Interview debrief notes should connect each evaluation to job-related evidence, preserve disagreements, and record the decision and next action. Keep the discussion distinct from the original candidate conversation and from each interviewer's submitted feedback.
Use an evidence-led debrief record
| Section | What to capture |
|---|---|
| Criterion | Requirement from the agreed role brief |
| Evidence discussed | Example and the interviewer who supplied it |
| Interpretation | What the evaluator concluded and why |
| Disagreement | Different views that remain unresolved |
| Decision and action | Authorized outcome, owner, and next step |
The table is an original meeting-note template, not a validated hiring assessment or a prescribed decision rule.
Avoid losing the basis of a judgment
Fictional discussion: one interviewer says the candidate showed strong delivery ownership; another says budget responsibility remained unclear. A useful recap preserves both observations. “Panel agreed candidate is strong” would remove the unresolved point.
Ask which example supports a broad label. If the evidence is unavailable in the meeting, mark the issue for clarification rather than constructing a rationale after the fact.
Keep the process consistent
Greenhouse's scorecard overview describes feedback against predetermined criteria and group review. Follow the client's actual assessment process and use the debrief note to document it accurately.
Do not allow the meeting summary to replace an interviewer's assessment without review. A note-taking tool can organize discussion; it does not become the evaluator merely because it produces a recommendation-shaped paragraph.
Finish with a clear state
Record whether the team decided to proceed, request more evidence, pause, or take another action under its process. Identify who is authorized to communicate the outcome. A proposed next interview is not a scheduled interview until coordination is complete.
If no decision was reached, say so and assign the missing-information task. This is more useful than a vague conclusion that the team had a “productive discussion.”
Connect the note to the role scorecard and feedback-versus-notes guide. Recruit Recap can create reviewable write-ups from selected supported meetings. Hiring judgments and final feedback remain with the authorized people in the recruiting process.