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Inviting Candidates to Interviews

Scheduling, updating and managing candidate interviews

Shaun Corness avatar
Written by Shaun Corness
Updated over a month ago

Getting Started

Once a candidate reaches the Interview stage in your workflow, you can schedule interviews with them. The Interview tab in candidate details allows you to manage the entire interview lifecycle from creating and updating interviews to cancelling when needed.

Prerequisites

Before you can schedule an interview:

  • Candidate must be in an Interview stage – Move the candidate to an Interview stage first

  • Interview stage configured – Your workflow must have an Interview stage available

  • Interview details ready – Have date, time, location/link, and participants identified

Accessing the Interview Tab

To manage interviews:

  1. Open a vacancy and find the candidate in the candidate list

  2. Click View Details to open the candidate flyout

  3. Click the Interview tab

  4. You'll see any scheduled interviews and options to create new ones

Inviting Candidates to Interviews

Prerequisites for Creating an Interview

The Create Interview button is only available when:

  • Candidate is in an Interview stage

  • Move the candidate to Interview stage first if needed

  • You'll see a message if the candidate isn't in an Interview stage

Step 1: Click Create Interview

  1. Open the Interview tab

  2. Click the Create Interview button

  3. The interview creation form will open

  4. Fill in the required information

Step 2: Enter Interview Details

In the interview form, you'll need to provide:

Basic Information

  • Interview title – Name of the interview (e.g., "First Round Interview", "Technical Assessment")

  • Interview date – When the interview will take place

  • Interview time – Start time for the interview

  • Interview length – Duration in minutes (e.g., 30, 45, 60)

Location or Format

  • Location or video link – Where the interview will happen

    • In-person location/address

    • Video call link (Zoom, Teams, etc.)

    • Phone number or dial-in details

Participants

  • Interviewers/Participants – People who will conduct or attend the interview

  • Check availability of team members

  • System shows their calendar to avoid conflicts

  • Select multiple participants if needed

Additional Information

  • Notes or description – Any relevant details about the interview

  • Interview format – Type of interview if applicable

Step 3: Send Interview Invitation

Once you've filled in the details:

  1. Click Create Interview

  2. The interview is scheduled

  3. An invitation email is automatically sent to the candidate

  4. Email includes:

    • Interview date and time

    • Location or video link

    • Interviewer names

    • Any notes you included

    • Reply-to address set to job owner email

The invitation is sent from talentATS with your email in the reply-to field.

Step 4: Confirmation

After creating an interview:

  • Interview appears in the Interview tab

  • Status shows as Scheduled

  • Candidate receives email invitation

  • Interview details are displayed with all information

Managing Scheduled Interviews

Viewing Interview Details

Each scheduled interview displays:

  • Interview title – Name of the interview

  • Date and time – When it's scheduled

  • Duration – Length of the interview

  • Location/link – Where it will take place

  • Interviewers – Names of participants

  • Status – Current status (Scheduled, Attended, Cancelled, etc.)

Interview Actions (When Scheduled)

For scheduled interviews, you have three options:

Interview Attended

  • Mark the interview as completed

  • Click when interview has taken place

  • Moves interview to "Attended" status

Update Interview

  • Modify interview details

  • Change date, time, location, or participants

  • Useful if rescheduling is needed

Cancel Interview

  • Remove the scheduled interview

  • Provide cancellation reason

  • Notifies candidate if desired

Updating an Interview

When to Update an Interview

Update an interview if:

  • Date or time needs to change

  • Location or video link changes

  • Interviewers need to be added or removed

  • Additional notes or details needed

How to Update

  1. Open the Interview tab

  2. Find the scheduled interview

  3. Click Update Interview

  4. The update form opens with current details

  5. Modify the information needed

  6. Click Update Interview to save changes

What Gets Updated

You can change:

  • Interview date and time

  • Duration

  • Location or video link

  • Participating interviewers

  • Notes and description

Notification on Update

  • Interview is updated in the system

  • Email notification is sent to candidate with updated details

  • If date/time changed, candidate receives new invitation

Cancelling an Interview

When to Cancel an Interview

Cancel an interview if:

  • Interview needs to be postponed

  • Position is no longer available

  • Candidate withdrew their application

  • Unforeseen circumstances prevent the interview

How to Cancel

  1. Open the Interview tab

  2. Find the scheduled interview with "Scheduled" status

  3. Click Cancel Interview

  4. A cancellation modal appears

Providing Cancellation Details

In the cancellation modal:

  1. Select cancellation reason:

    • "No Show" – Candidate didn't attend

    • Other reasons as available

  2. Add cancellation notes (optional)

    • Explain why the interview is being cancelled

    • Provide any relevant context

  3. Confirm cancellation

After Cancellation

  • Interview status changes to Cancelled

  • Candidate receives cancellation notification

  • You can schedule a new interview if needed

  • Cancellation is recorded in the interview history

Important: Cancel vs. "No Show"

  • Cancel – You're cancelling the interview before it happens

  • No Show – The interview was scheduled but candidate didn't attend

Choose the appropriate reason when cancelling.

Interview Statuses

Interviews can have the following statuses:

Status

Meaning

Next Actions

Scheduled

Interview is booked and pending

Attend, Update, or Cancel

Attended

Interview took place

Request feedback or provide feedback

Cancelled

Interview was cancelled

Schedule a new interview if needed

No Show

Candidate didn't attend

Reschedule or close

Feedback Requested

Feedback requested from interviewers

Await feedback responses

Finalised

Interview feedback completed

View feedback

Troubleshooting

"Create Interview" button is disabled:

  • Move candidate to an Interview stage first

  • Check that your workflow has an Interview stage

  • Refresh the page if recently moved

  • Contact support if still disabled

Interview invitation didn't send:

  • Verify candidate email address is correct

  • Check that interview was created successfully

  • Email may have gone to spam

  • Contact support if issues persist

I need to reschedule an interview:

  • Click Update Interview to change date/time

  • Or cancel the current interview and create a new one

  • Notify candidate of the change

  • Apologise for any inconvenience

I want to change the interviewers:

  • Click Update Interview

  • Add or remove participants

  • Save changes

  • New participants will receive updated invitation

An interviewer is now unavailable:

  • Update the interview to remove them

  • Add a replacement interviewer if needed

  • Notify both the original and new interviewer

I made a mistake and need to cancel:

  • Cancel the interview

  • Create a new interview with correct details

  • Apologise to candidate for the error

Need more help? Click "Need Help?" in your profile dropdown or contact our support team for assistance.

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