Interview Feedback Template: Write Notes a Hiring Team Can Use

Useful interview feedback records what the candidate said or demonstrated, connects that evidence to a job requirement, and explains the interviewer’s assessment. Keep missing information separate from weak evidence so the hiring team can decide whether it needs a follow-up question or has enough information to act.

“Great energy” and “not quite the right fit” leave colleagues guessing. Neither explains whether the candidate can do the work. Specific notes make the debrief easier to review and challenge.

Decide what the interview will assess

Assign each interviewer a small set of job-related competencies and agree the questions and rating criteria in advance. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management describes structured interviews as a way to assess job-related competencies through questions about past behavior or hypothetical situations.

The template below is an original working example for organizing feedback. It is not an OPM assessment instrument or a validated selection tool.

Use this feedback template after each interview

Field	What to record
Competency assessed	The requirement this interview covered
Question or exercise	What the candidate was asked
Evidence	Relevant actions, reasoning, and outcomes described
Assessment	How the evidence compares with the agreed criteria
Missing information	What remains unknown
Follow-up	Specific question or exercise, if needed
Recommendation	Next step and the evidence supporting it

Complete notes while the conversation is fresh and before group discussion. If you revise your assessment during the debrief, record what new evidence changed it.

Replace impressions with specific evidence

Consider this illustrative note: “Strong project manager. Very confident.” It describes a reaction but gives the team little to examine.

A more useful fictional example would be: “The candidate described a delayed scheduling project, identified the missed dependency, and explained how they reassigned ownership. They described the revised timeline but did not provide enough detail to establish whether it was met.”

That note identifies both evidence and a gap. The next interviewer can ask about the result instead of repeating the entire conversation.

Avoid turning an inference into a fact. If the candidate did not discuss stakeholder conflict, write “not assessed” or “insufficient evidence,” rather than assuming they cannot handle it.

Give ratings an agreed meaning

If the team uses a numeric scale, define what each level means for the competency. For example, a developing answer may identify a problem without explaining the candidate’s own actions. A stronger answer may explain the actions, tradeoffs, and result in enough detail for the interviewer to assess them.

Do not let a total score hide an unresolved essential requirement. Review important gaps individually. A missing interview answer may call for another question; a demonstrated inability to perform essential work may support a different decision.

Keep the discussion focused on the role. Personal similarity, hobbies, and unsupported assumptions about someone’s background do not establish job performance.

What belongs in an interview debrief?

Compare the evidence against the agreed criteria, resolve differences between interviewers, and identify any necessary follow-up. Assign a decision owner and a date for the next candidate update.

Should AI write interview feedback?

An approved tool can help organize notes, but the interviewer should verify every statement against the source material. Do not allow generated text to invent evidence or turn uncertainty into a confident recommendation.

For the wider process, read Alivio’s interview optimization guide. To discuss assessment responsibilities within a search, contact Alivio Search Partners.