Interview Notes Template: Free Format With a Filled Sample

An interview notes template is a one-page form that each interviewer fills during or right after an interview. It has 5 parts: a header (candidate, role, interviewer, date and stage), the criteria this round checks, an evidence block for each criterion with the candidate's own words and a verdict, the questions the candidate asked, and a recommendation that names the evidence it rests on. Copy this interview notes format into your notes tool, your ATS or a shared document, and fill the header and the criteria before the interview starts:

INTERVIEW NOTES

Candidate:                     Role:
Interviewer:                   Date:
Stage:  [ ] phone screen  [ ] first interview  [ ] team interview  [ ] final interview

Criteria this round checks (from the intake brief):
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOR EACH CRITERION
Criterion:
Question asked:
Evidence (the candidate's words, short quotes and numbers):
Follow-up asked, and the answer:
Verdict:  [ ] Exceeded  [ ] Met  [ ] Partial  [ ] Unmet  [ ] Unclear
Why this verdict (1 line that points to the evidence):

QUESTIONS THE CANDIDATE ASKED
-

OVERALL
Recommendation:  [ ] advance  [ ] hold  [ ] do not advance
Based on (the 2 or 3 pieces of evidence that decide it):
Criteria to check in the next interview:
Completed on (date):

Write every line as if the candidate will read it. In the UK, a candidate can ask for a copy of their interview notes, and US employers covered by EEOC rules must keep hiring records for at least 1 year (table below).

How to fill in the interview notes template

Fill the interview notes template one criterion at a time, and give each criterion 1 of 5 verdicts, with the same meaning in every interview for the role:

Verdict	Use it when
Exceeded	The evidence shows more than the criterion asks for, and the extra helps in this role
Met	The evidence shows the whole criterion
Partial	The evidence shows part of the criterion, and you can name the part that is missing
Unmet	You asked, and the evidence shows that the candidate does not meet the criterion
Unclear	You did not ask, or the answer gave no evidence for or against

Keep Unclear apart from Unmet. A criterion that the round did not test goes to the next interviewer as a question. It does not count against the candidate in the recommendation.

If your interviews run on Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, Firstview's Notetaker can fill your notes template from the call, and you check the draft before anyone decides.

Interview notes sample: store assistant manager

The sample below shows the template filled after a first interview for a store assistant manager at a grocery store. Sample: the store, the candidate and the answers are fictional. The rule that the hiring manager agreed at intake: a candidate advances when criterion 1 (the shifts) is Met and no criterion is Unmet.

INTERVIEW NOTES (SAMPLE: fictional candidate and store)

Candidate: Jordan Reyes            Role: Store assistant manager, Eastside store
Interviewer: Store manager         Date: [interview date]
Stage: first interview (video call, 30 minutes)

Criteria this round checks:
1. Can work opening (6 a.m.) and closing (11 p.m.) shifts, weekends included (dealbreaker)
2. Has supervised a shift team of 5 or more people
3. Resolves a customer complaint and records what was done
4. Has run cash-office and stock-count procedures

Criterion 1: Opening and closing shifts
Question asked: Which shifts can you work in a normal week?
Evidence: "Any opening or closing, weekends too."
Follow-up (asked of every candidate): How do you get here for 6 a.m. and home after 11 p.m.?
  "The first bus gets me in at 5:45 and the last one leaves at 11:40. I checked."
Verdict: Met
Why: Confirmed both shift types and weekends, and named the bus times.

Criterion 2: Supervised a shift team of 5 or more
Question asked: Tell me about the largest team you ran on a shift.
Evidence: Runs the Saturday late shift at the current store, 7 people,
  for about 18 months. Plans breaks and covers sick calls.
Follow-up: What did you do the last time 2 people called in sick?
  "Moved one person from the bakery to the tills and closed self-checkout early."
Verdict: Met
Why: 7 people for about 18 months, and a real example of covering a gap.
  Not Exceeded: this store's shifts have 6 to 8 people, so 7 is the normal size.

