How to Voice Record on iPhone for Interviews

The iPhone is one of the most iconic smartphone devices of a generation. Famed for its look, operating system, functionality, and the adverts that promote it, you’d be hard pushed to find a more talked-about handset.

One of its lesser-used features – but one that’s proving invaluable to many owners – is the voice memo app. This app enables voice recording on an iPhone, allowing you to capture conversations that may later require transcription or playback.

Thanks to its high quality, voice recording on an iPhone can be used in a host of professional settings without the need to obtain expensive recording and editing equipment.

In this blog, we’ll show you how that portable pocket device can become your optimal recording studio for interviews, meetings and more.

How to use the voice recorder on an iPhone in a few easy steps

If you have a stack of interviews set up for a range of positions, you’ll only want the best candidates to be hired. The notes you’d normally take could quickly become an illegible mess. To help ensure you find the right person for the job, record the interview instead.

Grab your iPhone and make the most of it by following the below steps. Then, hand your recording over to our team at McGowan Transcriptions. We’ll carefully transcribe the interview, so you have a complete written account to keep on file.

Let’s dive into the recording process.

Find your voice recording app

Before you schedule your first interview, familiarise yourself with where you’ll find the iPhone voice recorder app and how it works.

To access the app, simply swipe down and search for it from the home screen, or swipe left and access the app library. You should then find the voice recorder in “Utilities.”

Hit record

Simply tap the big red button on the screen. As soon as you do, the recording function begins. You’ll see a small orange dot at the top of your screen to indicate the microphone is active.

As you and your interviewee begin talking, the sound will be represented by a waveform on the screen. If it fills up the screen, you are likely too close to the microphone or talking a little too loudly. Simply move the phone further away from the sound when this happens or move it closer if you see no movement on the waveform.

Pausing or stopping the recording

If your interview is divided into sections, you may need to pause the recording before moving on to the next part. You’re better off pausing rather than stopping the recording, as you’ll then end up with two separate files, which creates extra work.

To pause the recording, swipe the waveform up. You’ll see a host of other options, including “Pause”. Hit the pause button, then “Resume” when you are ready to continue.

Once the interview is over, pause the interview and then press “Stop”. The stop button is located at the bottom of the waveform.

Save the interview recording

Once you have finished the interview and stopped the recording, your iPhone will automatically save the audio file. It’ll be given a default title by your phone, something like “New Recording”, for example. You can change this easily. Just tap the name and change it by using the keyboard on the phone.

You’ve now recorded an interview on your iPhone.

Can you edit and enhance a voice recording on an iPhone?

You can, and whilst you won’t want to edit out the interview itself, you may find that you’ve recorded some additional chatter that doesn’t require transcribing or listening back to. This could be background noise or even some irrelevant conversation.

Occasionally, the interview just doesn’t sound right. It could be muffled or affected by noises in the background. Luckily, you can fix that, too.

Enhancing an iPhone voice recording

Head to the Voice Memos screen and find the recording you need. If labelled correctly, it’ll be easy to find. If not, then you may need to spend some time tracking it down.

Once you’ve selected the correct recording, you can adjust its playback speed, skip any silences, and enhance the sound quality. These quick fixes will provide you with a more refined audio file that is not only better for you but also for transcribers when the interview is played back.

Editing an iPhone voice recording

If there are parts of the conversation that are irrelevant to the interview, you can cut them out and trim the file down to exactly what you need.

To do this, tap the three dots that are next to your recording. You’ll see a small menu pop-up where you can select “Edit Recording.” From here, you can trim, replace, or add content if needed.

Trimming an iPhone recording

If you need to remove sections of the conversation, you can tap the scissors icon once you’ve entered the edit menu. Drag the yellow handles at the start and end of your recording to adjust which part should be kept.

Adding content to an iPhone recording

If you needed to add some additional information to the recording – perhaps you had missed something out – you can easily add extra audio in. Drag the tracker to the end of the recording, hit resume, and the additional content will now be bolted on the end. Then, press stop when you have finished.

Replacing content in an iPhone recording

If you need to replace some content, for instance if you don’t like how your intro sounds, you can swap it with new content. When on the edit screen, you can move the white line of the recording to the part you wish to replace. Tap replace, and you’ll be recording over this section.

How do you send a voice recording on an iPhone?

Now your recording is complete, you might plan to share it with your HR department, a transcription company, or your line manager.

Wherever it is going, this is easy to facilitate. Hit the three dots to the right of the recorded file. Choose Share, and then select how you’d like to forward the audio to someone else.

You’ll have options like AirDrop, Messages, and Email, but also opportunities to save it to cloud storage, which may be accessible to others.

Should you be sending your recording to be transcribed, we have a secure uploading facility that is faster than FTP, incredibly safe, and allows you to add multiple files at once. This not only streamlines the process but ensures full safety and confidentiality.

Why would I send my iPhone voice recordings for transcription?

When you interview candidates or existing staff, you want to give them your full attention. Spending time with your head down as you furiously scribble notes on to a pad doesn’t allow you to do this. By recording the interview and then obtaining an interview transcription, you not only set a more comfortable environment, but you also obtain a complete and accurate record of everything that was said.

With no need to try and comprehend your rough notes or guess what was said by the interviewee, a transcription provides the benefit of full clarity and enables you to make the correct recruitment decision.

Why not speak to the team at McGowan Transcriptions today? We offer complete confidentiality and security, and use our vast experience to deliver fully accurate audio transcription services.

We are members of both AQR and MRS, only use professional transcribers, and in our 30+ years of transcribing, we have never missed a client deadline. Reach out to us today to find out more.