Paraphrasing What Candidates Said

Hiring managers weigh what candidates say in their own words. Your paraphrase makes it sound like your opinion.

If your version drifts and the hiring manager hears something different in the interview, it’s your credibility that takes the hit.

And when someone asks “what exactly did they say?”, you don’t have an answer.

Paraphrasing isn’t a bad habit. It’s what notes force you to do. You wrote down the gist, so the gist is all you can pass on.

Every retelling moves a little further from the original. Your notes compress it, the send-out smooths it, and the call with the hiring manager simplifies it again.

By the time it reaches the hiring manager, the candidate’s answer has been rewritten more than once, often by more than one person.

The hiring manager never hears the candidate. They hear the end of a game of telephone.

• Your notes summarize the conversation instead of capturing what was actually said.
• Two people reading your notes would quote the candidate differently.
• Your send-outs say “the candidate mentioned” instead of quoting them.
• You hesitate when the hiring manager asks how the candidate put it.

• The candidate didn’t give you much to quote. They spoke in generalities, so there was nothing specific to pass on.