Start with the criterion
A video interview question works when the reviewer knows what evidence would satisfy it. Write the criterion first: planning, prioritising, explaining a trade-off, handling disagreement or learning from a mistake. Then write a question that asks for a moment when the candidate did that work.
A question about how you approach planning invites a description of a method. A question about a time you had to change a plan invites a specific example. The second question gives the reviewer something to compare.
Ask for a real example
Ask the candidate to describe the situation, what they did and what happened. The order gives the answer a shape without turning it into a script. Tell the candidate that a short example from a real project is welcome, even when it is not impressive.
A real example includes a constraint. The budget, the deadline, the missing data or the disagreement makes the action visible. A story without a constraint is hard to tell apart from a story with one.
Write the follow-up before the interview
A recorded answer cannot ask a follow-up in the moment. Prepare one for the review or for a later live stage. For a general answer, ask for the moment, the action and the result. For a vague result, ask what changed and how the candidate knew.
Put the follow-up next to the question in the rubric. A reviewer who has to invent a follow-up will ask a different question each time, and the answers become harder to compare.
Keep the question narrow
A question with several parts produces an answer with several topics. The reviewer then has to guess which part the candidate answered. Ask one thing at a time. If the role needs several criteria, use several questions or several stages.
Name the context. A question about a customer conversation is different from a question about an internal team. The context tells the candidate which example to choose and helps the reviewer compare answers from the same kind of work.
Write the scoring note
For each question, write what a strong answer contains, what a partial answer contains and what is missing. Keep the note short. A reviewer should be able to read it in a moment and then listen to the answer.
Use the same criteria across candidates. If a question changes for one candidate, the answers are no longer comparable. Add a new question only when it tests a criterion that the role needs.
Test the questions with a colleague
Ask a colleague who knows the role to answer the question. Listen for the pause and the place where the answer becomes general. Change the question or the follow-up, not the candidate.
A good question is a small piece of interview design. It names the evidence, asks for a real moment and gives the reviewer a way to check the answer. The interview then produces material a team can discuss, not a set of impressions.