What exactly are you supposed to figure out in the interview? The skill level of the interviewee? A list of skills they have? Suitability of their skills? Cultu

What exactly are you supposed to figure out in the interview? The skill level of the interviewee? A list of skills they have? Suitability of their skills? Cultural fit? Intellect? Knowledge? Compress it to 3-5 points. Now pick some arbitrary rating system (5 stars, school grades, 1-10 points, whatever). It does not matter that much which one you pick. The hard part is to stay consistent about it over time. Now, here is the way how to make it more pleasant for your candidates. After 3/4 of the time, write down your rating and discuss it with the candidate. E.g. "I gave you four stars for cultural fit. I get good vibes with you but you would be the only PhD in our startup, so you are probably more academic than everybody else." Give them a chance to correct your rating. "Oh, I forgot to mention I'm involved in my brothers construction startup. I feel fine in that non-academic world." Giving such honest and clear feedback to candidates is a better experience than most companies.