Best Interview Scheduling Software (2024)
Get expert insight into our top 7 interview scheduling software picks: selection criteria, pros & cons, feature comparisons, screenshots, prices, and best use cases.
Best Interview Scheduling Tools
Interview scheduling software streamlines the interview scheduling process, especially for teams dealing with complex and timely recruitment. The best interview scheduling tool tackles time zone differences, schedule conflicts, and the all-too-familiar "Can we reschedule... again?" stress that recruiters face. Not only does it make scheduling easy, but also enjoyable, resulting in fewer no-shows and a better candidate experience.
But with so many vendors and unverified information out there, choosing the best interview scheduling tool can be a tough call. To help you, we’ve curated some of the best options—both free and paid. No overwhelming choices, just selective tools that our editors have tested, real users have given the thumbs-up, and industry experts have recommended. Check them out!
When shortlisting the best scheduling software, simplicity, flexibility, automation, integrations, and branding were key factors we had in mind. We participated in dozens of demos, tested tools firsthand, analyzed verified user reviews, and spoke with industry experts to finalize our selection.
- Simplicity: Our goal was to find interview scheduling tools that are user-friendly, even for those who are not tech-savvy. The features we assessed include drag-and-drop calendar views, automated email notifications, and effortless scheduling and rescheduling capabilities.
- Flexibility: We made sure our software picks can accommodate various candidate interview types (in-person, phone, and video). You should also be able to access the software and manage interview schedules on your PC or on the go. Additionally, it must take time zones into account so you don’t have to worry about scheduling conflicts or confusion when coordinating interviews across different locations.
- Automation: Interview scheduling software should work for you and not the other way around, which is why features like automated email notifications, seamless calendar integration, and candidate self-scheduling are vital.
- Branding: We picked software that lets you add your company logo, tweak those email templates, and create a scheduling experience that's truly yours. This helps you maintain a professional image and provide a consistent brand experience to candidates.
Curious about our evaluation process? Here’s how we evaluate HR Tech.
VidCruiter
Paradox
myInterview
GoodTime
HireVue
Sign In Scheduling
Calendly
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VidCruiter
VidCruiter’s scheduling tool inherits the well-earned, expert knowledge the vendor has built up over a decade in the interviewing space. The software comes with excellent automation and customization features and has been a go-to solution for scheduling interviews at scale for 100K+ recruiters to date.
PROS
- Helps you auto-schedule interviews with all candidates in your pipeline.
- Knowledgeable and responsive customer support.
- Managers and candidates are kept up-to-date with timely reminders and notifications.
- Integrations include major calendars (Google, Outlook) and Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication.
- Scalable and customizable — users pay for what they need and can purchase more features as they grow.
- Robust pre-recorded and live video interviewing with advanced automation.
- Browser-based, so it works across devices without installing apps.
- Available for recruiters in eight languages and supports job seekers in dozens more.
- 24/7 live agent support, assigned account manager, and on-demand training.
CONS
- No free trial or free plan.
- Mid-market and enterprise focus (not the best bet for smaller teams).
- Because the product is feature-rich and highly customizable, the implementation phase can be time-consuming.
- Advanced search and technical skills testing features within the assessment module leave room for improvement.
- No free or trial version.
- Undisclosed pricing.
We were drawn to VidCruiter's scheduling tool because it really stands out when it comes to taking the headache out of interview scheduling. The scheduler has a simple interface and handles automatic interview scheduling, can sync with several calendars, and, in real-time, keeps everyone in the loop.
The best part? This scheduling tool isn't just about setting up interviews. It goes above and beyond to enhance both the candidate's and interviewer's experiences. Candidates get the flexibility to pick their preferred interview format, whether it's a pre-recorded video interview, a live video chat, a hybrid interview, or even an in-person meeting. This level of choice and customization sets it apart from other scheduling tools we've seen.
Another outstanding aspect is the scheduler’s personalized approach based on the user role and the interview process. Hiring managers get all the interview essentials—guides, reminders, candidate profiles, and rating keys. On the interviewee side, there are instructions, reminders, and if the position requires it, a prompt for their relevant certifications.
