How to read an interview report from SAM

What is in a report

Each report brings together four things:

• The interview video, so you can see and hear the candidate.
• A full transcript of the conversation.
• A professional summary of what the candidate said.
• A recommendation from SAM.

Start with the summary

The summary gives you the shape of the conversation in a minute or two: the candidate’s background, how they handled each topic and where they were strong or thin. Use it to decide who deserves a closer look.

Check the evidence

Whenever something in the summary matters to your decision, open the transcript and read the candidate’s actual words. For the moments that count most, watch that part of the video. The summary points you to the evidence, and the transcript and video let you confirm it.

Treat the recommendation as a starting point

The recommendation tells you where SAM thinks the candidate stands. It is an input to your decision, not the decision itself. If you disagree, that is fine: your team knows things about the role and the company that no interview can capture.

Compare candidates on the same ground

Because every candidate for a role gets the same structure, their reports line up topic by topic. Compare them on the same topics, and keep reports for different roles apart, since they were judged against different criteria.

Common mistakes

• Reading only the summary and skipping the evidence behind it.
• Treating the recommendation as final.
• Comparing reports from different roles as if they used the same yardstick.
• Overlooking what the candidate said in their own words.

Share it with your team

Reports are attached to the candidate in your ATS, so hiring managers and interviewers can read the same material before they meet someone. A shared starting point makes the next conversation shorter and better.