To get notes from a face-to-face job interview, record it on your phone with the candidate's consent and choose the Interview format in MeetNotes. When the interview ends, you get a write-up for the hiring panel: the candidate and the role, their relevant experience, the evidence they gave for each skill you asked about, strengths, concerns or gaps, and any hire, no-hire or next-round outcome that was actually said. The full transcript, with each speaker labelled, sits underneath.
Most interview tools are built around video calls. Many interviews still happen across a desk, at a walk-in drive, on a factory floor or in a shop, with no laptop open. A phone on the table is enough.
First: ask the candidate
Before you press record, tell the candidate why and ask. A simple line works: "I record interviews so the panel sees exactly what you said, not my memory of it. Is that all right?" If they say no, take notes by hand. Check what your company's policy and local law require for recording interviews and keeping recordings.
How to do it, step by step
- Install MeetNotes on your phone (Android, iPhone or Mac) and sign in. Every account starts with 100 free minutes.
- Choose the Interview format. Before you record, pick the Interview meeting type, or set it as your default under your picture, Your profession & format, Browse templates.
- Put the phone flat on the table between you and the candidate, screen up. With a panel, place it in the middle, nearer to whoever speaks softly (where to put the phone).
- Interview as you normally would. Ask follow-ups out loud ("Can you give me an example?"). What is said clearly is written clearly.
- Tap Stop when the interview ends. The write-up usually follows a minute or two later.
- Check it before you send it. Tap any line of the transcript to hear exactly what was said. Fix a misheard name once and it is corrected everywhere.
Recorded it before you chose the format? Open the interview and use Redo in a format to rewrite it as an interview.
What the write-up covers
The interview comes back as the usual minutes (summary, key takeaways, decisions, action items), with the key takeaways and decisions written for an interview. They cover:
| What | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Candidate and role | Who was interviewed and for which position |
| Experience and skills | What the candidate said about their background, with the examples they gave |
| Evidence per skill | For each competency you probed, what the candidate said that supports it |
| Strengths | What came through well |
| Concerns or gaps | Weak answers, gaps or doubts raised in the interview |
| Outcome | Hire, no-hire or next round, only if someone said it |
| Action items | Next steps agreed, such as references, a test or a second round, with who does them |
MeetNotes writes down what was said. It does not score, rank or judge the candidate. The hiring decision stays with the people on the panel.
Interviews in more than one language
Candidates often answer best in the language they think in. There is no language to set before recording: an interview in Hindi, Gujarati, Spanish, Arabic, or one that switches between a local language and English mid-sentence, is written down as spoken. You can have the write-up in English for the panel even when the interview was not. More in minutes for mixed-language meetings.
Getting it to the panel
- Email the attendees: open the interview, tap Share, then Email attendees. Each person gets the recap and the PDF (how).
- PDF or Word: share a PDF with your company letterhead, or an editable Word file to paste into your hiring system.
- WhatsApp: send the write-up as a message to the panel's group.
- Team workspace: recruiters on one team can share a single minutes pool (team workspaces).
Video interviews too
For interviews on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, send the MeetNotes Notetaker. It joins as a visible participant that the host admits, so the candidate can see it. Or upload a recording you made yourself with the candidate's consent.
Privacy
- Recording starts and stops only when you tap.
- Interviews are private to your account unless you share them.
- Recordings are encrypted in transit and at rest. You can delete the recording and keep the write-up, or delete the whole interview.
FAQ
Can an app write up an in-person job interview?
Yes. Record the interview on your phone with the candidate's consent, choose the Interview format, and MeetNotes writes up the candidate's experience, the evidence for each skill, strengths, concerns and any outcome that was stated.
Does MeetNotes decide whether to hire the candidate?
No. It writes down what was said in the interview. It does not score or rank candidates, and the outcome appears only if someone in the interview said it.
Can it handle a panel of three or four interviewers?
Yes. The transcript labels each speaker from one phone recording. Name each voice once and MeetNotes recognises them in later interviews.
What if the candidate answers in Hindi or another language?
You do not choose a language first, and mixed-language answers are written down as spoken. The write-up can be in English for the panel.
How do I share the notes with the hiring panel?
Tap Share, then Email attendees, or share a PDF, a Word file or a WhatsApp message.