To put VidCruiter interview scheduling software to the test, we booked an in-person interview as a candidate. Not only did the tool shoot us an SMS with all the interview details, but it even handed us Google Maps directions.
And we weren't the only ones impressed—several TA users we talked with have felt the same way, loving how the tool's automation freed up more time for candidate interactions, all while seamlessly managing the logistical side.
With that said, there's no free trial or free plan available with VidCruiter. The scheduling tool has also been focused on mid-market and enterprise-level teams from the get-go. So, if you're a small team that doesn’t hire very frequently, you might find it either overkill or too expensive.
Lowe’s, Lionsgate, and the United Nations are a few names of VidCruiter’s customers. The platform has been used by over 10,000 TAs and is popular among enterprise orgs.
VidCruiter has custom pricing and doesn’t offer a free trial or free plan. A free demo is available for organizations to get a custom quote.
Best For
VidCruiter is best interview scheduling software for organizations with more than 100 job openings annually and already or tend to use other VidCruiter products, rather than just the scheduler alone.
We use VidCruiter daily to handle our hiring tasks. Setting up job postings within the platform is easy, helping us get our openings out quickly. Once we start receiving applications, we use the pre-recorded video interviews to screen candidates and gauge their suitability. For standout candidates, we schedule live video interviews through VidCruiter. It keeps everything organized and saves us from the hassle of scheduling. VidCruiter's integrated reference checking allows us to verify a candidate's background without extra effort. Overall, it's become our go-to for managing the entire hiring process, ensuring we find the right people without the usual headaches. It's been a real game-changer for us.
VidCruiter's video interview features save us time and allow us to quickly assess candidates' communication skills. The integrated reference checking simplifies our vetting process and provides reliable insights into candidates' backgrounds, which is crucial in our industry. The platform's user-friendly interface makes it easy for our team to collaborate and manage candidates throughout the hiring process.
Choosing VidCruiter was a no-brainer for us in the jewelry industry because it addressed our urgent need for a more efficient hiring process. We appreciated that VidCruiter offers both pre-recorded and live video interviews, which helped us assess candidates thoroughly right from the start. One feature we found particularly useful was their referencing service—they handle it seamlessly as part of the platform. In our line of work, where reputation matters a lot, having reliable references is crucial. It's been about a year since we started using VidCruiter, and this feature has definitely made our hiring decisions more confident.
Sometimes the platform can feel overwhelming with all its features, and it took us a while to get fully comfortable with everything. Occasionally, we've experienced minor glitches in the scheduling feature, which can disrupt our interview processes. While the customer support is generally good, response times could be quicker.
Compared to other similar tools we've tried, VidCruiter stands out in several ways. One main difference is its comprehensive approach to video interviewing, offering both pre-recorded and live options seamlessly integrated into one platform. This flexibility allows us to efficiently screen candidates while saving time on scheduling. Additionally, VidCruiter's integrated referencing service is a significant advantage in our industry, streamlining the background check process and providing deeper insights into candidates' qualifications and character. The platform's intuitive interface and customizable workflows make it easier for our team to collaborate and manage the entire hiring process effectively.
Ensure the tool offers the specific features you need and fits your company's size and industry requirements. Test the platform for user-friendliness to ensure it is intuitive for your team to navigate without extensive training. Look for demos or trials. Consider how well the tool integrates with your existing systems. Compare pricing plans and consider the value the tool brings versus its cost. Factor in scalability if your team or hiring needs are expected to grow.
VidCruiter has added more features like automated workflows, enhanced customization options, and improved integrations. They have also slightly improved the user interface, and customer support has gotten better.
