Guide · for HR and managers
Notes for HR interviews and one-on-ones
For HR interviews and 1:1s, the careful way to keep notes is to ask the other person first, record on your own computer, and keep the recording, the transcript and the notes on that computer. Recordist works this way, and we make it. Its interview notes say what was said about each competency and never rate, rank or recommend anyone; its 1:1 notes keep the commitments from both sides and never describe anyone's mood, health or personal life. The page for HR and recruiting has a sample interview and the questions IT and legal ask.
Asking first
When a call starts, a small card asks "Record this meeting?" By default it asks before it records, and nothing is written to disk until you click Record. For interviews and 1:1s, leave the automatic-recording list in Settings empty, so the card asks every time.
Recordist does not tell the candidate or the employee, and it cannot ask them. You do, out loud, before you click Record, in a way that makes no an easy answer: "Before we start, would you mind if I record this so I can listen instead of typing? It stays on my computer, and it's completely fine to say no." Copy notice on the card gives you a short notice, and a second click while the call records marks the moment you gave it, kept under the transcript.
Some conversations are better left unrecorded: a complaint, a health matter, something personal. Not this one keeps the card away, and you take notes by hand. If someone joins partway through, ask again.
Client work, in Settings → Privacy and during setup, sets Recordist up for calls about clients, cases or candidates: notes written on your computer, every call asks first, no agent can start a recording, and no notification names a meeting.
Interview notes that never rate anyone
The Interview template keeps evidence apart from interpretation, notes what was said about each competency, and quotes short passages exactly, so you can check each quote against the recording. It does not rate, rank or recommend anyone, and the notes have no field for a score. The decision belongs to the people making it, on the evidence.
Each item in the notes ends with the time it was said, and before the notes are saved each one is checked against the line it cites; an item no line supports is removed. Press the time and hear the answer in the candidate's own words, while the audio is kept.
Transcription can be less accurate for some accents and ways of speaking, and notes can be wrong. They carry the app's reminder to check against the recording before acting on anything, especially an employment decision.
One-on-ones that keep both sides' commitments
The 1:1 template notes feedback, career topics and the commitments from both sides, the manager's as well as the report's. It does not describe anyone's mood, health or personal life. An action item carries an owner and a due date only when the transcript says them, so "I'll send the course details by Friday" stays with the person who said it.
On Pro, a follow-up email is drafted with the notes, a short recap and the next steps for you to read, change and send from your own mail, or to leave unsent. Recordist sends nothing.
Weeks later, Search everything finds the sentence where a promise was made, across every meeting on your computer. On a Mac, up to 45 minutes before a calendar meeting with someone you have recorded a call with, a Prep Brief shows a summary of last time, what you decided and the action items still open.
Who is who in the transcript
Your microphone is labelled You. Everyone on the other side of the call shares one label: the person's name when the calendar invite lists one other person, and otherwise Speaker, which you can rename for each meeting. Recordist cannot yet tell remote people apart, so in a panel interview, check the recording before you quote anyone.
In an interview in a room, both voices reach the one microphone, so every line is labelled You. A phone screen on your mobile does not go through the computer, so there is nothing for Recordist to record.
Records, retention and holds
The audio stays on your computer for 30 days by default; you can keep it for 7 or 90 days, forever, or delete it as soon as the transcript is written. The transcript and the notes stay until you delete the meeting, or until Delete meetings after removes it if you set a number of days, and starred meetings are kept.
Whether to delete a particular interview is a question for your company's records policy. Hiring records often have a minimum retention period, and anything under a legal hold must be kept. Put a meeting on hold from its Record card and Recordist will not delete it or its audio while the hold lasts; on Mac computers your company manages, IT can set a hold through the device management profile. A recording on your computer is still a company record.
There is no admin console or single sign-on. On managed Mac computers, IT can set some settings with a configuration profile, such as a cap on how long audio and meetings are kept, or a rule that notes are written on the Mac. The page for IT, security and legal reviewers answers their questions in one place, and the AI notetaker privacy checklist lists what to ask of any notetaker.
Free and Pro
Free for Mac, Windows and Linux. No account and no email needed. Windows and Linux are a preview. The Mac app is signed with our Developer ID and notarised by Apple.
Recording, transcription and search are free, with no time limit, and Free writes notes for 3 calls a month. Every install includes 7 days of Pro, with no card, starting with your first recorded call of 10 minutes or more. Pro writes up every call and drafts the follow-up email with the notes. Pro is US$9 a month or US$90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay US$15 a month or US$144 a year.Pro is CA$9 a month or CA$90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay CA$15 a month or CA$144 a year.Pro is €9 a month or €90 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay €14 a month or €139 a year.Pro is £8 a month or £79 a year for anyone who subscribes by 30 November 2026, and that price stays for as long as the subscription stays active; from 1 December 2026 new subscribers pay £12 a month or £119 a year.
One person can try it for a week on their own computer: a practice call with a colleague first, then real interviews where the candidate agrees, keeping their own notes alongside until they trust it. Recordist for HR and recruiting has the rest.
Questions
Does Recordist score or rank candidates?
Do I have to tell the candidate or the employee?
Can I go back to what a candidate said?
Does it work for interviews on Zoom, Teams or Meet?
What about a 1:1 that turns personal?
Where do the recording and the notes go?
Related: Recordist for HR and recruiting, A notetaker that keeps the audio, and Meeting notes without a bot in the call.
Notes come from an AI model and can be wrong, and the app keeps the audio for you to check them against. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex and Slack are trademarks of their owners, named only to identify their products. This page is general information and not legal or employment advice. If something here is out of date, write to support@recordist.app and we will correct it.