What not to write in interview notes, and what to write instead

Do not write anything in interview notes that refers to a protected characteristic or a stand-in for one (age, family, health, religion, national origin, pregnancy and the rest), comments on appearance, unexplained shorthand like "not a culture fit", guesses about the candidate's life or plans, or jokes and nicknames. Interview notes are hiring records: they are kept, they can be requested, and they are read later by people who were not in the room. Write only what the candidate said or did that relates to the job.

Below: why notes deserve this care, the five categories to keep out, a rewrite table of bad notes and acceptable versions, what to do when a candidate volunteers something personal, and a check to run before you submit.

Why interview notes need care

Notes feel private while you write them. They stop being private the moment they go into an ATS, a shared folder or an email.

• They are kept. Under 29 CFR 1602.14, employers covered by Title VII, the ADA and GINA must preserve personnel and employment records, including records having to do with hiring, for one year from the date the record was made or the personnel action taken, whichever is later. The EEOC's recordkeeping page summarizes the same rule.
• They are kept longer when someone complains. Once a discrimination charge is filed, the same regulation requires keeping all personnel records relevant to the charge until it is finally resolved. Its own example of relevant records includes application materials of every other candidate for the same position. Many employers treat interview notes and scorecards as part of that record; ask HR how yours does.
• They can be requested. In federal litigation, Rule 26(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows discovery of nonprivileged material relevant to a claim or defense and proportional to the case, and Rule 34 covers writings and electronically stored information in any medium.

The practical test: would you be comfortable if the candidate, your HR team, or a stranger read this line aloud with no context? If not, it does not belong in the notes.

Protected characteristics, and the words that stand in for them

The EEOC's page on prohibited employment policies and practices lists the federal protected characteristics: race, color, religion, sex (which the page describes as including transgender status, sexual orientation and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information. The EEOC's genetic information page makes clear that includes family medical history. Many states and cities protect more.

Hardly anyone writes "rejected because of age". The risk is in the stand-ins:

• Age: "young and hungry", "digital native", "set in his ways", "overqualified", graduation years, "near retirement".
• Sex, pregnancy and family: "just had a baby", "has young kids, may not travel", "husband works in Denver". The EEOC's page on marital status and children says such questions are frequently used to discriminate against women.
• National origin: accent, name, "English is her second language", where someone "is really from".
• Religion: religious dress, holidays, "won't work Sundays".
• Disability and health: "walks with a cane", "seems depressed", "mentioned therapy", "had cancer a few years ago". The EEOC's prohibited-practices page says employers may not make pre-offer inquiries about disability.
• Genetic information: "her mother had Alzheimer's".

Appearance and how someone presents

Weight, height, clothing, hair, tattoos, attractiveness, voice, and "looks tired" have no place in interview notes. They are rarely job-related and they often correlate with protected characteristics.

Some structured interview guides, including the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's structured interview guide, do mention recording delivery and non-verbal behavior. The same guide warns interviewers to base their evaluation on performance related to the competency, not just on how a candidate acts during the interview. If communication is a competency you are rating, describe the behavior, such as "checked twice that I was following", not the person, such as "awkward".

"Culture fit" and other shorthand

"Not a fit", "great energy", "polished", "rough around the edges", "not one of us", "would not have a beer with him". Each is a conclusion with nothing underneath it, and in practice "fit" often means "similar to the people already here". OPM's guide lists "similar to me", giving higher ratings to candidates who seem like you, as a common rating error.

If the concern is real, it is a behavior the job needs, and you can name and rate it: "the role depends on written updates across time zones; could not give an example of written reporting". If you cannot name it that way, leave it out. The internal interview feedback examples page has more of these rewrites by competency.

Speculation, diagnoses and jokes

Guesses about someone's life

"Probably planning a family", "will leave when his wife relocates", "can't afford a pay cut", "seems like a party type". None of these are observations, and several point straight at protected characteristics. If a job requirement is in question, such as travel, schedule or location, ask every candidate the same question and record the answer.

Armchair diagnoses

"Anxious", "ADHD?", "on the spectrum", "seems unwell". An interviewer is not assessing health, and a note like this can read as a disability-based judgment regardless of intent.

Jokes, nicknames and sarcasm

"LOL", "our Excel wizard", "total trainwreck", emojis, profanity, comparisons to celebrities. Tone does not survive being read later by someone else. A sarcastic line in a scorecard can outweigh three paragraphs of careful evidence in how the whole record is read.

Hearsay and comparisons

"A friend at her old company says she's difficult" and "reminds me of Jake, who didn't work out" both import information that did not come from the interview. Backchannel concerns go to the recruiter to handle through a proper reference process, not into your notes.

The rewrite table: bad note to acceptable note

All examples are invented. Where the acceptable version is "no note", that is the fix.

The physical-requirements row follows the EEOC's guidance on pre-employment disability-related questions, which says employers may ask whether applicants can perform job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. The pay row reflects laws such as California Labor Code section 432.3, which says an employer shall not seek an applicant's salary history. Rules differ by state and city; for how to ask about pay expectations instead, see salary expectation questions.

When the candidate brings it up

Candidates volunteer personal details all the time: a child's school run, a religious holiday, a health condition, a partner's new job. You did not ask, and that is fine. What matters is what happens next.

• Do not write it down. If it helps you remember why a topic came up, write "personal detail shared, not noted" and nothing more.
• Do not ask follow-up questions about it. Acknowledge briefly and return to the job: "Thanks for telling me. Coming back to the project you mentioned…"
• If it touches a stated job requirement, record only the job-related answer: "said the two-trips-a-month travel requirement would not work." Not the reason.
• If they ask for an accommodation for the interview process, pass it to your recruiter or HR. The EEOC's guidance allows limited questions in that situation, and HR should ask them. Your note says only that a request was passed on. Requests for reasonable accommodation are themselves among the records 29 CFR 1602.14 names, so let HR keep that record.

Capturing the rest well, from what to write down to the shorthand that keeps your eyes on the candidate, is covered in how to take interview notes.

A 30-second check before you submit

• Every line describes something the candidate said or did in the interview.
• Nothing refers to age, family, pregnancy, health, disability, religion, national origin, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or genetic information, or to words that stand in for them.
• Nothing about appearance.
• No "fit", "energy", "vibe" or "polished" without a named, job-related behavior next to it.
• No guesses about their plans, finances, relationships or health.
• No jokes, nicknames, sarcasm, emojis, or comparisons to other people.
• Quotation marks only around words they actually said.
• Travel, schedule, location and physical requirements are recorded as questions asked of every candidate.

If you find something after you have already submitted, do not quietly edit or delete the record on your own, and never do so once a complaint or legal hold exists. Tell your recruiter or HR and let them decide how to correct it. Before you submit, fixing it is simply good note-taking.