- Medium to large organizations
- HR departments focused on streamlining recruitment processes
- Industries requiring thorough candidate screening
- Teams managing high volumes of applicants
- Small organizations with limited hiring needs
- Companies not prioritizing video-based candidate evaluations
- Industries where face-to-face interactions are essential for initial assessments
- Organizations with strict budget constraints
Paradox
Paradox makes scheduling fast, simple, and friendly to candidates in over 100 languages, thanks to its AI assistant Olivia. Teams hiring globally frequently benefit from the tool for having their interview scheduling, rescheduling, and reminders automated and synced with other apps.
PROS
- Implementation with dedicated support is very efficient.
- Cuts down on back-and-forth communication between job seekers and recruiters.
- Unlimited interview scheduling.
- Automated rescheduling.
- Available in more than 30 languages for users and over 100 for candidates.
- Their implementation and customer service is very efficient and accessible. You will not only get a Customer Success Manager to help you with every step during your implementation phase but your issues will also likely be resolved within the same day. Unlike many vendors, you can contact their support team via phone and explain your issue in real-time.
- It’s very time-saving and cuts down on back-and-forth communication between job candidates and recruiters. As Derek B, Head of Recruitment at a large-sized enterprise puts it, “Olivia helped us shave our response time from 7 days to under 24 hours. This time saving ensured that the applicants we chose to interview were the best of the bunch.”
- Olivia, their AI chatbot is programmed to respond to candidates in a way that feels personal, as if a real person is responding. What’s even better is that despite complete automation, you can see all chats and manually override them if need be.
CONS
- Custom workflows can take a while to be executed.
- The AI assistant is intelligent and has a human touch but can’t fully replace humans.
- At times, the resolution to an issue isn’t thoroughly tested at Paradox's end before sending it to customers.
- Lacks transparent pricing. Doesn’t have a free trial.
- Although you can get some data and feedback about your company and its processes, analytics is not very robust in Paradox. If you’re looking for advanced features that let you slice and dice your data in various ways, you’ll have to look for other applications.
- Their AI assistant is intelligent and has a human touch but at the end of the day, Olivia is still AI. At times when you want nuanced answers in conversations, you’ll have to manually operate the chat.
Paradox, or more precisely, its AI assistant Olivia, is just so good at simplifying complex, heavy scheduling. Olivia takes the reins of communicating with candidates for interview scheduling. Once set, interview times sync seamlessly with your calendar, with all the interview details. Candidates receive interview reminders, and if adjustments are needed, Olivia can efficiently handle rescheduling and keep everyone in the loop.
Navigating diverse time zones and languages, especially in high-volume hiring scenarios, has often been a major headache for recruiters. However, Paradox has convinced us that this pain can be completely eliminated. Of all the interview scheduling solutions we’ve tested and used, Paradox's multilingual capabilities are among the best. It supports over 30 languages for users and more than 100 for candidates. The scheduling tool also comfortably handled scheduling calls across our team members spanning seven different time zones.
While Paradox’s integrations might not be so extensive, they've impressed us with real-time updates. Booking an interview results in an instant sync across its platform and our integrated ATS—no noticeable delays.
However, Paradox does stumble a bit in a few areas. Similar to other enterprise-centric solutions like HireVue, Paradox keeps its pricing a mystery. We also found the implementation a bit drawn-out, especially when there’s a high level of customization required. Thankfully, the dedicated support does brighten this experience up.
It was quite unexpected for us to figure out the scheduling doesn’t have a native integration with LinkedIn. We appreciated Paradox's approach of offering its own ATS and video interviewing tools, so its target customers—companies with high-volume hiring needs can keep all their HR tech in one place. However, these solutions don’t quite match up to the top-tier names in the market, such as VidCruiter.
Major customers of Paradox include household-name enterprises like Unilever, McDonald’s, and Amazon.
Paradox doesn’t publish its pricing on the website. You must get on a demo with its team for more details.
Best For
Paradox is a top interview scheduling software tool for large businesses and international teams that hire frequently.
myInterview
myInterview's interview scheduling tool functions well across devices, comes in different languages, and lets you send email and SMS invites and reminders individually or in bulk.
PROS
- Scheduling features included in both video interview plans and chatbot product.
- Schedules individual or bulk email and SMS interview invites.
