Mastering Interview Note-Taking: A Professional's Guide [Interview Notes Blueprint]

Productivity

Refine the craft of interview note-taking to elevate your capabilities and secure vital information. Discover the essential strategies you require to enhance your interview efficacy right here!

Alex Chen
October 26, 2023 / 13 minutes read

Interview notes are a critical resource for recruiters aiming to fill open roles with premier talent. While some candidates distinguish themselves early through their credentials and demeanor, it's imperative to afford every applicant an equitable chance at securing the position. Nevertheless, managing the details of each interview, especially with numerous candidates, can be a formidable challenge. If your goal is to learn how to create interview notes that assist in effectively evaluating and ranking candidates for a well-grounded selection, continue reading!

What Constitutes Interview Notes?

Interview notes are documented records compiled during job interviews. These memoranda capture significant data about the candidate, encompassing their qualifications, competencies, professional history, and answers to interview queries. They can comprise both objective data, like technical proficiencies or educational history, and subjective appraisals, such as communication approach or cultural compatibility. Interview notes function as reference materials for hiring managers to assess candidates against job specifications and to make enlightened choices throughout the selection journey. They contribute to ensuring uniformity, impartiality, and precision in the hiring protocol and offer a documented account for subsequent reference or legal necessities if they arise.

Is Taking Notes During an Interview Advisable?

Note-taking throughout interviews guarantees that recruiters avoid confusing candidates or missing crucial elements when forming a hiring decision that serves the company's best interests. Moreover, it aids them in aligning available positions with the most suitable individual. But there's more. Here’s how interview notes can assist you:

• Aid in refreshing your memory
• Enhance consistency in assessments
• Foster a sense of equity and offer legal safeguards

A. Aid in Refreshing Your Memory

Even with an outstanding memory, it's improbable you'll recall every single response from every candidate. Interview notes not only act as a valuable aid for remembering each candidate's qualifications but also enable you to record your impressions and evaluate how effectively each candidate addressed the questions. When it's time to assess and decide, these notes become indispensable for comparing candidates and identifying who will advance.

B. Enhance Consistency in Assessments

As a hiring manager, you need to compare candidates on an equal footing. Taking notes during an interview allows you to maintain consistency in your evaluation standards by tracking the same set of criteria for every candidate. Furthermore, interview notes can be circulated among other members of the hiring panel, ensuring all team members are evaluating candidates uniformly, thereby lessening the chance of bias or personal inclinations affecting the assessment process.

Beyond that, comprehensive notes empower you to provide specific and constructive feedback to candidates who ask for it, which can enhance their future performance while also showcasing your professionalism.

C. Foster a Sense of Equity and Offer Legal Safeguards

Interview notes can ensure hiring decisions are predicated on merit instead of subjective elements, as they diminish the likelihood of forgetting or misrecalling vital details. Additionally, they permit managers to substantiate their choices to other stakeholders participating in the hiring process. When articulating their recommendations or justifications, hiring managers can refer to particular examples or statements made by candidates during the interview, rendering the decision-making process transparent and equitable for all involved.

Moreover, should you ever encounter allegations of bias in your hiring procedures, these notes can demonstrate the distinct qualifications and strengths of each candidate, underscoring what shaped your ultimate hiring choice.

What Should Be Included in Interview Notes?

Your notes ought to emphasize the candidate's pertinent responses and any particulars that might impact their appropriateness for the role. Here’s what to incorporate in interview notes:

• Essential details about the interview itself, like the date, time, and setting
• Specific answers from the candidate, such as relevant skills or past job duties
• Any observations you make derived from their responses
• Potential warning signs, etc.

Characteristics of Excellent Interview Notes

While the interview note-taking method should be tailored to suit each organization's needs, several qualities are common to all excellent interview notes, and we'll delve into the most crucial ones below. Here are some best practices for interview notes:

• They are succinct: Interview notes should focus on the most vital aspects of a candidate's qualifications, so keep them brief by omitting information not essential for decision-making. However, they must be detailed enough to provide a clear depiction of the candidate.
• They are readable: Ensure your notes are clear and easy to understand. If handwritten, use legible script. If typed, use clear formatting. This seems like a duplicate point from the original, I'll rephrase it to be about clarity. Effective interview notes must be easily decipherable, whether handwritten or typed, to ensure they can be accurately reviewed later.
• They are objective and relevant: Interview notes must concentrate on the specific job and whether the candidate is qualified for it. Refrain from including personal biases or anything unrelated to the job, such as comments on an individual's appearance, age, race, gender, disability status, etc., as this can be perceived as irrelevant at best, or discriminatory and unlawful at worst.

Tools to Streamline Interview Note-Taking

Before we impart our valuable advice for interview note-taking, you’ll need to equip yourself with a few instruments to simplify the entire endeavor.

Here are the tools you require for taking interview notes:

• Pen and paper: Traditional note-taking on a distinct evaluation sheet continues to be a popular method for interview notes, despite being slower than using a computer. Also, when handwriting notes, you must be careful to ensure they are both precise and correctly linked to the respective candidate.
• Laptop or computer: Many interviewers find using a laptop to document notes during interviews both practical and efficient. Always remember to save your digital notes in a separate file and back them up regularly to avert any potential loss.
• Advanced AI Tools like DeepVo.ai: If you wish to bypass the manual note-taking process entirely yet still depend on thorough interview notes for informed hiring decisions, an AI-powered assistant like DeepVo.ai might be what you need. DeepVo.ai can transform spoken words into precise text, supporting over 100 languages with up to 99.5% accuracy. It can also generate concise AI summaries in seconds, customizable to your needs, and even create structured mind maps for visual organization, which can be exported as images. This allows you to maintain accurate records and streamline your hiring process. Best of all, DeepVo.ai offers free usage and ensures your data is protected with end-to-end encryption.Here's how an advanced AI tool can assist:
  • Accurate Transcription: Convert audio from interviews into text with high precision. DeepVo.ai excels here, offering detailed transcripts.
  • AI-Generated Summaries & Mind Maps: Automatically create summaries highlighting key points and mind maps for a visual overview of the interview content.
  • Efficient Record Keeping: Easily store and search through interview transcripts and summaries.
  • Focus on the Candidate: Frees you from extensive typing, allowing for better engagement.

Top Strategies to Enhance Your Note-Taking During a Job Interview

We've compiled 9 strategies to assist you with the note-taking process for your upcoming interview cycle. Here’s how to create superior interview notes:

• Develop a structure beforehand
• Employ key phrases and codes to condense candidate answers
• Don't hesitate to ask the speaker to clarify
• Pose questions to address gaps
• Observe non-verbal signals
• Record all pertinent details – even if not directly solicited
• Emphasize listening over transcribing
• Go over the notes as quickly as possible post-interview
• Enable managers to make optimal hiring choices through your notes

Tip 1: Develop an Interview Structure Beforehand

Outline the intended flow of the interview. Start by clearly articulating the goals and desired results of the interview to guide the conversation effectively. Only then can you design a few structured interview frameworks to address all critical areas or competencies for evaluation. This ensures a methodical approach and helps prevent overlooking significant information.

Remember to tailor your interview scorecard correspondingly, enabling you to assess candidates based on specific criteria and use the notes to append comments and relevant observations. This integrated method refines the hiring process and guarantees all candidates are evaluated equitably.

Tip 2: Employ Key Phrases or Codes to Condense Candidate Answers

Economize time during interviews by utilizing codes or shorthand for frequently discussed items. This permits you to swiftly note important points while staying engaged in the dialogue. For example, you could devise abbreviations for common terms like "leadership experience" (LE), "analytical skills" (AS), or "communication abilities" (CA). This will simplify your note-taking and ensure you capture all essential details without losing valuable interaction time with the candidate. AI tools can also assist in post-interview keyword extraction, further enhancing this process.

Tip 3: Don't Hesitate to Ask the Speaker to Clarify

In some interview settings, it might feel awkward to request someone to repeat themselves. However, generally, individuals are amenable to reiterating what they said so you can record it accurately. All it takes is a polite request for clarification.

This is particularly vital in remote interviews conducted via platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, where audio lags or technical difficulties can arise. Asking the other party to repeat themselves during a video conference is not deemed unprofessional, as it aids you in understanding the information correctly and taking notes appropriately. Hearing a candidate's response a second time can also improve your retention of the information, especially when coupled with note-taking.

Tip 4: Pose Questions to Address Gaps

Asking questions during the interview serves two key functions. Firstly, it allows you to collect the required information on a candidate's capacity to fill the role and helps you clarify any ambiguous statements from the interviewee, ensuring your notes are precise. Secondly, it signals your genuine interest in the individual and the interview process, fostering a meaningful connection and showcasing your attentiveness and eagerness to learn as much as possible.

Tip 5: Observe Non-Verbal Signals

When conducting interviews, monitor non-verbal signals such as eye contact, facial expressions, and body posture, as they can offer valuable insights and enrich the quality of your interview notes. These signals can also suggest the interviewee's communication proficiency, level of interest, and engagement in the discussion. Indicators of attentiveness, like leaning in, nodding, or maintaining eye contact, demonstrate active involvement. Conversely, signs of disinterest, such as restlessness or avoiding eye contact, might indicate that certain topics require further explanation or adjustment.

Non-verbal signals can also help you gauge the interviewee's emotions and attitudes towards particular topics or questions. Integrating these observations into your notes can add dimension and context to the interviewee's answers. Stay vigilant and minimize distractions, perhaps by using an AI assistant for primary note-taking, so you can fully concentrate on the conversation and non-verbal cues.

PRO TIP: If you observe a mismatch between the interviewee's verbal and non-verbal signals, use prompts or probing questions to investigate further. Asking if there’s anything more they'd like to share or if they feel uneasy discussing a specific topic can help reveal deeper insights.

Tip 6: Record All Pertinent Details – Even If Not Directly Solicited

When taking notes, it's crucial to capture any significant details that emerge spontaneously during the conversation. Pay heed to additional information volunteered by the candidate. Candidates frequently share key information that could be valuable, even if you didn't specifically inquire about it.

If the candidate recounts a story or example that showcases their skills or experience, document it. These anecdotes can serve as important references when you're making the final hiring decision or when discussing the candidate with other team members. However, while it's important to note the candidate's strengths, don't overlook recording any areas where the candidate may need development, such as knowledge gaps, lack of experience, or any concerns identified during the interview.

PRO TIP: If the candidate touches upon a subject you didn't specifically ask about, don't shy away from asking follow-up questions. For instance, if they briefly mention their experience with a particular software, ask them to elaborate on their proficiency or any significant achievements related to that tool. If they mention undertaking any relevant training, encourage them to provide more details.

Tip 7: Emphasize Listening Over Transcribing

When you're taking notes, remember your primary focus should be on the interviewee, not solely on transcribing their responses. While it's tempting to try and capture every word, doing so can lead you to miss important subtleties in their reply. Furthermore, if you can't maintain eye contact, candidates might quickly infer you're not interested in what they're saying, and the interview's quality could suffer. Aim for a balance between listening and writing by recording key points rather than attempting to document everything verbatim. The majority of your time should be dedicated to active listening and forming an overall impression of the candidate.

Active listening can become significantly easier with an AI tool like DeepVo.ai, which can automatically transcribe your interviews. This allows you to jot down only essential notes and observations, rather than spending most of the interview typing out every answer.

Tip 8: Go Over the Notes as Quickly as Possible Post-Interview

After the interview concludes, allocate some time to elaborate on your notes before you forget any crucial information. This will prevent you from feeling rushed and enable you to capture all relevant data. Even better, leverage an AI assistant like DeepVo.ai to help you recall all details shared by a candidate, even weeks after the interview, through its AI summaries and accurate transcripts.

If you have a hiring team, consolidating everyone's notes into a single document can be advantageous. It allows for more efficient candidate comparison, shows how others interpreted their responses, and helps identify any patterns in your collective reactions. This consolidated document can also serve as a foundation for discussion when choosing the candidate who perfectly aligns with the job description. As you become more experienced in taking interview notes, you'll refine your own system to make the process more effective. Reflect on which parts of your notes have been most instrumental in making hiring decisions, and consider what additional information could enhance your decision-making capabilities.

Tip 9: Enable Managers to Make Optimal Hiring Decisions Through Your Notes

If you're a recruiter, it's your duty to support managers and other team members involved in decision-making by supplying them with objective, precise, and insightful information. Steer clear of subjective language and ground your assessments in the candidate's actual statements and conduct during the interview. Include any specific apprehensions or reservations you might have. This way, your notes can serve as valuable recommendations for subsequent actions, such as scheduling further interviews or extending an offer. If you're still in the process of evaluation or if the volume of candidates is substantial, having recordings and AI-generated summaries of your interviews can provide managers with a clearer understanding of how to proceed.

Interview Notes Blueprint

Need more time to perfect your interview note-taking technique? No problem! We've prepared a job interview blueprint that you can adapt to your requirements. See it below!

This blueprint is crafted to capture extensive notes from an interview, assisting you in assessing candidate skills more effectively and ensuring a comprehensive hiring process.

Start Leveraging AI for Interview Notes with DeepVo.ai!

Interviewing numerous candidates for a crucial role and finding it hard to recall the specifics of each discussion is a significant challenge. Effective interview notes enable you to capture vital details and insights about every candidate, simplifying comparison and informed decision-making later. Are you prepared for a more efficient recruitment process? To streamline the entire procedure and obtain AI-generated transcriptions, summaries, and mind maps tailored to your distinct needs, try DeepVo.ai for free – believe us, you’ll never revert to manual note-taking!

Article updated on April 10, 2024

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