Interview scorecard prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this right after an interview or a panel debrief, when you have notes or a transcript and need a record you can stand behind. It scores the candidate on each must-have as Strong, Partial or Not discussed, with a short quote as evidence, then lists the decisions, the action items with owners and dates, and the open questions. It's the request from the free Interview Debrief to Scorecard lesson, turned into a template.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You're my recruiting assistant at [BUSINESS]. Context: Below are the notes from the interview debrief for [CANDIDATE AND ROLE]. The must-haves for the role are: [MUST HAVES]. Only use what's in the notes, and only what's about the must-haves. Don't infer or mention age, race, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, health, family status or any other protected characteristic, even if someone said it. Task: Score the candidate on each must-have as Strong, Partial or Not discussed, with a short quote from the notes as evidence. Then list the decisions we made, the action items with an owner and a due date, and the open questions. If an owner or date isn't said, write "Not stated". Format: A scorecard table first: Must-have, Score, Evidence. Then Decisions as a short list, Action items as a table (task, owner, due date) and Open questions. No overall hire or no-hire recommendation. Here are the debrief notes: [DEBRIEF NOTES]
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[CANDIDATE AND ROLE]- The candidate's name and the role, such as "Kira Delgado, Front Desk Lead."
[MUST HAVES]- The same must-haves you interviewed on. Name them exactly so the table has one row each.
[DEBRIEF NOTES]- The transcript or each interviewer's notes. Remove anything personal the scorecard doesn't need before you paste.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR). Willow Bend Physical Therapy is the made-up practice in the Interview Debrief to Scorecard lesson. Hannah, the HR manager, and two interviewers debriefed on Kira Delgado for Front Desk Lead; these notes shorten the lesson's transcript.
Role: You're my recruiting assistant at Willow Bend Physical Therapy. Context: Below are the notes from the interview debrief for Kira Delgado, Front Desk Lead. The must-haves for the role are: two or more years running a front desk, insurance verification, calming upset patients, and training other staff. Only use what's in the notes, and only what's about the must-haves. Don't infer or mention age, race, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, disability, health, family status or any other protected characteristic, even if someone said it. Task: Score the candidate on each must-have as Strong, Partial or Not discussed, with a short quote from the notes as evidence. Then list the decisions we made, the action items with an owner and a due date, and the open questions. If an owner or date isn't said, write "Not stated". Format: A scorecard table first: Must-have, Score, Evidence. Then Decisions as a short list, Action items as a table (task, owner, due date) and Open questions. No overall hire or no-hire recommendation. Here are the debrief notes: Marcus: Front desk, strong. Four years at a dental office. "I book about sixty patients a day across three providers." Jess: Insurance, partial. "I check eligibility the day before every visit." No referrals or authorizations. Marcus: Upset patients, strong. "I let them finish, then I tell them exactly what I'll do and when I'll call back." Jess: She has two little kids, so the early shifts... Hannah: Leave that out. Every candidate was asked if the 7:30 start works; she said yes. Marcus: We never got to training staff. Hannah: Final round with Dr. Patel, who asks about training. No offer until Jess calls both references. Marcus, scorecard by end of day tomorrow.
What a good answer looks like
- Four rows, one per must-have: Strong, Partial, Strong and Not discussed, each with a quote or "No evidence."
- No mention of Kira's kids anywhere, because the notes about them weren't about the job.
- "Not stated" where nobody said a date, such as when the final round gets set up.
- No hire or no-hire verdict. The decision stays with the people who interviewed her.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Find every quote in your notes. If it isn't there word for word, the AI made it up: fix it or mark the row "No evidence."
- Make sure each Not discussed really wasn't covered, then add it to the next round's questions.
- Scan the whole answer for anything personal (family, health, age, background). Delete it if it slipped through.
- Fill in the Not stated owners and dates yourself in one line, the way Hannah does in the lesson, and ask for the updated table.
Why this prompt works
The rating scale and the quote rule turn an impression into evidence, and "Not stated" stops the AI from inventing dates. Together they're grounding: every claim tied to something in the notes.
Practice it in the free lesson
Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR): Turn the transcript of an interview panel's debrief into a scorecard against the role's must-haves, the decisions, action items with owners and dates, and a follow-up email to the candidate. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT
Terms used here
Related prompts
- Interview questions prompt: A structured interview prompt: two questions per must-have, what a strong answer includes, a follow-up, and job-related swaps…
- Reference check questions prompt: A reference call script aimed at the gaps the interview left: role confirmation, an example per must-have, probes for weak…
- Candidate follow-up after interview prompt: Write the email a candidate gets after an interview: thanks, where things stand, the next step and when they'll hear back, with…
- Action items table prompt: Paste a meeting transcript or rough notes and get a table of every task, owner and due date, with "Not stated" wherever nobody…