Bullhorn interview notes: note actions, templates and what to paste

In Bullhorn, an interview note goes on the candidate's record through Actions > Add Note: you write it in the Comments field, choose a type from the Note Action list (such as Prescreen), reference the job with #, and tag colleagues with @. According to Bullhorn's knowledge base as of October 2026, notes are plain text only, note actions are set by an admin, and Bullhorn's Standard Reports need "Prescreen" (or "Screened") and "Client Visit" to exist as note actions. Get the record, the action and the format right and interview notes stay findable and countable.

This page is about the note itself: where it lives, which action to choose, how to template it and what breaks when you paste AI output. For the AI notetakers that write into Bullhorn automatically, see our guide to AI notetakers for Bullhorn. For note-writing habits that apply in any ATS, see how to write candidate notes in your ATS.

Where do interview notes go in Bullhorn?

Bullhorn's Managing Notes in Bullhorn ATS article (checked October 2026) describes a note as a permanent record of something that has already happened, visible to other users. The steps it gives:

1. Open the record and select Actions > Add Note.
2. Write the note in Comments. Type @ and a name to tag a user or distribution list, who then gets an email. Type # and a record name to reference a job, opportunity or placement.
3. Choose the type from Note Action.
4. Add any Additional References.
5. Optionally set a Schedule Next Action (Add Task or Add Appointment opens a window after you save) and pick who receives an Email Notification.
6. Click Save. The note shows on the record's Notes tab and in its preview slideout, with @ and # references as links.

Three details from the same article decide where an interview note actually ends up:

• Notes belong to people, not jobs. Bullhorn says notes are primarily added to Candidate, Contact and Lead records. A note added while you are viewing a job is associated with the appropriate contact and shown on the job's preview slideout and the contact record. So write a candidate's interview note from the candidate record and reference the job with #, or it will not be where the next recruiter looks.
• About and Additional References behave differently. "About" creates a separate note for every record listed, and editing one leaves the others alone. "Additional References" creates one shared note across every record listed, and editing it changes all of them. Use separate notes when each candidate needs their own assessment; use Additional References when one write-up genuinely concerns several records, such as a client meeting that covers a job and its hiring manager.
• A note is not a task. Bullhorn draws the line clearly: a note records what happened, a task is a to-do for the future. Book "send to client by Thursday" as a task from the note rather than leaving it in the text, where nobody is reminded.

Which note action should an interview note use?

The Note Action is what makes a note countable. Reports, activity targets and searches filter on it, so a screen logged as "General" or "Email" quietly vanishes from your numbers. Bullhorn's article names two actions the product itself depends on: add Client Visit and Prescreen (or Screened), because Standard Reports require them. Beyond those, the list is yours. A set that covers an agency interview cycle might look like this; every name except Prescreen and Client Visit is our suggestion, not a Bullhorn default.

An admin edits the list under Menu > Admin > System Settings by searching for commentActionList and entering the values separated by commas with no spaces (Bullhorn's own example is Prescreen,Outbound Call,Inbound Call,Left Email), then logging out and back in. Plan around four rules from the same article:

• Note actions are limited to 30 characters and cannot contain special characters, so "Client Feedback" works and "Client F/B (2nd rd)" does not.
• A line of hyphens between values creates a divider, which helps recruiters find interview actions in a long list.
• Renaming an action does not update notes already saved under the old name. Rename once, early, or your reports will split across two names.
• Removing an action keeps old notes, but nobody can select or filter on it until it is added back.

If a recruiter logs a run of screens in a row, the rememberLastCommentAction setting pre-fills the Add Note screen with the last action they used, which removes one click per call and one common mis-tag.

How do you build a Bullhorn note template for interviews?

Bullhorn has note templates built in. Its Managing Note Templates article (checked October 2026) gives the steps: in a record, select Actions > Add Note (or + Add > Note), choose Note Template > New, name it, set its visibility, type the template in the Note field and save. Note Template > Organize edits or deletes templates later. One setting matters for teams: any user can edit or delete a template set to Public, and only the owner can see, edit or delete a Private one. A desk that shares public templates should keep a master copy of each outside Bullhorn so an accidental edit is easy to undo.

For the recruiter screen itself, use the prescreen format in our Bullhorn notetaker guide or the recruiter phone screen template. The two notes agencies most often get wrong come after the client interview. Both templates below are plain text, because Bullhorn notes do not keep formatting.

Client feedback (note action: Client Feedback, on the hiring manager's contact record)

CLIENT FEEDBACK - [candidate] - [stage] - interviewed [date]
From: [name, title]   Received: [date], by [call / email]
Decision: NEXT ROUND / OFFER / HOLD / REJECT
Their reason, in their words: "[as close to verbatim as you can]"
Strengths they named: [ ]
Concerns they named: [ ]
Anything they want probed next round: [ ]
Next step and owner: [what, who, by when]
Fed back to candidate: [date] / NOT YET

Candidate debrief (note action: Candidate Debrief, on the candidate record)

CANDIDATE DEBRIEF - [client] - [stage] - [date]
Interest now (1-5): [ ]   Changed since last call? [why]
Who they met: [names and titles]
What went well, in their view: [ ]
What worried them or went badly: [ ]
New information: [pay, other offers, notice, start date]
Risk to the placement: [ ]
Next step: [ ]   Task booked: [date]

The "their words" line is the one that pays off later. When a client says no, the recruiter's paraphrase ("not a culture fit") is useless to the candidate and to the next submittal; the client's own sentence ("she answered every question about the migration in general terms") tells you what to fix. The conversation that fills the second template is covered in candidate debrief after a client interview.

What breaks when you paste AI notes into Bullhorn?

Most AI notetakers produce notes for a document or a chat window, not for Bullhorn's Comments field. Six things go wrong, and each has a simple fix.

1. Formatting. Bullhorn's FAQ says notes do not support HTML: you can paste plain text, not charts, images or rich text. Markdown arrives as literal asterisks and pound signs, and tables collapse. Ask the tool for plain text, or use capitals for headings and hyphens for bullets as in the templates above.
2. Length. A transcript is not a note. Paste the verdict, the evidence for each requirement and the logistics; keep the full transcript wherever your retention policy says it lives.
3. The wrong record. A pasted note lands on whatever record you opened. Check that you are on the candidate, not the client contact or a duplicate, before you save.
4. Fields left stale. A note does not change the candidate's pay, availability or location fields. If the call changed them, update the fields separately; a search on desired pay reads the field, not your note.
5. Lost drafts. Bullhorn saves drafts automatically only when you add a note from the record's Notes tab, not from the preview slideout, and keeps them in your browser's local cache. Clearing the cache deletes unsaved drafts, so save before you tidy your browser.
6. A summary in place of a verdict. An AI summary describes the call; it does not decide. Write the Decision or Verdict line yourself, and check any quote it gives you against what the candidate said.

Tools without a Bullhorn connection all end in a paste. Interview Signal, for example, has no Bullhorn integration: its ATS note export copies a Bullhorn-shaped note to your clipboard and you paste it into Comments yourself. If you want notes written into Bullhorn without the paste, the options and their trade-offs are in how to get AI interview notes into an ATS without an integration.

What should never go in a Bullhorn interview note?

Bullhorn notes are visible to other users, and any of them can end up in front of a candidate who asks for their data. Leave out anything about protected characteristics, health, family plans or appearance, and anything you would not say to the candidate's face. Our guide to what not to write in interview notes has rewrites for the common cases. Two Bullhorn-specific points: an @-tagged colleague receives the note's content by email, so a note sent to a distribution list travels further than one saved silently; and a shared note with Additional References shows on every record listed, so keep sensitive candidate details out of notes that also reference a client contact.

How do you keep Bullhorn notes consistent across a desk?

• Agree the action list once. Six to ten interview-related actions, named in one meeting, with Prescreen and Client Visit kept because Standard Reports need them.
• Template every recurring note. Screen, interview prep, client feedback, candidate debrief and references cover most of a contingent desk's interview notes.
• Check a sample monthly. Filter notes by each action for the last month and read ten. Look for screens logged under the wrong action, client feedback written on the candidate instead of the contact, and verdict lines left blank.
• Teach it in week one. A new recruiter's first ten notes set their habit. Sit with them for the first two.

Consistency is what lets the next recruiter, or you in six months, find every candidate who was screened for a role and see why each one did or did not go forward without calling anyone back.