Criterion 3: Customer complaints
Question asked: Tell me about a complaint you resolved.
Evidence: A customer was charged twice. "I checked the till roll, refunded
  the second charge and gave her my name in case her bank still showed it."
Follow-up: Where did you record it? "I told my manager. We don't have a log."
Verdict: Partial
Why: Resolved the complaint, but kept no record, and the criterion asks for one.

Criterion 4: Cash office and stock counts
Question asked: Not asked (time ran out).
Evidence: None.
Verdict: Unclear
Why: Not tested in this round.

QUESTIONS THE CANDIDATE ASKED
- How far ahead are the shift plans published?
- Is there training for the cash office?

OVERALL
Recommendation: advance
Based on: criterion 1 Met (both shifts, bus times checked); criterion 2 Met
  (team of 7, sick-call example); no criterion Unmet.
Criteria to check in the next interview: criterion 4 (ask about the last stock count
  they ran and what they did about a difference); criterion 3 (ask how they would
  record a complaint here).
Completed on: [interview date], same day

Under the intake rule, the candidate advances to the next interview: criterion 1 is Met and no criterion is Unmet. The hiring manager makes that decision. The notes show what the decision rests on, and they tell the next interviewer which 2 criteria to test.

A reader who was not in the call can follow these notes for four reasons:

• The evidence is quotes and numbers. A reference can confirm "7 people for about 18 months", while "strong leader" gives a reference nothing to confirm.
• Every verdict has a reason. Criterion 3 is Partial, and its "Why" line names the missing part, the record.
• Criterion 4 was not asked, so it is Unclear and moves to the next interview. It plays no part in the recommendation.
• The recommendation cites its evidence. A hiring manager can read the "Based on" line and stop there, or go up to the evidence and check it.

You can test your own notes the same way. Give them to a colleague who was not in the interview, with the verdicts hidden, and ask them to choose a verdict for each criterion. Where their verdict differs from yours, your evidence line does not show what decided it. Add the quote or the number that did.

How to take interview notes in 7 steps

Good interview notes start before the call, with the criteria written into the template.

1. Fill the header and the criteria before the interview. Take the criteria from the intake brief. The intake meeting guide shows how to turn a hiring manager's words into criteria that an interview can check.
2. Tell the candidate that you will take notes. Say it in one sentence at the start. If you want to record the call, ask before you start.
3. Write down what the candidate said. Short quotes, numbers, team sizes, tools and places. Leave your conclusion for the verdict line. Shorthand is fine if you complete it on the same day.
4. Ask one follow-up when an answer has no example. Write the follow-up question and the answer, so the reader knows which part came from your prompt.
5. Mark the verdict right after the questions for each criterion. At the end of the interview, the last answers are the ones you remember best.
6. Leave out anything that is not about the job. See the next section.
7. Complete the notes on the same day and file them on the candidate's record. Notes in a personal notebook cannot help the hiring team, and they are hard to find when a candidate asks for a copy.

For a panel, give each interviewer 1 or 2 criteria to own and the same template, so the debrief compares evidence on the same fields. The panel interview guide covers how to split the questions.

What to leave out of interview notes

Interview notes should hold only what is about the job. US law makes it illegal to discriminate against an applicant because of race, color, religion, sex (including transgender status, sexual orientation and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (EEOC). A note about one of these can later read as the reason for a decision. Replace notes like these:

Instead of	Write
"Young, lots of energy for nights"	"Can work 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., 4 nights a week" (the answer to the question)
"Has 2 small kids, may miss weekends"	"Confirmed weekend shifts" (ask every candidate the same shift question)
"Good culture fit"	The criterion and the evidence, such as "covered 2 sick calls on a shift"
"Seemed nervous"	Nothing, or the evidence for a criterion
"Strong communicator"	What they did: "explained the refund steps in order, without prompting"

If a candidate tells you something personal without a question, such as a health condition or a family plan, do not write it down. Steer back to the job criteria.

