Meeting types · Job interview
Job interview minutes, without the note-taker.
Interview scores drift towards whoever was most memorable, and memorable is not the same as best.
Hiring decisions are made from notes, and interview notes are unusually bad. An interviewer is simultaneously asking questions, watching for follow-ups, managing time and forming a judgement. Whatever they write down is a thin, biased sample of the answer — and the thinner it is, the more the debrief runs on impression rather than evidence. A rubric scored from four scribbled words is a rubric in name only.
The unfairness is structural rather than malicious. The candidate interviewed at 9am is remembered in more detail than the one at 4.30pm. The one who told a good story is recalled better than the one who gave a precise, unglamorous answer. When the debrief comes down to 'I just liked them more', it is usually recall doing the work, not assessment.
With the candidate's agreement, record the interview. GetNotes transcribes it with speaker labels, so the debrief can go back to what a candidate actually said about the system they migrated, rather than to an interviewer's summary of it. When two candidates are close, comparing answers to the same question side by side is a far better basis than comparing memories.
Consent here is not a formality. Tell candidates before the interview, not as they sit down, explain what the recording is for and how long it is kept, and let a refusal cost them nothing. In the UK and EU this is personal data under the GDPR, with the retention and access rights that come with it — check your policy with whoever owns it.
Where it earns its keep
Two strong candidates, one role
Both interviewed well a week apart. The panel is split and running on impressions. Reading both candidates' answers to the same system-design question, in their own words, turns an argument about vibes into a comparison of evidence.
The panel that disagrees about what was said
One interviewer heard the candidate claim they led the migration. Another heard them say they supported it. The distinction decides the hire. The transcript settles it in seconds and stops a good candidate being rejected over a misheard clause.
A rejected candidate asks why
A candidate asks for feedback, or challenges the decision. Specific, accurate feedback tied to what they actually said is more useful to them and more defensible for you than a recollection assembled two weeks after the fact.
How GetNotes works
- Record or upload. Hit record on your phone or laptop in the room — or drop in an audio file you already have. No bot joins anything.
- It writes it down. Every word transcribed, every speaker labelled, in 90+ languages including ones that switch mid-sentence.
- Share the minutes.Summary, decisions, and action items with owners — ready before everyone's back at their desk.
Questions, answered
Do I need the candidate's consent to record an interview?
Yes. Tell candidates in advance — in the invitation, not at the door — say what the recording is for, who will see it and how long you keep it, and make declining genuinely cost-free. In the UK and EU an interview recording is personal data under the GDPR. GetNotes gives you the record; the lawful basis, retention policy and candidate rights are yours to set.
Does recording make candidates uncomfortable?
Some, and that is a real cost worth weighing. It helps to explain the purpose plainly: an accurate record means their answers are scored on what they said rather than on what an interviewer remembered at five o'clock. GetNotes records the room from a phone or laptop, so it is visible on the table rather than a bot silently sitting in a call.
Can GetNotes score candidates or tell me who to hire?
No, and you should be wary of anything that claims to. GetNotes transcribes the interview with speaker labels and writes structured notes — summary, decisions, action items. Assessment against your rubric stays with the humans doing the hiring, which is also where employment law and your own fairness obligations expect it to sit.
How long should we keep interview recordings?
That is a policy question for whoever owns hiring data at your organisation, and the usual answer is: only as long as you need them for the decision and any challenge to it. GetNotes deletes audio and transcripts permanently when you delete a meeting, so the retention rule you set can actually be carried out rather than just written down.
Other meeting types
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