What is a scorecard for an interview? (With example)

Interview scorecards are an effective hiring practice companies can use to help narrow down the many candidates they interview for an available position. Using an interview scorecard is a process that helps employers and hiring managers rank their candidates in terms of who fits the role. Understanding what an interview scorecard is and how to use it successfully is valuable for generating an effective hiring process for your company. In this article, we define what a scorecard for an interview is, share how to effectively use one and provide a template and example.

What is a scorecard for an interview?

A scorecard for an interview is a tool hiring managers can use during the interview stage of a company’s hiring process to easily compare and rank the different candidates they interview. These scorecards are a valuable tool for simplifying the process of having to narrow down potential candidates to find the best fit or to decide which candidates progress to the next stage of the hiring process. There are existing measurement scales used across interview scorecards to determine the ranking of candidates, including:

• Numerical scale: Numerical scale scorecards mean hiring managers simply use a points system to rank candidates in interviews. Hiring managers usually specify the range of the numerical scale, which might be a numerical scale may be a ten-point scale.
• Likert scale: The Likert scale also uses a points system, but it’s used more readily to score opinions and attitudes the candidate exhibits during the interviews. Interviewers often use this scale when asking the candidate yes or no questions during the interview.
• Open-ended questions: Hiring managers ask open-ended questions to learn more about a candidate and cannot measure these answers with traditional scorecard categories. For example, this area of the interview scorecard can contain specific details about the candidate’s professional experience or notes on their delivery of answers.

Depending on the hiring manager and the available role, the scorecard might contain multiple measurement scales. It’s most important the candidate is aware of the positive end of the scale, especially when using the numerical scale. Hiring managers or other HR professionals often outline the criteria for the interview scorecards before the interviewing of potential candidates begins.Related: Interview techniques: definition and examples

How to effectively use a scorecard in an interview

Here’s a short guide on how to use an interview scorecard effectively:

1. Consider the criteria for the interview scorecard

Consider and discuss the interview criteria and the scorecard criteria with employers and members of the hiring committee to ensure everyone involved has a thorough understanding of the purpose and the aims of the interview scorecard. You can determine the criteria for the interview scorecard by considering what attributes, skills and levels of experience you’re hoping candidates have that can qualify them for the position.If you interview potential candidates individually, sharing the interview scorecards you completed with other members of the hiring team may prove valuable for getting an extra perspective on the potential and value of the candidates. If you operate your interviews with a committee where multiple people are conducting candidate interviews, it’s essential everyone understands how to use the interview scorecard.Related: Why are interviews important? (Plus tips for succeeding)

2. Ensure candidates understand the scorecard

If you plan to use an interview scorecard during an interview, meaning you take notes throughout the interview, it’s fair to inform the candidate of what you may be doing throughout the interview. This way, the candidate won’t feel uneasy when you begin note-taking as they answer your questions and they can understand you’re actively listening to them. Informing the candidate in this way is a transparent way to educate candidates about the hiring process of your company and tell them about the ways you plan to select an appropriate candidate for the available position.

3. Compare the interview scorecards of different candidates

The stage of comparing the interview scorecards you’ve filled out happens at the end of all interviews. The comparison process is valuable for helping you to evaluate which of the candidates you’ve interviewed best fit the outlined criteria of what you’re looking for. It’s important the candidate you choose not only matches the specifications of the available position but also the wider culture of the company.During the comparison process, it’s valuable to thoroughly examine and analyse all sections of the interview scorecard to determine which candidates can progress through to the next stage of the hiring process or to determine which candidate suits the available position.

4. Reuse interview scorecards that are job specific

You can use previous interview scorecards that are role-specific if the company is hiring for that position again. For example, you might use the same scorecard from a previous IT technician role to evaluate candidates for a new IT technician role. Being able to reuse a suitable scorecard is valuable for reducing the duration of preparation for the hiring process, as your criteria are already specifically outlined. Reusing scorecards is also valuable for ensuring consistency across your company’s hiring process, which is important to be fair to all candidates.If a new interview scorecard is necessary, for example, if your company have included new candidate specifications or new criteria for the new opening of the position, previous interview scorecards can offer a reliable template to inspire the creation of a new scorecard. For example, you can use the same scoring criteria established in the previous scorecard and simply change the scoring criteria to best meet the qualifications for the new role.Related: 31 common interview questions and answers

5. Practice note-taking to improve your ability to fill out interview scorecards

The effective use of interview scorecards requires practising note-taking and other written skills. These skills are useful when asking open-ended questions because you can quickly summarise the candidate’s responses while still focusing your attention on the candidate versus the scorecard. Practising your writing skills and note-taking helps improve your ability to write quickly during an interview setting whilst still actively listening to the answers from a candidate.The ability to take notes on the interview scorecard and alongside the interview scorecard is valuable as these notes provide you and others reviewing the scorecards with additional insight about the candidate and their experience and capabilities. This additional insight may be the factor that sets a candidate apart from others who also met the criteria for the available position.Related: What are effective questioning techniques? An overview

What are the advantages of using scorecards in interviews?

Here are some of the main advantages of using a scorecard in an interview:

Provides an increased perspective of candidates

Using an interview scorecard helps to provide you with increased internal perspectives of each candidate. This is especially valuable when an interviewing committee interviews candidates as a team rather than individually as everyone’s thoughts are well-documented using the scorecard. The documentation of the interview scorecard is useful when collectively gathering your opinions and including all of your perspectives in the evaluation of a candidate’s potential and skills. Scorecards can help simplify the decision-making process in regard to securing new talent for the company.

The scorecard serves as an additional interview document

The interview scorecard is an additional interview document that can help during the stages of informing candidates of their outcomes. If a candidate has not been successful in your company’s hiring process, you can indicate which areas they can improve on and identify which criteria necessities they may have been lacking. Even if your company doesn’t directly communicate with candidates in this way, it’s valuable to maintain documentation and records of the hiring process for future reference.Related: How to give interview feedback (with simple steps and tips)

Scorecards improve the consistency of candidate ranking

The use of interview scorecards works successfully to significantly improve the overall consistency of candidate ranking throughout the hiring process. This consistency is especially useful when it comes to comparing and evaluating the different candidates against each other and determining which of the candidates is the best fit for the available position at the company. This consistency is also valuable for determining whether there are candidates that are suitable for other available roles within the company.

Interview scorecard template

Here’s an interview scorecard template:

Interview scorecard exampleHere’s an interview scorecard example: