Interview Evaluation Form

Table of Contents

• What is an interview evaluation form?
• Why interview evaluation forms are important
• What to include in an interview evaluation form
• Components of an interview evaluation form
• Sample candidate evaluation forms by industry
• General interview evaluation form
• Software engineer interview evaluation form
• Retail interview evaluation form
• Marketing interview evaluation form

What is an interview evaluation form?

An interview evaluation form is a fantastic way to structure an interview. An interview evaluation form helps the interview process in numerous ways.

Hiring great employees is a whole lot simpler than firing employees who end up being poor fits for your company. Having a clear, consistent, and structured interview process can vastly improve your interview and hiring process. Implementing and utilizing a straightforward evaluation process with the help of an interview evaluation form can help you improve the quality of candidates you hire and streamline hiring decisions. A form minimizes the social allure of a candidate and steers the focus back to their skill and ability to perform, ensuring the applicant is the correct fit for your company.

Why interview evaluation forms are important

Curbing bias:

• Interview evaluation forms can help curb bias by allowing organizations to assess candidates on a predetermined criteria. It leaves little room for implicit bias to make its way into the interview process.

Limiting liability:

• Having a predetermined course for an interview and structured script can help you avoid asking illegal or improper interview questions.

Objective comparisons

• One of the best benefits of using interview evaluation forms is that they give a clear comparison between candidates. It allows you to quickly ascertain the stand out candidate and show others why said candidate is the clear choice.

What to include in an interview evaluation form

Some items come standard to an interview evaluation form, and almost go without saying. These are items such as candidates name, interviewer, and the date of the interview. The rest of the interview evaluation form should be customized depending on what your organization or team values and needs.

Components of an interview evaluation form

Involve team members:

• When creating an interview evaluation form, it’s critical that you include team members who will be working with said candidate. Make sure they have all had a chance for input while developing the form, or at least review it and approve it for use. This will help ensure that all relevant points are touched upon and that nothing critical has been forgotten.

Clear scoring system:

• A scoring system needs to be explicitly clear. This is especially true when you have a diverse, international team. Simply asking the interviewer to rate a candidate 1-5 is risky. Clearly identify with a key what each number between 1-5 represents. The following is one of the most commonly used scoring systems.
• 5 – Exceptional 4 – Above Average 3 – Average 2 – Satisfactory 1 – Unsatisfactory

Allow room for comments:

• Having an interview evaluation form aims to streamline and optimize the interview process. However in every interview, there needs to be room for you to take notes on relevant details or things about a candidate that stand out.

Sample candidate evaluation forms by industry

An interview evaluation form is a great way to help you further structure an interview. It's a way for you and your hiring team to carefully go over and agree upon the criteria against which a candidate will be judged. Further prepare yourself by checking out these sample interview evaluation forms by job type and/or industry.

General interview evaluation form

Interview rating sheet:

Candidate’s Name:

Position/Job title:

Date:

Department/team:

Interviewed By:

This interview rating sheet should be used by interviewers to provide an objective way to score candidates. Use the below numerical rating system to assign values to the candidates skills or area in question.

The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5★ – Excellent / 4★ – Good / 3★ – Average / 2★ – Below Average / 1★ – Poor

Prior Education – Does the candidate have the appropriate educational qualifications, training, or technical skills for this position?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Prior Work Experience – Does the candidate have relevant work experience or experience that matched the skills needed to perform the job in question?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Strengths – Is the candidate able to highlight their strengths and articulate how said strengths will help them in the position?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Aspirations – Does the candidate have a clear answer when asked about their long term career goals?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Disagreements – Is the candidate able to point to past disagreements in the workplace that was handled with professionalism and showed resolve?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Motivation – Is the candidate able to explain and articulate what motivates them both at work and in life?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Prioritization – When asked about how they prioritize their work, does the candidate have a clear methodology?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Past mistakes – When asked to explain a past mistake they have made at work, does the candidate have a clear answer that shows rectifying the mistake and growth?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Company – Is the candidate able to explain why they are interested in working for this specific company?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Overall Impression and further action – Final comments and thoughts. How should we proceed with said candidate?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Software engineer interview evaluation form

Interview rating sheet:

Candidate’s Name:

Position/Job title:

Date:

Department/team:

Interviewed By:

This interview rating sheet should be used by interviewers to provide an objective way to score candidates. Use the below numerical rating system to assign values to the candidates skills or area in question.

