Interview notes template: five copy-ready formats and a filled example
On this page
- What should an interview notes template include?
- Which notes format fits your interview?
- Template 1: the universal interview notes page
- Template 2: competency blocks for a structured interview
- Template 3: half-page notes for back-to-back screens
- Template 4: notes when an AI note taker is recording
- Template 5: panel interviewer notes
- What does a filled example look like?
- How do notes turn into a scorecard and a summary?
- What should stay out of interview notes?
- Questions people ask
An interview notes template is the page you fill in while the interview happens: a header (candidate, role, round, interviewer, date, format and consent), one block per question or competency for what the candidate actually said, room for follow-ups and claims to verify, a logistics block, and open questions for the next round. It records evidence, not verdicts; the rating goes on the scorecard afterward. Below are five copy-ready formats, one for each kind of interview, and a filled example with an invented candidate.
Every template is plain text so it pastes into a document, an ATS note or a notes app without losing its shape. For habits that make notes useful (writing pay and notice exactly, keeping your eyes on the candidate), see interview note-taking tips for recruiters; this page is the forms themselves.
What should an interview notes template include?
Eight fields cover almost every interview. The example entries are invented.
| Field | Why it is there | Example entry (invented) |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Makes the notes findable and shows the interview was run properly | Jordan Vale, Senior Financial Analyst, round 2, video, consent given at 0:01 |
| Questions or competencies, written in advance | You compare answers to the same questions, not to whatever came up | "Forecasting and modeling: tell me about a forecast you rebuilt." |
| Evidence | What the candidate said, as facts and short quotes | Moved the monthly forecast into a planning tool; cut it from 9 days to 5 |
| Follow-ups asked | Shows which answers were probed and which were taken at face value | Asked who built the driver logic: "I did, my manager reviewed it" |
| Flags to verify | Numbers, dates and claims to check against the transcript or references | "9 days to 5": check in transcript at about 13:56 |
| Logistics | The facts clients and hiring managers act on | Expects $95–100k base; 3 weeks' notice; hybrid 3 days is fine |
| Open questions | What the next interviewer should cover | Has not run a budget cycle alone; ask round 3 to probe |
| What is missing on purpose | No ratings during the call, no personal characteristics | Rate on the scorecard after the interview |
Quotation marks are a promise. Put words in quotes only when they are the candidate's exact words, ideally checked against a recording or transcript. Everything else is a paraphrase and should read like one.
Which notes format fits your interview?
| Format | Best for | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Universal notes page | Any 30 to 60 minute interview without a formal scorecard | One page |
| 2. Competency blocks | Structured interviews scored against defined competencies | One block per competency |
| 3. Half-page screen notes | Back-to-back recruiter phone screens | Half a page |
| 4. Notes beside an AI note taker | Any interview that is being transcribed | Three or four lines per question |
| 5. Panel interviewer notes | Onsite loops and panels where each person owns topics | Your assigned topics only |
Template 1: the universal interview notes page
Use this when there is no scorecard yet, or when you want one page that works for any role.
INTERVIEW NOTES
Candidate: Role: Round:
Interviewer: Date: Format: video / phone / in person
Recording or transcript: yes / no Consent given: yes / no (time: __)
QUESTION 1: ______________________________________
What they said (facts, numbers, names):
-
-
Exact words worth keeping (only if verbatim): " "
Follow-up asked → answer:
Verify: [ ] claim ______ [ ] number ______
QUESTION 2: ______________________________________
(same four lines)
QUESTION 3: ______________________________________
(same four lines)
LOGISTICS
Pay expectation (base / bonus / rate):
Notice period or start date:
Location / work setup:
Other processes or offers:
Questions the candidate asked:
OPEN QUESTIONS FOR NEXT ROUND
-
-
Notes finished at: __:__ (rate on the scorecard after this, not before)Template 2: competency blocks for a structured interview
When the role has a scorecard, organize notes by the scorecard's competencies so each rating has its evidence in one place. Write the "what good looks like" line before the interview, from the job description or the interview guide.
STRUCTURED INTERVIEW NOTES
Candidate: Role: Round: Interviewer:
Date: Format: Consent: yes / no
COMPETENCY A: __________________
What good looks like (write before the call):
Question asked:
Evidence for:
-
Evidence against or missing:
-
Follow-ups and answers:
Timestamp of the best example (if transcribed): __:__
COMPETENCY B: __________________
(same block)
COMPETENCY C: __________________
(same block)
NOT COVERED IN THIS ROUND
-
LOGISTICS (if your round covers them)
-Keep "evidence against or missing" as its own line. It is the line people skip, and it is the one a debrief needs most, because "no evidence" and "negative evidence" lead to different decisions.
Template 3: half-page notes for back-to-back screens
On a screening day the risk is not depth; it is mixing up candidates. This version fits half a page and puts the knockouts first. The full call script lives in the recruiter phone screen template.
SCREEN | Candidate: Role: Time:
Consent: yes / no
Knockouts: [ ] authorization (asked lawfully) [ ] location [ ] must-have skill
Current role, in one line:
Why moving (their words):
Must-have 1 evidence:
Must-have 2 evidence:
Pay expectation: Notice: Other processes:
Red flag or claim to verify:
Next step agreed, with date:Template 4: notes when an AI note taker is recording
A transcript already holds the words, so copying them is wasted effort. Your notes should hold what a transcript cannot: when the important moments happened, what you saw, and what you meant to check. Machine transcripts also make predictable mistakes with numbers, negatives and speaker labels (see AI note taker hallucinations), so flag those moments while they are fresh.