- Supports English, French, German, Hebrew, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese.
- myInterview has a neat screening feature that can sift through thousands of video submissions and identify suitable candidates not only based on skills, but also personality.
- The platform provides analytics that help you understand how well your current application process is working, so that you can make improvements as needed.
- It lets you add instant candidate ratings so you’re able to compare candidates and make data-based decisions.
- myInterview lets you create a branded, customized interview process. You can choose from their library of pre-recorded questions, or create your own.
- myInterview ensures that all your interviewers have access to the same information about each candidate. This is so they’re all asking the same questions and given a fair chance at evaluating each candidate's answers.
CONS
- Limited customization and integration options in the base plan.
- No native live video interview features.
- No free trial and undisclosed pricing.
- A few users have noted that myInterview doesn't offer many customization options. For example, you can't customize the email templates without contacting support.
- myInterview currently doesn’t have a mobile app neither for hiring managers or candidates.
- Though they do have a free forever plan, it is limited to only 1 active job post at a time.
When you opt for either its video interview products or the chatbot, myInterview gives you interview scheduling features for free.
Just tap the three dots on a candidate's card, and you’ll find the scheduling button. As long as you have your video conferencing tool(s) linked with myInterview, your availability will auto-show as light green. We used Google Meet, and the time slots came out nicely. Pick some from these, name your interview, and set the duration. Then, the invite will swiftly go to the candidate’s inboxes as you hit ‘Send Invites’.
This approach is not as useful for one-way video interviews, though, where you tend to have dozens, if not hundreds, of invites to send for each job. Thankfully, myInterview has some automation baked in.
The interview scheduling platform lets you invite up to 200 candidates at a time, set timezone-minded interview deadlines, edit email text, and set reminders. It now even supports SMS invitations, a promising feature to boost your candidate completion rates.
However, we found that myInterview’s customization is not as good as some competitors such as GoodTime. While the email content is editable, there’s no option to customize the email signature or text format. As a result, you may have good content yet rather bland-looking emails.
When it comes to interview scheduling handled by chatbots, myInterview’s Taira is on par with Paradox’s Olivia. The only part where it falls short is it only speaks English, while Olivia does 100+ languages.
You should also bear in mind that some of myInterview’s integrations cost extra even if you’re on the priciest plan.
1,000+ companies, including Ocado Group, Purdue University, and P&O Ferries.
myInterview’s pricing is not disclosed.
Best For
myInterview interview scheduling tool is ideal for mid-sized organizations to schedule and interview candidates worldwide.
I create a job listing, set the knock-out questions, and request a video response for one of the questions. I can then review the candidate and their video at my convenience. This allows me to assess how the candidate speaks about their experience and their passion for the role. Candidates often appear almost immediately after the job is created, which is helpful. Having everything in one place, rather than switching between different tools, makes reviewing candidates, screening videos, and making decisions more efficient.
- I like having multiple steps of the process in one tool.
- Being able to review a candidate and see their answers to important questions upfront saves a lot of time.
- The video feature helps me see and hear a candidate answer a job-specific question, which is invaluable.
We initially used the monthly version of MyInterview to evaluate its effectiveness. Our goal was to streamline our cumbersome interview process. This tool allowed candidates to answer questions and provide a video at the time of application. We needed a quicker turnaround for candidates interested in our urgent job openings, and MyInterview populated the job listings as soon as they were created. The monthly option was beneficial as we were experiencing growth and were uncertain about our future needs.
- MyInterview has poor customer support, making it frustrating to get information or help.
- The pricing structure no longer includes monthly plans, only annual ones, which are expensive for what you get.
- The available plans only support up to 20 users and 20 job postings, which is insufficient for growing companies.
- The pricing information sent to me was formatted incorrectly, cutting off the last column.
The candidate experience on MyInterview is not as good as other tools. Their customer service needs significant improvement, as inadequate support negates the service's value. However, the setup and collaboration on MyInterview were straightforward for all involved, including recruiting, HR, and hiring managers.
Consider your need for immediate candidates. If you have anxious clients or hiring managers, this tool is beneficial. Evaluate how quickly you need to be up and running, as MyInterview is easy to set up and use. However, if you have urgent customer service needs, this tool might be a headache.
MyInterview no longer offers monthly plans, only annual ones. This change is significant for smaller companies, which may find it challenging to pay the annual fee upfront. Additionally, larger companies might struggle with the limitations of only 20 job postings and 20 users.
Medium-sized companies without urgent requirements or deliverables, and those with an IT department to provide support before reaching out to MyInterview's customer service can get the most out of this tool.
Very small companies may find the pricing structure prohibitive and the need for customer support a hindrance to business operations. Very large companies might find MyInterview's slowness and limitations on the number of jobs and users difficult to work around.
GoodTime
GoodTime knows what they’re doing: the scheduling software has automation and personalized communication down pat. It even possesses screening capabilities and can now handle high-volume hiring.
PROS
- SMS, WhatsApp, and email interview scheduling.
- Candidate-driven availability selection and rescheduling options.
- Customizable workflow automation.
- The platform recently introduced a high-volume hiring product for scalability.
- Mobile-optimized platform with Chrome extension for easy communication.
- Pre-built screening questionnaires and knock-out questions.
- 24/7 chat support and a dedicated Customer Success Manager.
- Can integrate with multiple ATSs, recruiting software, calendars, etc.
- Because of how automated it is, GoodTime makes the process of scheduling and hiring very fast. From scheduling an interview to sending an offer letter – you can close the entire candidate pipeline in two weeks.
- GoodTime is highly customizable. You can create custom tags to group interviewers based on various criteria and areas of expertise, customize the maximum time you want each team member to spend on interviews daily or weekly, as well as create custom templates for interview panels and emails. The branding that you can set with GoodTime helps show your company's personality and makes it feel like it isn't just some boring, standard tool.
- Their customer service is great. You get 24/7 customer support via chat, a Customer Success Manager to guide you every step of the way, and a customer support team who regularly fixes bugs that are reported and takes your suggestions into consideration. They’re also incredibly quick to respond to your queries.
CONS
- The Hire products have no free plan or trial and undisclosed pricing.
- It focuses solely on scheduling and lacks other recruiting capabilities.
- Lengthy implementation process, especially for complex workflows.
- The user interface can be somewhat challenging to navigate.
- Great customer service but only available in English.
- Occasional bugs were reported, primarily related to calendar and ATS syncing.
- The implementation process can be lengthy, depending on the complexity of your own workflows.. There are many configuration choices to be made , which can be time-consuming and overwhelming without help from the GoodTime team.
- GoodTime’s user interface includes many options, and at first blush, can be challenging to navigate. The learning curve is initially due to its complex functionality.
- Occasional bugs are reported by its users, mainly related to syncing with the calendar and ATS. Although the customer support is extremely responsive and would resolve your issue in a speedy manner, this is something you should be aware of when considering buying GoodTime.
One of the reasons we chose GoodTime for this guide is due to its efficiency. Automation means the interview scheduling software can easily handle the entire candidate pipeline, from scheduling interviews to sending offer letters, within two weeks.
GoodTime is highly customizable. You're the boss—you get to create your own interview tags, set interview time constraints, and tweak templates for interview panels and emails. This flexibility makes the scheduler feel like it's made just for you, not some generic tool.
The customer service is pretty awesome: 24/7 support is available. Plus, they give you a dedicated Customer Success Manager to guide you through the process. We’ve heard a lot about their responsiveness and wanted to see it for ourselves. Needless to say, the team promptly answered our query within minutes.
However, the initial rollout of GoodTime wasn’t as smooth as we expected. Implementing it can take a while, and you may require assistance from their support team. Unlike Calendly or Sign In Scheduling, whose user interfaces are pretty straightforward, GoodTime looks a bit overwhelming with its mass of features. It took us quite some time to get used to the platform.
Though this doesn’t happen regularly, we were left frustrated due to some bugs when syncing GoodTime with calendars and ATS. The saving grace is the customer support team, which is quick to sort these out. Still, it's important to keep this in mind when considering the scheduler. Better safe than sorry!
GoodTime scheduling apps have been used by over 300 companies for both hiring and sales. These companies are mostly large, with at least a couple hundred employees, such as HubSpot, Slack, and Quora.
GoodTime offers two modules:
- GoodTime Hire is designed for hiring teams. The pricing is not disclosed on their website but according to our research, the starting price is $15,800.
- GoodTime Meet is suitable for individuals and businesses, especially sales teams, and offers a free plan. Paid plans start at $9 per seat per month on an annual basis.
Best For
GoodTime Hire—GoodTime’s interview scheduling software is best for midsize and enterprise companies with 250+ employees to automate their interview scheduling process. On the other hand, GoodTime Meet is a good option for smaller teams for more general-purpose meetings.
HireVue
HireVue is more than just AI-powered on-demand interviews and assessments. The platform also has a scheduling tool that complements their other recruiting solutions, plus 24/7 customer support in 20+ languages to ensure you're in good hands.
PROS
- Supports candidate-driven availability selection, self-rescheduling, and rescheduling.
- Responsive implementation team and 24/7 customer support in 20+ languages.
- Open to customizing their packages to suit unique business needs.
- Offers solutions for video interviewing, assessments, conversational AI, and text recruiting, consolidating recruiting tech in one place.
- Mobile-friendly.
- HireVue is very useful when it comes to screening a large number of job candidates in a short frame of time. Its virtual assistant can do an initial screen of applicants on its own, leave messages for them, and get responses in return. All of this frees up recruiters’ time.
- It has a great on-demand interviewing feature. Recruiters can sit and watch candidates’ interviews as per their convenience. The ability to change the speed of the interview while watching can also help recruiters save time.
- Their implementation team and customer support is extremely responsive or in the words of a Global Talent Attraction Director, “I love the support, tenacity and just constant desire to do the right thing. They take the time to understand our business and I never feel like it is a ‘catch and release’ relationship that is so common in this space”
CONS
- No option for WhatsApp invitations. It’s currently limited to email and SMS.
- No free plan or free trial.
- Caters mostly to organizations with at least 2500 employees.
- Limited integration partners. Pre-built ATS integrations are an add-on.
- HireVue is not very affordable compared to its alternatives, especially when you factor in the functionality. Their pricing plans are geared towards companies with at least 2500 employees and even then, you only get a small set of features.
- HireVue does not have a lot of integration partners and the range of software it integrates with is also very limited (mostly ATS).
- Too much automation can at times lead to unwanted candidates. For instance, the asynchronous interview feature can allow candidates to adjust their responses in order to fit the job criteria. However, HireVue wouldn’t screen such candidates out and your company may need human intervention to pick up on visual cues and body language.
HireVue’s scheduling tool impressed us right off the bat. It’s fully automated and incorporates conversational AI, which actively engages with job candidates. This hands-on functionality empowers candidates to self-schedule based on their availability—a feature that no doubt proves incredibly valuable for hundreds of its users managing virtual career fairs and graduate hiring events.
HireVue isn't just about scheduling. Unlike GoodTime, which heavily focuses on this aspect, HireVue offers video interviews, assessments, conversational AI, and text recruiting, making it an all-in-one solution for recruitment automation tech. But what really caught our attention was its customer support: a super-responsive implementation team that assists us every step of the way, and CSM available 24/7, in over 20 languages.
HireVue’s pricing primarily targets larger companies with at least 2,500 employees. While we understand that it’s unreasonable to expect a low price from an enterprise-centric tool, we found its starting price ($35,000 per month) quite pricey compared to most of its competitors.
We’re also a bit disappointed about the scheduling tool’s native integrations. Since HireVue is also an HR solution oriented to large organizations, we anticipated built-in app connectors to be as strong as VidCruiter or Paradox. However, HireVue only has a handful of connections, and most of them are ATSs.
