Interview Debrief Template: What to Write Down

The debrief note you write ten minutes after an interview is worth more than the one you write that evening, and far more than the one you never write at all. Here's a simple structure that takes under five minutes and holds up weeks later.

Who you spoke with

Name, role, and how they fit on the team. This matters more than it seems — when you're comparing offers later, knowing you talked to the actual hiring manager versus a generalist recruiter changes how much weight to give what they told you.

What was actually asked

Not just the topic area, but the specific questions. If a technical round asked about rate limiting or a behavioral round asked for a conflict-resolution story, write the exact prompt. It's the single most useful thing to have if you get a second round with the same company, or a similar question elsewhere.

The question you couldn't answer well

Everyone has one. Whatever tripped you up is worth ten minutes of research before your next interview — with this company or the next one. This is the fastest way interview notes compound into actually getting better at interviewing.

Your honest read

Separate from how you think you performed: how did it actually feel? Rushed, collaborative, adversarial, disorganized? This is the note that's easy to skip and the one you'll want most if you're deciding between offers later — performance fades from memory, but gut reactions were accurate more often than people give them credit for.

What happens next

What they said the timeline would be, and what you owe them (a writing sample, a reference, a thank-you note). This is the line item most likely to get lost without being written down — and the easiest one to lose an opportunity over.