How to capture candidate evaluation notes after interviews for HR managers in 2026

A plain guide for HR managers who need to capture candidate evaluation notes after interviews, with steps, tools and mistakes to avoid.

By XP Daily · 2026-10-31

XP Daily is published by the makers of DaysAid, QuickDictate and YTSort, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Set the criteria and rating scale before the interview, then write each note on the same day with specific answers and examples. Keep the notes in one shared place so the panel can compare them. A pen, a typed form or a dictation tool can all do the job.

Option	How it captures notes	Cost and platform
Paper notes or a printed form	You write scores and comments by hand.	Cost and platform not published.
Typed scorecard in a shared document or spreadsheet	The panel types into the same form.	Cost and platform not published.
QuickDictate	You speak your notes and they are typed into the window you have open. ^[1]	Free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] Runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, with no Mac or Linux version. ^[1]

What you need before you start

Capturing candidate evaluation notes takes only a few things, and most of them should be ready before the first interview starts.

The criteria for the role. Write down the skills and traits the role needs, taken from the job description, so each note has something to measure against.
A rating scale agreed in advance. Pick a simple scale, such as strong, mixed or weak, and use the same one for every candidate on the panel.
The candidate's details. Keep the name, role, interview date and the names of everyone on the panel at the top of each note.
A few quiet minutes straight after the interview. Notes written the same day stay close to what was actually said, while memory of the details fades quickly.
A shared place to keep the notes. Other people on the hiring team often need to read them, so keep them where they can be found.
A way to write or speak. A pen, a typed form or a dictation tool all work. Choose the one you will actually use when the interview has just ended.

Step by step

These steps work with any method, including a pen and paper.

Set the criteria before the first interview. Agree on the points each candidate will be judged against, so every note follows the same plan.
Block a few minutes after each interview. Put the time in your calendar so the notes are not pushed back by the next meeting.
Write the candidate's details first. Add the name, role, date and panel names before any comments.
Record what the candidate said or did. Write specific answers and examples rather than general impressions, so the note can be reviewed later.
Score each criterion against the scale. Use the rating you agreed in advance, and add one line explaining each score.
Note any concerns on their own line. Open questions or doubts are easier to find in the review when they are kept apart from the scores.
Keep personal opinions out. Describe answers and behaviour in the interview, and leave out remarks about appearance, age, background or family, which have no place in an evaluation.
Read the note once before you save it. Check that names, job titles and scores are correct.
Save the note where the panel can reach it. Use the shared place you chose, filed under the candidate's name.
Review the notes together before deciding. Compare them against the criteria, not against memory of the conversation.

Tools that can do it

You do not need software for this. Here are options to consider.

Paper notes or a printed form. You write the details, scores and comments by hand, then file the sheet with the candidate's record. Nothing is published here about cost, because it depends on what you already have.

A typed scorecard in a shared document or spreadsheet. The panel fills in the same form, so the notes are easy to compare. Facts about specific apps are not provided here, so check their own pages for limits, cost and how sharing works.

QuickDictate is made by the team that publishes this site, and it is one option among several. QuickDictate is a Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1] You hold a key while you talk, or press it once to start and once to stop, and you can change both keys. ^[1] What you say is typed into whichever window is active, such as an editor, chat box, terminal or web form. ^[1] Saying "scratch that" discards the text you just dictated instead of inserting it. ^[1] You can look back through your last 50 dictations and filter them. ^[1] You can add names and job terms to a list that is sent to the provider to help it recognise them, and set a correction such as changing "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT". ^[1] You can run dictation with a speech model on your own computer, such as Whisper Large v3 Turbo, and then it needs no internet connection or API key. ^[1] Alternatively, you can use a cloud speech service such as ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google, and that provider bills you directly. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. ^[1]

| Option | How it captures notes | Cost and platform | |---|---|---| | Paper notes or a printed form | You write scores and comments by hand. | Cost and platform not published. | | Typed scorecard in a shared document or spreadsheet | The panel types into the same form. | Cost and platform not published. | | QuickDictate | You speak your notes and they are typed into the window you have open. ^[1] | Free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] Runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, with no Mac or Linux version. ^[1] |

Common mistakes to avoid

Trying to remember everything until the next day. Memory of what a candidate said fades quickly, so write the notes the same day.
Recording impressions instead of evidence. A line such as "seemed confident" says little. Write what the candidate said or did.
Letting one strong moment decide the whole note. Score each criterion on its own so one answer does not colour the rest.
Saving a dictated note without reading it. Speech tools can mishear names and job terms, so check each note before you save it.
Keeping notes where the panel cannot see them. A private file helps you alone, but the hiring team needs a shared place.
Mixing candidates in one note. Keep each candidate's note separate and filed under their name.

Frequently asked questions

How to capture candidate evaluation notes after interviews for HR managers?

Set the criteria and the rating scale before the first interview, then write each note on the same day while the details are fresh. Record specific answers and examples, score each criterion on its own, and keep any concerns on a separate line. Save every note in a place the hiring panel can reach, and compare the notes against the criteria before deciding. A pen, a typed form or a dictation tool can all do the job.

Is QuickDictate free for HR managers at a company?

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] Commercial use needs a separate licence, so whether hiring work counts as noncommercial use depends on the licence terms. ^[1] Read those terms before using it on the job. If you choose a cloud speech service, that provider bills you directly for its own charges. ^[1]

Does QuickDictate run on a Mac?

No. QuickDictate runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, and there is no Mac or Linux version. ^[1] If you use a Mac, check which options in this guide suit your computer before you choose. A paper sheet or a typed form does not depend on a particular program, so it remains a practical choice for note taking.

Can QuickDictate keep interview notes private?

Interview notes can be sensitive, so look at what a tool stores and sends before you use it. If you sign in to QuickDictate, you can sync preferences such as hotkeys and language between PCs, but API keys, audio and transcripts are never synced. ^[1] You can also choose a local speech model, so dictation needs no internet connection or API key. ^[1] Check your organisation's rules on candidate data before you choose a tool.

Can QuickDictate learn names and job terms?

You can add names and phrases to a list that is sent to the provider to help it recognise them. ^[1] You can also set a correction, such as changing "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT", so the same misspelling is fixed each time it appears. ^[1] Even so, read each note before saving it, because no speech tool hears every name correctly.

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1]

Try QuickDictate

Sources

QuickDictate's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)