Free interview notes template

# Interviewer notes

_Replace the gray text and delete what you do not need. Write what you saw and heard, and keep your interpretation separate._

## Interview details

**Candidate:**

**Role:**

**Interviewer:**

**Date:**

**Interview stage:**

## Consent to record

**Candidate agreed to a recording:** ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not recording

**Recording file name, if recorded:**

_Ask before you start recording and note the answer here._

## Notes by question

| Question | Evidence: what the candidate said or did | Rating (1 to 5) | Time in recording |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   |   |

_Write the evidence in the candidate's own terms. Put your impressions in the section below._

## Impressions and concerns

**My impressions:** _Keep these apart from the evidence_

**Concerns to check:**

**What the candidate asked:**

_Ask about and note job-related things only. Do not record protected characteristics such as age, race, religion, disability or family status._

## Overall rating

**Overall rating:** ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5

## Recommendation

**Recommendation:** ☐ Strong yes ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Strong no

**Reasons, with evidence:**

**Follow-up needed:**

Template from hushscript.com

What to write in interview notes

Write what the candidate said or did, question by question. Facts first: the situation they described, what they did, the result. Add your rating for the answer. Keep your impressions in a separate place, so a guess about the person never passes for evidence.

The template is laid out the same way:

• Interview details. Candidate, role, interviewer, date and stage.
• Consent to record. Whether the candidate agreed, and the file name if you recorded.
• Notes by question. The question, the evidence, a rating from 1 to 5, and the time in the recording.
• Impressions and concerns. Kept apart from the evidence.
• Overall rating and recommendation. With the reasons.

Use it with the interview guide template. Take the questions and the rating scale from the guide, and ask every candidate the same questions.

Interview notes example

An example for the question “Tell me about a time you missed a deadline.”

	Note
Weak	Good communicator, seems reliable.
Better	Communication: a vendor delay put a client date at risk. Emailed the client the same day with a new date and a partial delivery. Delivered on the new date. Rating 4.

The weak note records a conclusion. The better note names the competency and records what the candidate did, so a second interviewer can read it and rate the answer for themselves. Keep guesses about the person out of the evidence column. Ask about and note job-related things only, and do not record protected characteristics such as age, race, religion, disability or family status.

Rate each answer and make a recommendation

Rate each answer right after you hear it, on the scale from your interview guide. Then give an overall rating and one recommendation: strong yes, yes, no or strong no. Write the reasons with the evidence for them. Someone who was not in the room should be able to follow your recommendation from the notes alone.

Use it in Word, Google Docs or Notion

• Word. Open the downloaded .docx and fill it in.
• Google Docs. Upload the .docx to Google Drive and double-click it to open it in Google Docs. See Google’s Office files help page.
• Notion. Notion imports Markdown files, so import the .md download. See Notion’s import help.
• On paper. Use the Print button, or print the Word file, for a printable interview notes template with room to write.

You can edit the template freely, and no attribution is required.

Check your notes against a recording

Recording a hiring interview needs the candidate’s consent. Ask before you start and note the answer in the template. If it is no, take notes only. Follow your employer’s policy on recordings as well.

With consent, upload the recording to interview transcription. Full transcription needs an account and minutes. Eligible personal accounts get 30 free minutes once, after card verification or with the first purchase. You get an editable transcript with speaker labels and timecodes. Use the times in your notes to find each answer, and check that your evidence matches the candidate’s words. The ratings and the recommendation stay yours.

Updated: November 1, 2026