Candidate debrief after a client interview: the call, the questions and the notes

A candidate debrief after a client interview is a 10 to 15 minute call an agency recruiter makes within an hour or two of the interview, before speaking to the client. Ask how it went in the candidate's own words, what they were asked and how they answered, what they learned about the role, their interest from one to ten and what changed it, any concerns, and whether pay, notice or other processes have moved. Write it down, then call the client with the candidate's view before the client's feedback arrives.

This page covers that call. The preparation before the interview is in the candidate interview prep email. If you are looking for the hiring team's own meeting after interviews, that is the interview debrief template.

When to call, and why the candidate goes first

Agree the time in the prep call: "Call me as soon as you're out, or I'll call you at 4." Candidates who have to wait until tomorrow have already talked it over with a partner or a friend, and the account you get is a considered one, not a first reaction.

Speak to the candidate before the client for three reasons:

1. Their interest is on record before the client's view colors it. If the client says no, candidates often decide they were not that interested. If you already have their eight out of ten in writing, you know what the real picture was.
2. The client will ask. "What did she think of us?" is usually the client's first question. Having the answer makes you useful on that call.
3. Doubts surface early. A concern mentioned an hour after the interview can often be answered. The same concern mentioned at offer stage often cannot.

If the client calls first, listen and take notes, and say: "Thanks, that's helpful. I'm speaking to her at 4 and I'll call you straight after." Do not repeat the client's feedback to the candidate before you have heard the candidate's account.

The debrief call script

Ask in this order. Open questions first, specific ones after, logistics last.

1. First reaction (let them talk)
"How did it go? Tell me about it."
[Write down the first sentence word for word.]

2. The people
"Who did you meet? Was it the people we expected?"
"How was the conversation with [hiring manager]? What was she like?"

3. What was asked
"What did they ask you about most?"
"Which answer do you feel best about? Which one would you redo?"
"Did [the gap] come up? What did you say?"

4. What they learned
"What did you learn about the role that you didn't know before?"
"Anything different from what I told you or the job description said?"

5. Interest
"One to ten, where are you now? Where were you before the interview?"
"What moved it?"
"What would make it a ten?"

6. Concerns
"If they offered you the job tomorrow, what's the first thing you'd
worry about?"

7. What they were told about next steps
"Did they say what happens next, or when you'd hear?"

8. Logistics check
"Anything changed with the other processes? Any offers expected?"
"Still [expectation] on pay? Did pay come up? What did you say?"
"Notice still [X] weeks?"

9. Anything that felt off
"Was there any question or moment that felt uncomfortable or not
about the job?"

10. Close
"I'll speak to [client] this afternoon and call you by [time/day]
either way."

Question 9 is easy to skip and should not be. Candidates rarely volunteer that an interviewer asked about their family plans or where they are from; they will often tell you if you ask. What to do with the answer is covered below.

Signals of doubt, and what to ask next

Doubt rarely arrives as "I'm not interested". It arrives as tone, hedging or questions about something else. When you hear one of these, ask the follow-up on the same call.

Treat what you hear as information, not as something to argue with. "The commute is longer than I thought" is a fact about the candidate's life. Your job is to find out whether it is a deal-breaker now, not at offer stage.

Reading how the interview actually went

A candidate's self-assessment is unreliable in both directions. Confident candidates remember the good answers; anxious ones replay the worst minute. Ask for the questions and the answers, not the verdict:

• Map what was asked to the client's must-haves. If the interview spent 30 minutes on something that was a nice-to-have at intake, the brief may have changed. Ask the client.
• Listen for the gap question. How the candidate answered the question you prepared them for tells you how the client probably heard it.
• Note what the interviewer said about next steps. "We'll be in touch next week" and "I'd like you to meet the VP" are very different signals, and the candidate usually remembers them exactly.
• Note time. An interview booked for an hour that ended at 25 minutes, or ran to 90, is worth mentioning when you call the client.

Do not predict the outcome to the candidate. "It sounds like it went well" is fine. "You've got this" becomes a harder call when the client says no.

Debrief notes template

Log this in your ATS against the candidate and the job, straight after the call.

CANDIDATE DEBRIEF — [Candidate] — [Client] — [Role] — [Interview date]
Stage: [first / second / final]   Called: [date, time]

First reaction (their words): "[ ]"
Met: [names, as planned Y/N]   Length: [scheduled / actual]

Asked about most: [ ]
Best answer (their view): [ ]
Weakest answer (their view): [ ]
Gap question: asked Y/N — their answer: [ ]

Learned about role: [ ]
Different from brief: [ ]

Interest: before [ ]/10  now [ ]/10  — because: [ ]
To make it a ten: [ ]
First worry if offered: [ ]

Client said next step: [ ]
Other processes: [update]   Offers expected: [date]
Pay expectation: [unchanged / changed to ]   Pay discussed in interview: [ ]
Notice: [unchanged / changed]

Anything not job-related raised by interviewers: [none / factual note]

Counteroffer risk: [low / med / high] — because: [ ]
To share with client: [ ]
Next: call client [time]; call candidate back by [time]

Briefing the client

Call the client once the notes are written. Lead with the candidate's interest and anything the client can act on, then ask for their feedback.

"Hi Dana, I've just spoken to Marcus. He came out more interested than he went in: nine out of ten, mainly because he thinks you want to make the same fixes he would. One question he'd like answered before the next stage: would he own the receiving data problem or just AP? He has a second interview elsewhere on Friday, so timing matters. How did you find him?"

Share with the client

• Interest level and what drives it, in job-related terms.
• Questions the candidate still has that the client can answer.
• Timelines: other processes and offer dates, without naming other companies unless the candidate agreed.
• Anything logistics-related that has changed, such as notice or availability.

Keep to yourself

• The candidate's worst-answer worries, unless they bear on a real fit question.
• Personal circumstances the candidate mentioned.
• Your counteroffer risk rating. Share the facts behind it if the client needs them.

When the two accounts differ

Rising interest combined with a pay reason for leaving, or a candidate who never raised their concerns with their current employer, is worth a line in your notes. That is the conversation to have before an offer, using the counteroffer conversation script.

If the candidate reports an inappropriate question

If question 9 turns up something like questions about pregnancy, religion, age or nationality, take it seriously and handle it calmly. The EEOC's summary of prohibited employment practices says information sought from applicants should be limited to what is essential for deciding whether they are qualified, and that questions indicating protected status should be avoided.

1. Thank the candidate and write down what they say was asked, by whom, in their words. Record facts, not conclusions.
2. Tell your manager the same day.
3. Agree how to raise it with the client, usually with the most senior contact you work with, framed around protecting their process.
4. Keep the candidate informed that you have raised it, without promising an outcome.

How to keep your own notes clean of the same topics is covered in what not to write in interview notes.