AI-Powered Interview Questions

Generate personalized interview guidance for every candidate, turning any interviewer into an expert with strategic questions and evaluation frameworks.

This guide explains how to use Nova's AI-Powered Interview Questions feature to generate personalized interview guidance for every candidate, turning any interviewer into an expert.

Overview

Nova's AI-Powered Interview Questions feature transforms the interview process by providing personalized, expert-level guidance for every candidate. Whether you're a hiring manager without formal recruiting training or a recruiter interviewing outside your expertise, this feature gives you structured guidance for confident interviews.

What It Does

Analyzes each candidate's specific background to identify strengths, gaps, and areas needing exploration
Generates strategic, role-specific questions tailored to the candidate and position
Provides expert evaluation guidance including what to listen for, red flags, and follow-up questions
Integrates seamlessly with your ATS through automatic candidate notes with direct links

What You Get

For each candidate, Nova provides:

5-10 strategic interview questions personalized to their background
Clear guidance on what strong answers should include
Red flags and warning signs to watch for
Strategic follow-up questions to probe deeper
Evaluation criteria to assess responses objectively

How It Works

Step 1: Enable Nova on a Role

Navigate to your job posting in your ATS
Enable Nova for the role (if not already enabled)
Wait for Nova's initial assessment to complete

[Screenshot gap: Show enabling Nova on a role in ATS]

Step 2: Wait for Assessment Completion

Nova will automatically:

Analyze the job requirements and ideal candidate profile
Review incoming candidate applications
Generate personalized interview questions for each candidate

This process typically takes a few minutes per candidate once they apply.

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Step 3: Access Interview Questions

Method 1: Through ATS Notes

Open the candidate's profile in your ATS
Navigate to the notes or activities section
Look for the Nova-generated note with interview questions link
Click the link to access personalized questions

Nova Interview Questions in Lever Example of Nova interview questions link in Lever

Method 2: Through Nova Dashboard

Log into your Nova dashboard
Navigate to the specific job
Select the candidate from the list
Click "Generate Interview Questions" or "View Questions"

[Screenshot gap: Show Nova dashboard with candidate list and interview questions button]

Step 4: Review Question Set

Each question set includes:

Strategic Questions: 5-10 questions tailored to the candidate's background and the role Evaluation Guidance: What to listen for in strong responses Red Flags: Warning signs that indicate potential concerns Follow-up Questions: How to probe deeper into their responses Scoring Framework: Clear criteria for evaluating answers

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Understanding the Interview Guidance

Question Types

Nova generates different types of questions based on the role and candidate:

For Product Managers:

Strategic product decisions and frameworks
0-1 product development scenarios
Cross-functional leadership situations
Data-driven decision making examples

For Engineers:

Technical architecture and design decisions
Leadership and mentoring scenarios (for senior roles)
Problem-solving approaches
Code quality and best practices

For Marketers:

Campaign strategy and execution
B2B vs B2C expertise alignment
Measurement and optimization approaches
Channel-specific expertise

Example Question Format

Sample Question:

"Nova is incubating two green-field products. Walk me through the first 90-day framework you'd use to decide what to build, which metrics to target, and when to kill an early bet."

What to Listen For:

Clear framework for decision-making
Specific metrics and success criteria
Awareness of opportunity cost and resource allocation
Experience with early-stage product development

Red Flags:

Vague or theoretical responses without concrete examples
Focus only on features rather than business outcomes
Inability to discuss failure scenarios or pivot strategies

Follow-up Questions:

"How would you handle stakeholder pressure to continue a failing experiment?"
"What's the biggest product bet you've killed, and why?"

Personalization Examples

Nova personalizes questions based on:

Candidate's Experience Level:

Entry-level: Foundational knowledge and learning approach
Mid-level: Execution and collaboration skills
Senior-level: Strategy, leadership, and decision-making
Executive-level: Vision, organizational impact, and scaling

Industry Background:

Startup experience: Ambiguity tolerance, resource constraints
Enterprise experience: Scale challenges, process optimization
Consulting background: Problem-solving frameworks, client management

Role Transition Scenarios:

IC to Manager: Leadership philosophy and people management
Different Industry: Transferable skills and adaptation strategies
Career Gaps: Recent learning and motivation to return

Getting the Most Out of Interview Questions

Before the Interview

Review Questions 15-30 Minutes Prior:

Read through all questions and guidance
Identify 3-4 primary questions to focus on
Note specific follow-ups you want to explore
Understand the evaluation criteria

Prepare Your Environment:

Have the question set open on a secondary screen or printed
Set up note-taking system aligned with evaluation criteria
Block calendar time for immediate post-interview documentation

During the Interview

Opening the Interview:

Use 1-2 questions as your primary focus areas
Listen actively for the guidance points Nova highlighted
Take notes using the provided evaluation framework
Ask follow-up questions when responses seem shallow

Managing Time:

Allocate 15-20 minutes for each major question
Use follow-ups to dive deeper rather than rushing to new topics
Leave time for candidate questions (they often reveal additional insights)

What to Avoid:

Reading questions verbatim (make them conversational)
Asking all questions if conversation is flowing naturally
Ignoring red flags mentioned in the guidance
Skipping follow-ups when answers seem rehearsed

After the Interview

Immediate Documentation:

Score responses using Nova's provided criteria
Note specific examples and red flags observed
Record which follow-up questions yielded the most insight
Document overall impression while fresh

Team Coordination:

Share key insights with other interviewers
Align on areas that need additional exploration
Use Nova's framework for consistent evaluation across the team

Advanced Features

Integration with ATS Workflows

Automatic Note Generation: Nova automatically creates notes in your ATS that include:

Direct link to personalized interview questions
Timestamp of when questions were generated
Candidate-specific guidance summary

Workflow Integration:

Questions are available as soon as candidates advance to interview stage
Links work across different devices and team members
No additional login required for authorized team members

Multi-Interviewer Coordination

Shared Question Sets:

Same question set available to all interviewers for consistency
Each interviewer can focus on different aspects of the guidance
Prevents duplicate questioning across interview rounds

Role-Specific Variations:

Technical interviews get engineering-focused questions
Cultural fit interviews get values and collaboration questions
Executive interviews get strategic and leadership questions

Continuous Improvement

Question Quality Feedback: Nova learns from your hiring outcomes to improve:

Which questions best predict successful hires
Industry-specific improvements for your company
Role-specific refinements based on your requirements

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Interview Questions Not Available:

Ensure Nova is enabled for the specific role
Check that the candidate's application has been processed
Verify your team member has appropriate access permissions
Allow 5-10 minutes for question generation after application submission

Questions Seem Generic:

Ensure candidate has provided sufficient background information
Check that their resume/profile contains relevant experience details
Contact support if questions consistently lack personalization

Link Not Working:

Verify you're using the direct link from the ATS note
Check that you're logged into Nova with appropriate permissions
Clear browser cache and try again
Use an incognito/private browser window

Questions Don't Match Role Requirements:

Review the job description for completeness and accuracy
Ensure Nova has fully processed the role requirements
Contact support to refine role-specific question generation

Getting Help

Dashboard Resources:

View all generated question sets for your roles
Access question generation history and timing
Review team usage and engagement metrics

Support Channels:

Contact support through the Nova dashboard
Include candidate name and role for specific question issues
Reference the timestamp of question generation for faster resolution

Best Practices

For Hiring Managers

Leverage Your Subject Matter Expertise:

Use Nova's questions as a foundation, not a script
Combine generated questions with your domain-specific insights
Focus on evaluating competencies outside your expertise using Nova's guidance

Building Interview Confidence:

Practice with the evaluation criteria before interviews
Start with entry-level interviews to build familiarity
Use Nova's red flags list to identify concerns you might miss

For Recruiters

Interviewing Outside Your Expertise:

Trust Nova's technical and domain-specific guidance
Focus on delivery, communication, and cultural fit aspects
Use follow-up questions to validate technical competency claims

Coordinating with Hiring Managers:

Share Nova insights before hiring manager interviews
Use consistent evaluation criteria across all interviews
Document specific examples that align with Nova's guidance

For Interview Teams

Consistent Evaluation:

Have all interviewers use Nova's scoring framework
Assign different team members to focus on different question categories
Review Nova guidance together before making hiring decisions

Continuous Learning:

Debrief interviews using Nova's framework
Identify which questions yielded the most valuable insights
Share successful question variations with the team

FAQ

Q: Do I have to ask all the questions Nova generates? A: No. Nova provides 5-10 questions so you can choose the most relevant ones for your interview time and focus areas. Pick 2-4 primary questions that align with your interview objectives.

Q: Can I modify Nova's questions to fit my interview style? A: Absolutely. Use Nova's questions as a foundation and adapt the language to your conversational style. The key is maintaining the strategic intent and evaluation criteria.

Q: How quickly are questions available after a candidate applies? A: Questions are typically generated within 5-10 minutes of a candidate's application being processed by Nova. Complex backgrounds may take slightly longer for thorough analysis.

Q: Can multiple team members access the same question set? A: Yes. All authorized team members can access the same personalized question set for consistency across interviews. The link in your ATS works for anyone with appropriate permissions.

Q: What if the candidate's background doesn't match our role requirements? A: Nova will generate questions that help you explore transferable skills and potential gaps. The guidance will specifically highlight areas where the candidate might struggle and what strong answers would address those concerns.

Q: How does Nova handle entry-level candidates with limited experience? A: Nova adapts question complexity based on experience level. For entry-level candidates, questions focus on foundational knowledge, learning approach, problem-solving methodology, and potential rather than extensive experience.

Q: Can I provide feedback on question quality? A: Yes. Nova includes feedback mechanisms to help improve question relevance and effectiveness. Your input helps refine the AI for better future question generation.

Q: Do the questions work for remote interviews? A: Absolutely. The questions are designed to work in any interview format - in-person, video calls, or phone interviews. The evaluation guidance remains consistent across all formats.

Getting Started

First-Time Use

Enable Nova on 1-2 key roles to start
Wait for candidates to apply and questions to generate
Review first question set to understand format and guidance
Conduct your first interview using Nova's framework
Document results using the provided evaluation criteria
Gather team feedback on question effectiveness

Scaling Across Your Team

Share this guide with all team members who conduct interviews
Establish consistent practices for using Nova's guidance
Create interview feedback loops to improve team-wide effectiveness
Monitor usage patterns through the Nova dashboard
Adjust role descriptions based on question quality and relevance

The AI-Powered Interview Questions feature is designed to give every interviewer expert-level guidance while maintaining the human judgment that makes great hiring decisions. By following this guide and adapting the approach to your team's needs, you'll conduct more confident, structured, and effective interviews.

For additional support, training, or questions about optimizing your interview process, contact our team through the Nova dashboard or your account manager.