Instructional Designer Interview Questions For Hiring Managers

The instructional designer is an essential member of your eLearning team. As a hiring manager, you don’t just want to find someone who can do the job. You want a team member who will excel in the role. Finding that person doesn’t have to be difficult. The right instructional designer interview questions can help.

The most effective interviews draw on a combination of standard and behavioral interview questions to help you learn about the candidate. This list of suggested instructional design interview questions will help you make the most of every job interview. You’ll also find some guidance for how to decide which questions to ask.

Instructional Designer Interview Questions

The following instructional designer interview questions can help you hire better. They will help you begin to get to know your candidate. Be prepared to follow up with amplifying questions if you don’t get the information you’re looking for from the candidate’s first response.

Questions about the candidate and their background:

Can you tell us about your background and experience in instructional design?
How do you stay current with developments and trends in the field of instructional design?
What instructional design models or frameworks do you use and why?
What types of multimedia and technology do you incorporate into your instructional designs and why?

Questions about how the candidate approaches the work:

Can you walk us through your process for designing and developing instructional materials?
How do you determine the appropriate instructional strategies and methods for a given project?
How do you organize and track instructional design projects?
Can you provide an example of a project where you had to design instruction for a complex or technical topic?

Questions about how the candidate works with and considers others:

How do you incorporate feedback from stakeholders, subject matter experts, and end-users into your design process?
How do you ensure that your instructional materials are accessible and inclusive for all learners?
How do you communicate with members of the learning design team to ensure that everyone is working toward common goals?

Each of these questions is open-ended, giving the candidate an opportunity to talk about themselves and their approach. Skip basic questions like, “where did you go to school?” or “what authoring tools are you familiar with.” This information can easily be found on a resume. Your interview time is better spent on questions that will help you learn about the candidate’s communication style, philosophy of learning, and methods of managing projects.

Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask Instructional Designers

Behavioral interview questions help you better understand how the candidate meets challenges and handles complexity. Rather than asking the candidate to use their imagination and tell you what they would do in a given situation, you ask them to draw on previous experience.

These questions are a little longer, and you can expect the answers to be more in-depth. As you ask these questions, look for evidence of creativity, problem solving, and the top skills you identified in the job description.

Tell me about a time when you had to design instruction for a particularly challenging topic. How did you approach the design process, and what strategies did you use to ensure that learners were able to understand and apply the information?
Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult stakeholder or subject matter expert. How did you handle the situation, and what strategies did you use to maintain a productive working relationship?
Can you give an example of a project where you had to design instruction for a diverse audience? How did you ensure that your instructional materials were accessible and inclusive for all learners?
Tell me about a time when you had to revise an instructional experience based on feedback from stakeholders or end-users. How did you incorporate the feedback into your design process, and what changes did you make to the materials?
Describe a project where you had to design instruction using a new technology or software. How did you approach the learning curve, and what strategies did you use to ensure that the technology enhanced the learning experience?
Can you provide an example of a time when you had to manage multiple projects simultaneously? How did you prioritize your workload and ensure that each project was completed on time and to the required quality standards?
Tell me about a situation where you had to make a design decision that was outside of your comfort zone. How did you approach the decision-making process, and what strategies did you use to ensure that your design was effective?

How to Ask the Right Questions

You probably won’t have time to ask all of these questions in the interview, so you’ll want to make sure you’re asking the right ones. Start by referring back to your instructional designer job description. It should include a list of the core requirements for the instructional design role. Using this list as a starting point, select questions that will help you get a feel for how the candidate’s competencies align with your requirements.

Next, think about common challenges a person in the instructional design role might face in your organization. Every instructional design job has its own challenges and you want a person who is prepared for the unique demands of your organization.

For example, will they need to work on multiple projects at the same time or work with subject matter experts (SMEs) who are unfamiliar with course development? Make sure you have a few questions that dig into their experience in these areas.

Interviews Are A Conversation

As you work through your interview questions, remember that the best interviews are a conversation. Don’t be so focused on getting through your list of questions that you miss opportunities to really understand the candidate.

One of the most important questions you will ask is this: “What questions do you have for me?” You can learn a lot about a candidate from the questions they ask you. This part of the interview can reveal the candidate’s concerns and expectations for the role.

If you’re ready to hire instructional designers or for other related eLearning and management roles, Teamed can help you find and hire vetted talent.