How to Use AI to Write Job Adverts and Interview Questions

Hiring your first or fifth employee is a big moment for a small business. Get it right and you gain someone who makes everything easier; get it wrong and it costs time, money and morale. Yet most small business owners write job adverts in a rush, between serving customers and doing the accounts, and then improvise the interviews.

AI can help you hire more carefully without hiring a recruiter. It can turn your notes into a clear, friendly job advert, check your wording for anything that might put good people off or be discriminatory, and build a structured set of interview questions with a simple scoring guide. You still decide who to hire, and employment law still applies, so check Acas guidance as you go. This guide takes about an hour.

What you’ll need

• Notes on the role: main tasks, hours, pay, location and start date
• What the person really must have versus what would be nice
• A sense of your business culture and why someone would enjoy working with you
• An AI chatbot and about an hour

Step-by-step: write a job advert and interview plan with AI

1. Define the role first. List the main tasks and what success looks like after three months. Separate genuine essentials from nice-to-haves.
2. Draft the advert. Paste your notes and ask for a clear, warm advert (prompt 1). Include pay, hours and location; adverts with salaries usually get more relevant applicants.
3. Check for bias and barriers. Ask the AI to flag wording that could discourage people or relate to protected characteristics, such as “young and energetic” or unnecessary degree requirements (prompt 2).
4. Decide how people apply. Keep it simple. A CV and a few short questions is often enough. Offer to make adjustments for disabled candidates.
5. Build structured interview questions. Ask for questions linked to each essential requirement, mixing experience and scenario questions (prompt 3).
6. Create a scoring guide. Agree what a strong, okay and weak answer looks like before you interview. It helps you compare fairly and remember who said what.
7. Prepare follow-up messages. Ask the AI to draft invitations, offers and kind rejection emails (prompt 4). Candidates remember how you treated them.

Copy-paste prompts

1. Turn my notes into a job advert

I run a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [LOCATION] with [NUMBER] staff. I'm hiring a [JOB TITLE], [HOURS], paying [PAY]. Main tasks: [TASKS]. Essential: [ESSENTIALS]. Nice to have: [NICE TO HAVES]. Why it's a good place to work: [CULTURE AND PERKS].
Write a clear, friendly job advert under 350 words with a short intro, what you'll do, what we're looking for, what we offer, and how to apply. Use plain British English and avoid jargon and clichés.

2. Check my advert for bias

Here's my job advert: [PASTE ADVERT].
Check it for wording that could put off good candidates or might relate to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as age, sex or disability. Also flag requirements that seem unnecessary for the job. Suggest neutral alternatives. This isn't legal advice; just highlight things for me to consider.

3. Structured interview questions

The essential requirements for this role are: [LIST]. The job involves [KEY SITUATIONS].
Write 8 interview questions: one or two per requirement, mixing "tell me about a time" questions and practical scenarios. For each, list what a strong answer might include and give a simple 1 to 4 scoring guide. Avoid any questions about age, family plans, health, religion or other personal matters.

4. Candidate emails

Draft three short emails for my [JOB TITLE] hiring: an interview invitation that asks if they need any adjustments, a job offer subject to [CONDITIONS, SUCH AS REFERENCES OR RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS], and a kind rejection after interview with an offer of brief feedback.

Recommended tools

• ChatGPT: fast for adverts, questions and emails.
• Claude: good at careful checks for wording and tone.
• Gemini: useful if you manage hiring in Google Docs and Sheets.
• Grok: handy for quick rewrites.
• Acas: free, impartial guidance on recruitment and employment law.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

• Be honest about the job. Overselling leads to quick departures.
• Include the pay. It saves everyone time.
• Ask everyone the same core questions. It’s fairer and makes decisions easier to explain.
• Don’t ask personal questions. Avoid questions about age, marriage, children, health or religion.
• Check right to work. Employers must check that staff have the right to work in the UK before they start; see GOV.UK.
• Keep candidate data safe. Store CVs securely and don’t keep them longer than you need. Don’t paste them into AI tools without thinking about privacy.
• Write a contract. Employees must get a written statement of employment particulars from day one.

FAQ

Can AI screen CVs for me?

It can help summarise, but be careful. Automated screening can bake in bias, and candidates’ data needs protecting. Read the applications yourself and make the decisions.

How many interview questions should I ask?

For most small business roles, six to ten questions in a 30 to 45 minute interview works well, with time for the candidate’s questions.

Do I need to give feedback to rejected candidates?

You don’t have to, but brief, kind feedback is appreciated and good for your reputation.

I run a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [LOCATION] with [NUMBER] staff. I'm hiring a [JOB TITLE], [HOURS], paying [PAY]. Main tasks: [TASKS]. Essential: [ESSENTIALS]. Nice to have: [NICE TO HAVES]. Why it's a good place to work: [CULTURE AND PERKS].
Write a clear, friendly job advert under 350 words with a short intro, what you'll do, what we're looking for, what we offer, and how to apply. Use plain British English and avoid jargon and clichés.

Related guides

• How to use AI to write a Business plan
• How small businesses can use AI to answer customer emails
• How to use AI to write quotes and proposals for clients

Reference: Acas: How employers should recruit