An interview scorecard replaces "so, what did you think?" with a structured record: a fixed set of criteria rated on a scale, a note per criterion, and an explicit overall verdict. It does two jobs at once — it makes feedback comparable (same criteria for every candidate and every interviewer) and it forces a decision (a verdict with no neutral middle, because "maybe" is where hiring pipelines go to die).
What separates a working scorecard from a formality:
- Criteria come from the job. The role's must-have requirements become the rating rows, plus a few standards like communication and problem-solving — not a generic template.
- Filled in right after the interview. Recall decays within hours; batch-writing feedback on Friday produces polite fiction.
- Written before the debrief. Independent scores first, discussion second — otherwise the first loud opinion anchors everyone else.
- The verdict is mandatory. Hire or don't. An interviewer who can't choose has learned something important — about the candidate or about the criteria.
For small companies where founders and engineers interview a couple of times per quarter, scorecards are what keeps decisions consistent without a recruiter in the room.
In Helia, every interview in the Recruitment pack carries a scorecard: criteria are built from the job's must-have and nice-to-have requirements plus standard ones, each rated 1–4 with a note, topped with a strong-yes / yes / no / strong-no verdict — and the candidate view averages the panel's lean.