Recruiting template
Interview Feedback Form
An interview feedback form is where each interviewer records what they saw against the criteria for the role, with written evidence and a recommendation, before the hiring team decides. Pick the version for your interview below, add your criteria and copy it; the last two versions are emails for giving feedback to the candidate.
Fill in your details
Every version below updates as you type. A field left empty stays as a [placeholder] in the text you copy.
Email versions open straight in your email app with the subject and text filled in. You add the recipient there.
Your company and sender details are remembered, so the next template starts with them filled in.
Note
Interview feedback form
When to use it: Any structured interview, filled in by each interviewer straight after it and before talking to the rest of the panel.
Phone screen feedback form
When to use it: A short first call, where the screener records the basics and whether the candidate should go forward.
Email asking interviewers for written feedback
When to use it: Sent by the hiring manager or recruiter to the panel on the day of the interview, so every interviewer writes up their feedback before the debrief.
SubjectFeedback on [Candidate name] for [Job title]: due [Feedback due by]
Work sample or assessment feedback form
When to use it: Reviewing a take-home task, case study, technical exercise or job simulation against what the role needs.
Interview feedback email to a candidate who was not selected
When to use it: A candidate who interviewed has not got the job and has asked for feedback, or you offered it.
SubjectFeedback on your interview for [Job title] at [Company name]
Positive interview feedback email
When to use it: A candidate who did well and is moving to the next stage, where sharing what impressed the panel helps them prepare and keeps them engaged.
SubjectGood news about your [Job title] interview at [Company name]
How to use this template
- 1Set the criteria before the first interview, from what the job needs, and use the same ones for every candidate. Put three to five in the fields above.
- 2Give each interviewer their own form and ask them to complete it straight after the interview, before they hear anyone else's view.
- 3Write down what the candidate said or did, then rate it. A rating with no evidence behind it is hard to compare and hard to defend.
- 4Send the panel the feedback request email with a deadline, then bring the forms together at the debrief and spend the meeting on the criteria where the panel disagreed.
- 5Use the feedback emails to tell candidates what went well and where they fell short, in a sentence or two each, based on the same notes.
Mistakes to avoid
- Comments about the person instead of the evidence, such as "not a culture fit" or "seemed nervous", with nothing to show what they said or did.
- Interviewers discussing a candidate before writing their own feedback, so the first or loudest view shapes everyone else's.
- Rating against different criteria for different candidates, which makes the comparison meaningless.
- Writing anything you would not be happy for the candidate to read. In some places candidates can ask for the personal data held about them, and interview notes can count.
- Promising feedback to candidates and then not sending it.
Questions
What are good interview feedback examples?
Good feedback names the criterion, what the candidate did and the effect. For example: "Handling difficult conversations: described calling a customer who wanted to cancel, listening first, then agreeing a fix and a date. Rating 3." A weak example is "Great communicator, would fit in well", which gives the panel nothing to compare.
What should an interview feedback form include?
The candidate, role, interviewer, date and stage; the criteria for the role, each with space for written evidence, and a rating if you use one; the main strengths and concerns; and an overall recommendation with a reason.
How do you write positive interview feedback?
Be specific about what the candidate did well and why it matters for the role, for example "your step-by-step plan for rescuing an unhappy account". Specific praise tells the candidate what to keep doing; general praise such as "you did great" does not.
Should I give interview feedback to candidates?
Where you can, yes: candidates who interviewed have put in real time. Keep it short and factual, base it on the panel's notes, mention what went well as well as the main reason they were not selected, and check your company's policy first.
When should interviewers fill in the feedback form?
Straight after the interview, while the details are fresh, and before the panel discusses the candidate. Writing first means each view is the interviewer's own.
What is the difference between an interview feedback form and a scorecard?
They overlap. A scorecard sets the criteria and the rating scale for the role before interviews start; the feedback form is what each interviewer fills in against those criteria after each interview. An evaluation form usually scores and weights each criterion to compare candidates, while a feedback form puts the written evidence first: what the candidate said or did, the main strengths and concerns, and whether they should move to the next stage.
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