychology and research methods. Plotted Work Studio makes Notion systems for managers and product teams.
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Copy this interview coverage map
Assign each competency to one or two stages. A competency with no owner is a blind spot; four or more is overlap.
| Competency | Required | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Times tested | |---|---|---|---|---| | Motivation and fit | Yes | Recruiter screen | | 1 | | Craft depth | Yes | Craft interview | | 1 | | Execution | Yes | Hiring manager | Craft interview | 2 | | Collaboration | Yes | Cross-functional partner | | 1 | | Communication | Yes | Recruiter screen | Cross-functional partner | 2 | | Conflict resolution | Yes | Hiring manager | | 1 | | Strategic trade-offs | Senior+ | Presentation | | 1 | | Scope independence | Senior+ | Presentation | | 1 | | People leadership | Managers | | | 0 |
Full scoring rules: Interview Loop Coverage Score