The Table: interview coaching for the hiring chair
Prepare to interview people returning from incarceration, in recovery, leaving the military or living with a disability: what you may and may not ask, the mistake most employers make, practice from both chairs, and a structured interview you can print.
Built from The legal rails for each group as of October 2026 (ADA, EEOC arrest and conviction guidance, Indiana Code 35-38-9-10 on expunged records), structured-interview evidence (Sackett et al., 2022; Kuncel et al., 2013) and if-then commitments (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006)
Five population briefs, seven hiring-chair modules, every scenario the candidates practice, and a four-step interview builder that prints a scored guide. Everything you build stays on your device; nothing is sent to Invest Hamilton County.
You are on Free. 1 of 4 tools in Find and recruit are open to you. See what the other 3 add.
Build your interview
Four steps to an interview that actually predicts
Structured interviews sit at the top of the evidence rankings for predicting who will do the job well (Sackett et al., 2022). Structure is four decisions, made once, before anyone walks in. Make them here, print your guide, and walk in ready. What you build stays on this device.
Step one Name the job's real requirements
Requirements are functions, never proxies. What does a person actually have to do here?
Before you keep it: do the people doing this job today hold one? Postings demand degrees far more often than incumbents have them, and every unnecessary credential requirement screens out capable people, lengthens your fill time, and shrinks your pool in a county at 2.7 percent unemployment. If the skill matters, name the skill and test it. If the degree genuinely matters, keep it and be able to say why.
Fuller and Raman, Dismissed by Degrees, 2017; degree reset trend: Burning Glass Institute and HBS, 2022
Step two Pick the method mix for this role
Recommendations update to your role type. Structured questions are always in; the evidence says they carry the most weight, so they are not optional here.
Work sample ideas for this role type
Step three Write the anchored questions
One question per essential function. Choose behavioral (their past) or situational (a scenario), then edit the wording and the three anchors until they sound like your workplace. The anchors are what you score against, so make weak, solid, and strong concrete.
Pick a role type and functions in step one, and your questions will build themselves here.
Step four Commit to the scoresheet
Score each answer 1 (weak), 2 (solid), or 3 (strong) during the interview, not from memory afterward. Total the sheet. Rank candidates by total. Mechanically combining scores beats holistic gut integration of the same information (Kuncel et al., 2013). The sheet decided, and that protects you, the candidate, and the hire you almost talked yourself out of.
Your guide is assembled on this page and printed from your browser. It is never sent to us, and it is not stored on any server.
Structure is the fairness mechanism
The instrument you just built is not paperwork. Identical resumes get different callbacks by name and by record, and that has not improved in 25 years of field experiments. The same anchored questions that best predict performance are also what give a candidate with a record, a gap, or no degree their fairest shot: everyone answers the same questions, and the scoresheet decides.
Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2004; Pager, 2003; Quillian et al., 2017
The Table gives general information and coaching support. It is not legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. It never screens, assesses or treats anything. For your own situation, including expungement, licensing or what you must disclose in a regulated field, talk to a licensed attorney. Free and low-cost help: Indiana Legal Services, the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, and your local public defender's reentry program. In danger now: 988, 911, or the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. Facts current as of October 2026.
Programs that fit this work
Add roles to your set and these rank to your own hiring. Eligibility is set by each program, not by us.
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Wagner-Peyser Employment Services DWD Federal
Free job matching, career services, and labor market resources for job seekers through WorkOne centers. Helps employers find workers and job seekers find jobs.
Who qualifies: Universal access, ALL job seekers and employers, no requirements. Free.
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On-the-Job Training (OJT) · WorkOne WorkOne Federal
WorkOne reimburses employers up to 50% of a new employee's wage during a contracted training period. Minimum wage: $13.50/hr for adults, $11/hr for youth. WorkOne pre-screens and refers qualified candidates.
Who qualifies: Participant must be WIOA Adult/Dislocated Worker eligible. Employer: public, nonprofit, or private sector. Must not show pattern of failing to retain OJT worker…
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Youth Work Experience (WEX) · WorkOne WorkOne Federal
Places youth ages 16-24 in employer worksites at ZERO cost to the employer. WorkOne pays all wages and workers' compensation. Youth attend weekly career workshops. Hamilton County contact: Dorothee Cooke.
Who qualifies: Youth meeting WIOA Youth eligibility. In-School: 14-21. Out-of-School: 16-24. Must be low-income (ISY) or face barriers (OSY).
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Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) DWD/IRS Federal
Federal tax credit for hiring people from certain groups, such as veterans, SNAP recipients and people with a conviction. It applies only to people who began work on or before December 31, 2025. Congress has not renewed it for later hires as of September 2026.
Who qualifies: Employer hires from targeted groups. Ten target groups under 26 USC 51(d) (veterans are split into five sub-groups with different wage caps), including: TANF re…
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Federal Bonding Program USDOL/DWD Federal
Free fidelity bonds ($5,000-$25,000) for employers hiring individuals with barriers: ex-offenders, individuals in recovery, poor credit history, or dishonorable discharge. Covers first 6 months of employment.
Who qualifies: At-risk individuals: ex-offenders, poor credit/bankruptcy, recovering substance abusers, dishonorable discharge, lacking work history, TANF recipients.
Analyst Coach
Ask about the local labor market in plain language, on top of your dashboards. Answers carry their sources and point to the tools for the math. It is an AI coach, your chats are private, and they are never used to train anything.
In crisis? Call or text 988, free, 24/7.
Built by Alex, the Hamilton County Data Hub, from BLS wage records, Census commuting and business patterns, O*NET skill profiles, and licensed Lightcast postings. Wages are set by employers. Ranges, never promises.