AI-ASSISTED NOTES
Candidate: Role: Round: Tool recording: __________
Consent given at: __:__
MOMENTS (timestamp → why it matters)
__:__ strongest example for competency ___
__:__ number or date to check (comp, team size, dates)
__:__ answer that felt rehearsed or read; ask a follow-up next round
__:__ candidate corrected themselves; check which version the transcript shows
WHAT THE TRANSCRIPT WILL NOT SHOW
Screen share, whiteboard or work sample:
Anything said before or after recording:
CHECK AFTER THE CALL
[ ] speaker labels right on my key quotes
[ ] numbers and negatives ("have" / "haven't") on the quotes I will use
[ ] AI summary matches what I heard; strike anything that was not saidTemplate 5: panel interviewer notes
In a loop, each interviewer covers assigned topics and writes notes independently, before the debrief. Share coverage, not opinions, until everyone has submitted. The topic split itself belongs in the panel interview plan.
PANEL NOTES | Interviewer: Assigned topics:
Candidate: Role: Slot: __:__ to __:__
TOPIC 1: __________ Question used:
Evidence:
Missing:
TOPIC 2: __________ Question used:
Evidence:
Missing:
Topics I could not cover (tell the coordinator now):
Something another interviewer should probe:
Submitted before the debrief at: __:__What does a filled example look like?
Invented example. Jordan Vale, the role and the company below are fictional, written to show the level of detail to aim for. This is Template 2 after a 45-minute hiring manager interview for a Senior Financial Analyst at an invented company, Bramblecrest Outdoor Supply.
STRUCTURED INTERVIEW NOTES
Candidate: Jordan Vale (invented) Role: Senior Financial Analyst Round: 2
Interviewer: L. Brooks (invented) Date: [date] Format: video Consent: yes, 0:01
COMPETENCY A: Forecasting and modeling
What good looks like: owned a forecast end to end, can explain the drivers
Question asked: "Tell me about a forecast you rebuilt."
Evidence for:
- Moved monthly forecast from a 40-tab spreadsheet into a planning tool
- Says cycle went from 9 working days to 5 (verify ~13:56)
- Built the driver logic himself; manager reviewed
Evidence against or missing:
- Did not say how forecast accuracy was measured
Follow-ups: asked about variance vs actuals → "within a few percent most months",
no number given
Timestamp of best example: 13:56
COMPETENCY B: Business partnering
What good looks like: changed a decision by an operations or sales leader
Evidence for:
- Weekly review with 3 store-operations directors
- Example: labor-hours model led to one region cutting overtime
Evidence against or missing:
- Outcome of the overtime change not quantified
COMPETENCY C: Leading a budget cycle
What good looks like: ran an annual budget with several owners
Evidence for:
- Coordinated 12 cost-center owners for two cycles
Evidence against or missing:
- "I haven't owned the cycle alone. My director ran the budget; I ran
the process." (27:14)
NOT COVERED: systems (ERP) depth; ask round 3
LOGISTICS: expects $95–100k base (example figure); 3 weeks' notice; hybrid 3 days fineNotice what is absent: no "great energy", no guess about why Jordan is leaving, no rating. Each line could be read aloud to the candidate without embarrassment, which is the standard the what not to write in interview notes guide sets.
How do notes turn into a scorecard and a summary?
- Close the gaps within the hour. Fill half-finished lines from memory or the transcript, and mark anything you are unsure of with "(check)".
- Check your quotes. If the interview was transcribed, confirm every quoted phrase and its speaker. The interview transcript example shows the errors to look for.
- Rate on the scorecard. One rating per competency against the anchored scale, citing the notes. The interview scorecard template has a 1 to 4 scale with anchors.
- Write the summary for its reader. A hiring manager, a debrief and a client each need a different summary; the interview summary examples show each one, written from this same invented interview.
- Brief the next round. Pass on coverage and open questions, not your rating, using the handoff notes between rounds.
What should stay out of interview notes?
- Protected characteristics and stand-ins for them: age, family plans, health, religion, accent as a judgment, "young team fit".
- Appearance and manner as conclusions: "seemed nervous" says nothing about the job; "paused, then asked for the question again" is an observation.
- Diagnoses and speculation: why someone left a job, unless they said it.
- Ratings written mid-interview: they anchor everything you note afterward.
Notes are part of the hiring record and can be requested or disclosed later. How long to keep them depends on your jurisdiction and policy; see how long to keep interview notes.
Questions people ask
What should be in an interview notes template?
A header with the candidate, role, round, interviewer, date, format and whether consent to record was given; one block per question or competency for what the candidate actually said; space for follow-ups and claims to verify; a logistics block for pay expectation, notice and work setup; and a list of open questions for the next round. Ratings belong on the scorecard, filled in after the interview, not on the notes page.
Should I still take notes if an AI note taker is recording the interview?
Yes, but different notes. The transcript holds the words, so your page should hold what a transcript cannot: timestamps for the moments that matter, what you saw on a shared screen or whiteboard, the follow-ups you meant to ask, and claims you want to check against the transcript afterward. Three or four lines per question is usually enough.
What is the difference between interview notes and an interview scorecard?
Notes are the raw record of what the candidate said, written during the interview. A scorecard is the structured judgment written afterward: a rating for each competency against a defined scale, with the evidence from the notes or transcript that supports it. Good notes make the scorecard quick to fill in and easy to defend.
How soon after an interview should I finish my notes?
Within the hour, and before you read anyone else's feedback. Memory of exact wording fades quickly, and reading another interviewer's view first tends to pull your own notes toward theirs. Fill the gaps, mark what you are unsure of, then move to the scorecard.