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Interview notes template for fair, structured hiring

In short: A structured interview notes template lists the job-related criteria agreed before any interview, the same questions for every candidate in the same order, space to write the evidence you heard, a score for each answer, the candidate’s own questions, and a recommendation with reasons tied to the criteria.

The template

Interview notes and scorecard

Interview details
  • Role:
  • Candidate:
  • Interviewer(s):
  • Date:
  • Stage (screen, panel, final):
  • Recording: candidate told and asked; answer:
Criteria agreed before interviews
  • Criterion 1 / what a strong answer shows:
  • Criterion 2 / what a strong answer shows:
  • Criterion 3 / what a strong answer shows:
  • Scale: 1 no evidence, 2 some evidence, 3 clear evidence, 4 strong evidence
Questions (same for every candidate, same order)
  • Question 1 (criterion):
  • Evidence heard:
  • Score:
  • Question 2 (criterion):
  • Evidence heard:
  • Score:
  • Question 3 (criterion):
  • Evidence heard:
  • Score:
Candidate’s questions
  • Questions they asked:
  • Anything we promised to send them:
Overall assessment
  • Strengths against the criteria:
  • Gaps against the criteria:
  • Recommendation: advance / do not advance / need more information
  • Reason (linked to the criteria):
Reminder for interviewers
  • Record job-related evidence only.
  • Do not note age, religion, marital status, family plans, pregnancy, health, disability or appearance.
  • Score before discussing the candidate with other interviewers.

When to use it

Use this template for job interviews, whether in person, by phone or on a video call. Every interviewer on the panel fills in their own copy during or straight after the interview, before talking to the others, so one strong opinion does not shape the rest.

Agree on the criteria and the questions with the hiring team before the first interview, using the job description. Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order, and score answers against the same scale. Write down what the candidate said and did, not your impression of them, and leave out anything unrelated to the job, such as age, religion, marital status, family plans, health or appearance. If you want to record, tell the candidate, ask first, and make clear that saying no will not affect the outcome. For how recording works on calls, see bot or no bot.

Filled-in example

Customer support team lead, panel interview

Interview details
  • Role: Customer support team lead
  • Candidate: Candidate 3 (Sara A.)
  • Interviewer(s): Layla (Head of support), Khalid (HR)
  • Date: Thursday 15 October
  • Stage: panel
  • Recording: candidate told and asked; she agreed
Criteria agreed before interviews
  • Handling escalations / stays calm, finds the cause, follows up with the customer
  • Coaching agents / gives specific feedback, tracks improvement
  • Clear writing in Arabic and English / short, polite, correct replies
  • Scale: 1 no evidence, 2 some evidence, 3 clear evidence, 4 strong evidence
Questions (same for every candidate, same order)
  • Question 1 (escalations): Tell us about a time a customer escalated a complaint to a manager. What did you do?
  • Evidence heard: a delivery refund case; called the customer back the same day, found a billing error, changed the refund checklist so it did not repeat.
  • Score: 4
  • Question 2 (coaching): Describe how you helped an agent whose replies were getting poor ratings.
  • Evidence heard: reviewed five of the agent’s tickets with them weekly, agreed two habits to change; did not say how she measured the result.
  • Score: 3
  • Question 3 (writing): Rewrite this angry customer email reply in Arabic and English.
  • Evidence heard: both versions short and polite, apologised once, gave a clear next step and time; one spelling slip in the English version.
  • Score: 3
Candidate’s questions
  • Questions they asked: team size, shift pattern, which help desk tool we use.
  • Anything we promised to send them: the shift rota and the role’s targets, by Sunday.
Overall assessment
  • Strengths: strong, specific escalation example; writes well in both languages.
  • Gaps: coaching example had no measure of improvement.
  • Recommendation: advance
  • Reason: clear or strong evidence on all three criteria; probe coaching results in the final interview.
Reminder for interviewers
  • Record job-related evidence only.
  • Do not note age, religion, marital status, family plans, pregnancy, health, disability or appearance.
  • Score before discussing the candidate with other interviewers.

Tips

Frequently asked questions

What is a structured interview?

A structured interview uses the same job-related questions, in the same order, for every candidate, with answers scored against criteria agreed in advance. It makes candidates easier to compare and reduces the influence of first impressions and personal chemistry. Interviewers can still ask follow-up questions, as long as they stay on the same criteria.

What should you not write in interview notes?

Leave out anything that is not about the candidate’s ability to do the job: age, religion, marital status, family plans, pregnancy, health, disability, appearance and similar personal details. Avoid vague labels like “not a culture fit”. Candidates may be able to ask to see what you wrote, so write every line as if they will read it.

Can I record a job interview?

Only with the candidate’s knowledge and agreement. Tell them at the start why you want to record, who will hear it, and that saying no will not affect the decision. The rules on recording conversations and keeping candidate data vary by country, so check with HR or your legal team before you start.

Can Echo take notes in interviews?

With the candidate’s agreement, Echo records the interview on iPhone or Android, or on Mac from the menu bar for a video interview on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, without a bot joining the call. Its Research & Interview template organises the transcript and summary, which you can check against this scorecard. Echo is free for 30 minutes of recording a month.

Echo writes these notes for you from a recording. Free for 30 minutes a month.

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