Glossary
Interview scorecard
An interview scorecard is a form that lists the skills a job needs and gives interviewers a consistent way to rate each applicant on them, with space to note the evidence.
A scorecard turns “I liked her” into “she scored 3 out of 4 on dealing with customers who push back, and here’s what she said.” It’s the simplest way to make interviews comparable. It also makes the hiring team agree on what matters before they meet anyone.
What goes on a scorecard
- Skills, or competencies. Three to six for a first interview.
- Expected level. What you need from someone junior is different from what you need from someone senior.
- Weight. How much each skill counts toward the overall result.
- A rating for each skill, using the same scale every time.
- Evidence. A note or quote that supports each rating.
- A recommendation. Move forward, hold, or not this time.
An example
A first-interview scorecard for a customer service representative:
| Skill | Expected level | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Staying kind and calm under pressure | Intermediate | 30 |
| Explaining things clearly | Intermediate | 25 |
| Taking ownership of problems | Intermediate | 25 |
| Good judgment about when rules apply | Intermediate | 20 |
With these weights, an applicant who is excellent at staying calm but weak on judgment might still come out ahead of one who is average at everything. That matches what the team said it cares about.
Scorecard versus rubric
The scorecard says what to rate. An interview rubric says how: it describes what an answer at each score sounds like. The best scorecards include a short rubric for each skill.
Mistakes that make scorecards useless
- Too many skills. Twelve items to rate in a 20-minute interview means most ratings are guesses.
- Vague labels. “Culture fit” and “communication” mean different things to different people. Name the behavior you want to see, such as “explains technical steps without jargon.”
- Ratings with no evidence. A 4 with no note behind it is just an opinion.
- Filling it in after the team discussion. By then, ratings tend to follow whoever spoke loudest.
- Never checking it against results. After a few hires, check whether the people who scored high turned out to be good at the job, and adjust.
In AI interviews
AI interview tools that score each skill separately are, in effect, filling in a scorecard for every applicant. How useful that is depends on the same things: well-chosen skills, sensible weights, and evidence you can check. The screening scorecard guide walks through building one.