Discover your best candidate with visual comparisons
When you’re interviewing tons of candidates, it can get a little tricky to keep up with their information if you don’t have the right tools. It’s important to keep their information straight so you can make the best choice.
Unlock your hiring potential with our job applicant interviews template! Say goodbye to guesswork and hello to data-driven decisions. This tool helps you evaluate candidates consistently, ensuring you find the perfect fit for your team. With clearly defined criteria and a streamlined scoring system, you’ll make informed choices that lead to hiring success. Transform your interview process into a powerful tool for building your dream team.
What is an interview scorecard?
An interview scorecard is a structured tool used during the hiring process to evaluate and compare candidates. They typically contain specific criteria that each person can be measured against so everything remains fair and consistent across the board. This helps interviewers take down their observations, scores, and feedback in a standardized way, making it easier to assess their future teammates through the same lens.
Benefits of using an interview scorecard template
Better hiring collaboration: According to a Mural report, 51% of people don’t think they’re collaborating the right way, which can hurt a hiring process. Our interview scorecard template helps align your hiring team so you can work better together when finding the best candidates.
Clear comparisons: By laying out scores and comments side by side, teams can easily identify the strongest candidates.
Team alignment: You’ll communicate better with your fellow interviewers, so you’re all on the same page.
Constructive criticism: The space for notes allows interviewers to provide constructive feedback for the candidates who need it, which will help them in future interview experiences.
How to use Mural’s interview scorecard template
Step 1: Build out your template
Design your scorecard to align with your hiring requirements, making sure to create criteria to reflect the specific skills, competencies, and attributes needed for the position. Decide on a consistent scoring system (e.g., 1-5 or 1-10) and clearly define what each score represents to minimize subjectivity.
Step 2: Define your ideal candidate
List the essential skills and traits for the role, like technical skills, problem-solving abilities, communication, teamwork, and culture fit.
Step 3: Start interviewing
As you ask questions, use the scorecard to record your observations, scores, and any relevant notes about the candidate’s responses.
Step 4: Score your candidate
After the interview, assign scores based on your observations and the candidate’s performance. Use the notes section to add comments, examples, or explanations that support the scores you assigned.
Step 5: Compare your scorecard with your hiring team
Review the completed interview scorecard template to pinpoint areas where candidates excelled or fell short. If you all agree on a candidate, extend an offer! If not, continue interviewing until you find someone you all love.
Start building out your interview scoring sheet template.
What you should include on your interview scorecard
Space for notes: The scorecard provides sections for interviewers to jot down observations, examples, and any pertinent comments, adding context to the scores given.
Weighted categories: Some scorecards assign different weights to each criterion, emphasizing the most critical skills or traits needed for the role.
Sticky notes to collaborate: By standardizing the evaluation process, scorecards facilitate discussions among interviewers, helping teams make more informed hiring decisions.
The interview questions you choose should test a person’s hard skills, soft skills, and their ability to learn and grow. Here are some examples of questions to ask.
Role-specific questions
Can you describe a project where you used [specific skill]?
How do you handle tight deadlines or high-pressure situations?
Behavioral questions
Tell me about a time you faced a challenge at work and how you overcame it.
Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult team member.
Cultural fit questions
What work environment helps you thrive the most?
How do you handle feedback, and can you give an example of when it helped you improve?
Growth and motivation questions
What are your career goals for the next 3-5 years?
What drives you to perform at your best?
Problem-solving questions
Can you walk me through your process for solving [specific type of problem]?
Describe a time when you had to make a quick decision with limited information.
A good hiring scorecard should feature clear, relevant criteria that focus on competencies and traits directly tied to the job, including technical skills, communication, adaptability, and cultural fit.
It’s essential to implement a structured scoring system in your interview evaluation sheet template with a consistent rating scale (e.g., 1-5 or 1-10) and well-defined score levels to minimize subjectivity. Assigning different weights to each criterion based on their importance to the role helps prioritize aspects like technical skills over communication when necessary.
Additionally, the scorecard should allow space for interviewers to jot down notes and specific examples to provide context for their scores. Lastly, it should be user-friendly for all interview panel members, with standardized language and criteria to ensure consistent evaluations across the board.
There are plenty of things to keep off of a scorecard, including:
Irrelevant or vague criteria: Avoid criteria that aren’t directly tied to the job or are too broad to measure accurately, like “likability.”
Personal biases or assumptions: Stay away from criteria that could lead to unconscious bias, such as personal hobbies or background details not related to the role.
Overly complex rating systems: Keep the scoring system simple to avoid confusion and ensure consistency. Too many options can create more variability in scores.
Negative language or leading statements: Avoid using language that assumes a negative outcome, such as “reasons this candidate might fail.” Focus on objective and positive phrasing
Unstructured free-form sections: While notes are useful, large unstructured sections can lead to inconsistency. Instead, prompt for specific examples or observations.
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