The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5★ – Excellent / 4★ – Good / 3★ – Average / 2★ – Below Average / 1★ – Poor

Educational Background – Does the candidate meet the education requirements needed to hold a software engineering role? Is the candidate's degree in Computer Science or a related field?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Certifications – Does the candidate have the necessary software engineering certifications and trainings needed?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Languages – JavaScript, Swift, Java, C/C++, Python, PHP, Ruby, C#, Rust (Circle all languages that candidate is proficient in)

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Relevant Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant software engineering experience?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Programming Languages – Is the candidate proficient in the necessary programming languages for this role? What are the candidate’s favorite programming languages? What programming languages is the candidate an expert at?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Implementation – Has the candidate experienced implementing significant, large scale improvements/ system changes? How did the candidate work with a team to go about implementing them?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Technical Communication – How was the candidates ability to explain and describe technical processes to a non-technical group?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Project scope – Is the candidate able to accurately assess project scope and explain a project’s scope to others?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Design – How familiar is the candidate with patterns of design? How familiar is the candidate with basic design theory?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Project management tools – How familiar is the candidate with project management tools? What tools or programs has the candidate used in the past?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Teamwork – How has the candidate worked with other team members during past projects? What were his or her specific, notable contributions to the team's efforts each time?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Black-box/white-box – Is the candidate able to differentiate between black-box and white-box testing? Are they able to give an easily digestible answer?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Communication – Is the candidate easy to understand and able to hold a clear conversation? Is the candidate able to thrive in a team environment given the constant need for communication? Was it a struggle to get the candidate to open up and respond candidly to the questions?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Retail interview evaluation form

Interview rating sheet:

Candidate’s Name:

Position/Job title:

Date:

Department/team:

Interviewed By:

This interview rating sheet should be used by interviewers to provide an objective way to score candidates. Use the below numerical rating system to assign values to the candidates skills or area in question.

The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5★ – Excellent / 4★ – Good / 3★ – Average / 2★ – Below Average / 1★ – Poor

Relevant Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant retail experience?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Sales – Does the customer have relevant sales or point of sale experience?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Focus – Candidate is able to explain in detail why they are applying to this position in particular.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Passion – Candidate is able to explain why they love working in retail.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Fast paced work – Has the candidate experienced fast paced work and dealt with seasonal rushes?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Initiative – Does the candidate demonstrate an ability to be a self starter, and take action even when not directed?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Stand out – Is the candidate able to explain why they stand out from the competition and why they are the best fit for the job?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Customer experience – How familiar is the candidate with customer service and de-escalating potentially volatile situations?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Teamwork – How has the candidate worked with other team members during past retail experience? Does the candidate have notable contributions to the team's efforts and bottom line?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Above and beyond – Are they able to describe an experience where they went above and beyond for a customer?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Communication – Is the candidate easy to understand and able to hold a clear conversation? Is the candidate able to thrive in a team environment given the constant need for communication? Was it a struggle to get the candidate to open up and respond candidly to the questions?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Marketing interview evaluation form

Interview rating sheet:

Candidate’s Name:

Position/Job title:

Date:

Department/team:

Interviewed By:

This interview rating sheet should be used by interviewers to provide an objective way to score candidates. Use the below numerical rating system to assign values to the candidates skills or area in question.

The numerical rating system is based on the following:

5★ – Excellent / 4★ – Good / 3★ – Average / 2★ – Below Average / 1★ – Poor

Educational Background – Does the candidate meet the education requirements to hold a marketing role at this company?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Certifications – Does the candidate hold the necessary marketing certifications and training?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Marketing Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant marketing experience?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Growth – Has the candidate shown growth in traffic over the course of their last job?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Industry familiarity – Is the candidate familiar with your specific industry?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Decision-making– Did the candidate demonstrate an ability to make timely, cost effective, and informed decisions?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Content Promotion– Does the candidate show a deep understanding of content promotion strategies?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Influencer awareness – Is the candidate able to point to their favorite marketer and explain why they are so effective?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Tools – Is the candidate familiar with the relevant marketing tools they will be using in this role?

Metrics – Has the candidate in past roles dealt with contradictory or misleading metrics and was able to explain the metrics to non marketing professionals?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Product Marketing – Does the candidate demonstrate knowledge of an effective product launch?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Social Media Marketing – Has the candidate done research on your company's social media and does the candidate have points of possible improvement to offer?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

Content – Is the candidate able to highlight their favorite piece of content and explain its connection to company wide goals?

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Comments: