In Zara, skills are the foundation for tailoring interviews to match the competencies you want to evaluate. When creating an interview, you can add one or more skills—such as Communication, Problem Solving, or Technical Expertise — to guide the system in generating relevant questions and scenarios.Each skill can be accompanied by custom instructions that provide context and define the desired level of complexity. For example, you might specify that a Communication skill should focus on client-facing interactions or that a Technical skill should be assessed at an advanced level. These instructions help Zara adapt the tone, depth, and structure of the interview accordingly.Skill assessments are conducted through a conversation module that typically lasts around 5 minutes. During this time, Zara engages the candidate in a dynamic dialogue designed to surface insights aligned with your defined expectations — whether the skill should be evaluated in a technical, strategic, or light-touch manner.Zara will score each skill using the following levels:
Not Experienced
Junior
Experienced
Senior
Want to fine-tune your skill definitions for better candidate insights? Explore our Interview Best Practices guide.
Due to the conversational nature of skill-based interviews in Zara, there is no guarantee that different candidates will receive the exact same questions — even when taking the same interview. Instead of relying on a fixed script, Zara dynamically engages each candidate in a tailored dialogue designed to uncover how deeply they understand the subject.The system adapts in real time, asking follow-up questions or shifting focus based on the candidate’s responses. This approach ensures a more authentic and insightful evaluation, revealing not just what a candidate knows, but how they think, communicate, and apply their expertise.
Custom Questions are direct, scripted prompts delivered exactly as you’ve written them — without transitions, elaboration, or conversational flow.
Zara reads each question verbatim, and the candidate has one opportunity to respond.
Once an answer is received, Zara immediately proceeds to the next question or interview segment.This format is ideal when consistency is critical, such as:
Integrity checks
Screening validations
Standardized questions across all candidates
Candidate responses are evaluated using a simple scoring rubric:
Not Impressive
Average
Good
Use Custom Questions when you need precise control over phrasing and uniformity across interviews.