How long to keep interview notes, and who can read them

How long you keep interview notes, and whether a candidate can get a copy, depends on where you hire. The table shows the rules in the US, the UK and the EU. It is not legal advice.

Where	How long to keep the notes	Can the candidate get a copy?	Source
US	At least 1 year from the date of the record or the hiring decision, whichever is later. If a discrimination charge is filed, until its final disposition: the end of the time to sue, or the end of the lawsuit	Not set by this rule	29 CFR 1602.14, EEOC
UK	No fixed period. Set a retention period for recruitment records and keep to it	Yes. A candidate can make a subject access request for interview notes	ICO draft guidance: interviewing, ICO draft guidance: records
EU	No fixed period. Keep personal data no longer than necessary for the purpose	Yes. A copy of the personal data you hold about them, free of charge, with a reply in principle within 1 month	European Commission: principles, European Commission: requests

State and local governments and school systems must keep the same kinds of records for 2 years (29 CFR 1602.31, 29 CFR 1602.40). The EEOC rule covers any personnel or employment record, including "other records having to do with hiring". The ICO pages are draft guidance: the consultation has closed, and the ICO has not yet published the final version. The ICO also warns that if you delete recruitment records too quickly, it can be harder to show that your process was fair.

If your form tells interviewers to keep their notes private, the notes are still information that you recorded about the candidate. In the UK, the ICO's wording covers "any additional information you record in the interview", so plan for a request that also asks for a recording or a transcript that you keep.

Interview notes vs interview scorecard

Interview notes are the evidence, and a scorecard is the verdict or rating for each criterion. A scorecard without notes shows a decision that nobody can check. Notes without verdicts leave the debrief to compare impressions. The template on this page holds both on one form: the evidence and the verdict sit under the same criterion.

If your team already uses a separate scorecard, keep the same criteria and the same scale on both. The interview scorecard template has a rating scale and a filled example. The structured interview guide shows how to write the questions for each criterion.

One interview notes template for each stage

Each interview stage checks different criteria, so give each stage its own template and use it for every candidate in that stage. The table shows what each template needs, and how to build it from the section types of Firstview's Notetaker.

Stage	What the template holds	Notetaker sections
Phone screen	Dealbreakers (shifts, location, work permit), salary expectation, start date	Yes/no for each dealbreaker, a number for the salary expectation, a date for the start date
First or team interview	The evidence block and verdict for each criterion, and the candidate's questions	Text written as bullets for the evidence, a choice of 5 verdicts, text for the candidate's questions
Final interview	The verdicts that are still open, the recommendation and the next steps	A choice for each open verdict, yes/no for "recommend for next round", text written as action items

In the Notetaker, you build a template from sections. Each section has its own instruction and type: text, number, choice, yes/no or date, written as a paragraph, bullets, key values or action items. You can set a default interview notes template for each hiring stage, so every interviewer fills the same scorecard and their notes can be compared.

The Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, transcribes each speaker separately so names stay right, and files the notes on the candidate record next to the CV evaluation and the AI interview report. You can edit the notes by hand or regenerate them with another template, and earlier versions stay. Treat the filled template as a draft: the interviewer checks each verdict against the evidence, and a person decides who moves to the next stage.

If you record or transcribe interviews outside the Notetaker, the interview transcription guide covers consent and formats. For notes from other meetings, such as one-on-ones and client calls, see the meeting notes templates.

How we made this guide

We read the 5 top US search results for "interview notes template" (2 university HR forms, a template gallery and 2 recruiting software guides) and the primary sources for the table: 29 CFR 1602.14, 1602.31 and 1602.40 on eCFR, the EEOC recordkeeping and prohibited practices pages, the ICO's draft recruitment guidance and the European Commission's GDPR pages. The sample is fictional: Firstview wrote the store, the candidate and the answers for this guide, and they come from no real candidate or customer. The Notetaker details come from Firstview's Notetaker page. No named person has reviewed this guide yet.