Matt
Question 1 – Create (paper,mindmap,etc) a site structure for a brand new site that sells toilets and wants to rank. Should include layout, categories, and articles. Question 2 – Name 3 tricks to rank an article that worked for you and if I were to search in Google I wouldn't find at least 2 of them. Question 3 – Explain how to perform a technical SEO audit of my website.
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Mike
Question 1) Let me talk to clients you have or are currently working with.
Test over.
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Meakin
Tell me your opinions on the following:
1. Neil Patel
2. John Mueller
3. Pagespeed and Core Web Vitals
Then…
4. How did you learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
5. What's a term you tried to rank for but couldn't?
6. Tell me about your biggest SEO fail
7. Scenario – your rankings have dropped significantly over one / two weeks, tell me what you would do to start diagnosing and fixing.
8. What are the most important things for SEO to be successful?
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Patrick
For an employee or is this for an agency?
I've been in the game for a little over half a decade. It depends on what you want them to do.
But I'd love to chat and pass over some ideas Kathy

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Kathy
Here's the situation. I was ready to hire for bottom level SOP implementation. Schollaert suggestions above are perfect for this role. But I have an applicant who claims to belong in the mid-tier in terms of skill and salary. Ok, so I can say no and just fill my low level job, but if he's willing to do all that and can at the same time bring more to the table to save me time and money, I'm willing to entertain that thought.
At that MID level position what's important to me would be more than anything would be to be a problem solver. There is still a lot of SOP here, but if I give him a task to do and in the process he can see that something different may be more effective based on what he knows about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), that means a lot to me. I don't think he belongs in this mid-tier unless he can do that.
I'm not hiring a technical SEO here. I'll outsource that. Nor do I want a content strategist. That's high level.
I just want a couple of simple of questions to ask that can tell me quickly whether he has the problem solving skills I need and that he has enough background in SEO to even suggest creative solutions.
Does that help?

Allen
I have a third interview with a company and they are having me do an audit on their site and present it. I thought that was pretty smart. This is after they asked a lot of very good SEO questions.
This is for a higher-tier position for a premiere agency so they are pretty selective but pay accordingly. But I feel the audit could still be used even for less experienced SEO users.

Ted
Tell me the biggest keyword you could rank for and what it took to do it. Then tell me the biggest keyword you couldn't rank for and why it didn't work.

Kathy
This comment is nested above, and some may miss it, so I'll repost it here. This is probably the most brilliant test I've ever heard of.
I have a friend who hires software engineers for his company. In the interview he gives them all a test and instructs them to call if if they have any questions. He purposely makes the test impossible to complete because there is not enough information. He said in one batch of 10 applicants, only one called to say he needed ___ in order to complete the assignment. You had to be really good to even identify what ___ is. He got the job.
Also, the last guy I hired said to me in answer to one of my questions, "I don't know but here's how I'd find out." That was a big thumbs up from me, not only because I could see he wouldn't let a problem stop him, but it also showed me he wasn't ashamed to say he didn't know. How many web developers or others have you worked with that will waste an entire day trying to solve a problem because they can't come back to you and say, "I don't get it." I'd love to have a question to ask that will reveal that in the interview process.
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