How do I screen Chief of Staff candidates before interviewing?

Send every applicant one link that carries 4 skills tests (Business Operations Management, Critical Thinking, Communication, Project Management), 2 personality inventories and 5 one-way video questions. springhire scores everything automatically and ranks the candidates, so you interview the top few. The free plan covers 10 candidates a month.

How long does the Chief of Staff screening take a candidate?

About 40 minutes for the tests, plus 10 to 15 minutes for the video questions. Candidates complete it on their own time, on any device.

What should a Chief of Staff job description include?

A short brief, key responsibilities, must-have and nice-to-have skills and the requirements. The JD generator writes one for this role in a minute.

Which interview questions work best for a Chief of Staff?

Questions that ask for a specific past example and a walkthrough of how the candidate thinks. This page lists 8 with sample answers, and the full bank has more.

Yes. The free plan includes every screening tool with 10 candidate credits a month and no card. Paid plans start at $39 a month.

Leadership

How to hire a Chief of Staff

What the role does, the job description, the interview questions, and the 40-minute screening pack that tells you who can do the job before you book a single interview.

Screen Chief of Staff candidates free See the pack

The role

What a Chief of Staff does

A Chief of Staff sits in the Leadership function. The sections below give you the job description, the interview questions and the screening pack for the role.

Screen before you interview

The Chief of Staff screening pack

The role is operating rhythm, judgement, influence and follow-through. Every applicant gets one link. You get one ranked report.

Skills tests · 40 minutes total

Product & projectBusiness Operations Management Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Business Operations Management Test helps hiring teams assess candidates for day to day operational decision making. It is suited to intermediate level operations and service roles where capacity planning, SLA judgment and continuous improvement directly affect team performance.Cognitive & aptitudeCritical Thinking Test12 min · 24 questions · AdvancedThe Critical Thinking Test shows you whether a candidate can reason rigorously under time pressure. Across 24 questions it measures deduction with syllogisms, sound inference from business passages, recognition of hidden assumptions and fallacies, and the ability to judge which evidence strengthens or weakens a claim.CommunicationCommunication Test8 min · 20 questions · Entry levelThe Communication Test shows you how a candidate actually communicates at work: how clearly they write, how carefully they listen, how reliably they confirm understanding, and how considerately they handle tone and timing. Through 20 realistic entry-level scenarios, it scores four dimensions so you can hire people who keep customers and colleagues on the same page.Product & projectProject Management Test10 min · 20 questions · IntermediateThe Project Management Test is a 10-minute screening for hiring teams assessing intermediate project skills. It helps identify candidates who can manage scope, keep schedules realistic, handle risks and dependencies, and communicate clearly with stakeholders.

Personality inventories

Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality TestThe Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality Test helps hiring teams understand how entry level candidates are likely to approach work, people and pressure. It measures five broad personality dimensions that can support decisions for roles where reliability, teamwork, adaptability and communication matter.DISC Personality TestThe DISC Personality Test helps hiring teams understand how candidates tend to communicate, respond to change and work with others. It is useful for entry level hiring when role success depends on pace, collaboration, follow-through and comfort with structure.

One-way video questions · answered on camera, scored by AI

1
How do you decide what reaches the CEO and what does not?
2
Describe a cross-team initiative you drove without formal authority.
3
How do you prepare a leadership team meeting so decisions actually get made?
4
Tell us about a time you delivered hard news to a senior leader.
5
What would your first 90 days look like here?

Send this pack to your applicantsFree plan, 10 candidates a month, no card.

Interview questions

Chief of Staff interview questions

For the candidates who pass the pack. Each comes with a sample answer on the full page.

01
Tell me about a time you acted as a force multiplier for a leader or organization.
02
How do you understand the chief of staff role?
03
Why do you want this role rather than a functional leadership track?
04
How do you build trust quickly with a principal and a leadership team?
05
How do you drive a strategic project that crosses multiple functions?
06
How do you run an effective operating rhythm for a leadership team?
07
How do you prepare a leader for a high-stakes decision or meeting?
08
How do you handle communication and information flow across an organization?

All Chief of Staff interview questions with answers

Frequently asked questions

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