HireVue serves over 800 businesses, including major players such as Unilever, SmartLynx Airlines, and National Safety Apparel.
HireVue offers an interview scheduling product as an add-on, but they don't disclose the pricing upfront. To get a quote, you'll need to request a demo.
Best For
If you've already got other recruiting solutions from HireVue or want a robust hiring platform tailored for enterprises with great support, their interview scheduling tool is a top addition to your hiring tech.
HireVue is used hourly, replacing the initial phone interview and possibly the first in-person interview. The Virtual Job Tryout tool helps remove the guesswork from hiring by providing a realistic job preview to assist candidates in understanding the role. HireVue's power lies in its ability to assess technical skills through video interviews that ask specific questions related to the job. This takes the interview beyond assessing soft skills and allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of candidates. The platform's customization options also help tailor the experience to fit our needs.
HireVue is the best platform for video interviewing. I especially like the ability to customize the branding of the platform. HireVue offers the best end-to-end hiring experience with video interview software, assessments, and recruiting tools to communicate with candidates.
As a Talent Acquisition manager, I have used HireVue since 2011 to increase new hire diversity, speed up hiring, and boost recruiter productivity. We needed a tool to streamline the initial stages of hiring and provide a more efficient way to assess candidates. HireVue offered solutions for conducting initial interviews, evaluating technical skills, and enhancing the overall hiring process. Its ability to facilitate video interviews and job-specific assessments made it an ideal choice. This tool has been instrumental in addressing our recruitment challenges and improving our hiring outcomes.
I used the tool while supporting large clients like General Electric (GE) and Collins Aerospace, both of which had a huge budget and a large Talent team. For GE, our recruiters supporting airplane manufacturing numbered 35, and we were required to use HireVue in our screening process. Setting up the portal with branding, job profiles, and questions is very time-consuming. Many of my hiring managers did not enjoy reviewing the video interviews. I would review them first and then down-select to the top 5 or 7 candidates based on their scores and communication skills. Candidates often did not like the video interview process, so I had to ensure they understood the process and had time to prepare using the tool.
I have not used any other interview platforms.
HireVue is vast in its use of video interviewing software, conversational AI, and pre-hire assessments. If you have many roles to fill, especially across the world, and need to screen candidates quickly, this is the tool to use. It offers robust features that streamline the hiring process and make it more efficient.
HireVue is an excellent platform that I have used for over five years. The main change I have noticed is the increased use of AI to help develop questions. This has enhanced the tool's ability to provide relevant and insightful interview questions.
HireVue is ideal for organizations that are geographically dispersed, have many roles to fill, and need to hire and assess candidates quickly. It is particularly useful for teams that require a streamlined and efficient hiring process.
HireVue is suited for all types of organizations as the first screening step.
Sign In Scheduling
Sign In Scheduling (formally 10to8) stands out from other interview scheduling tools with its free plan including an SMS reminder system, a feature others charge for separately. Sweet deal for solo business owners, isn’t it?
PROS
- Offers an indefinite free pricing plan and a 14-day free trial for paid plans.
- Reduces back-and-forth communication with automatic appointment reminders and has a two-way chat feature to update or cancel bookings.
- Cloud-based and works on multiple devices.
- Supports both 1-to-1 and panel interviews.
- Works for several appointments with no service limitations.
- Can connect with 5,000 apps in multiple categories.
- You don’t have to think too much before using Sign In Scheduling. Unlike many scheduling tools, you can be on an indefinite free pricing plan with Sign In Scheduling. For paid plans, there’s also a 30-day free trial so you could test the waters before committing.
- You can cut down on back and forth communications and no-shows. Not only does Sign In Scheduling send automatic appointment reminders to attendees, it also lets you have a 2-way chat with them where they could update or cancel their booking. You could also include calendars for your teammates to coordinate better.
- Sign In Scheduling is completely cloud-based and you don’t need to install any app. You could also view it on any device – whether that’s mobile, tablet, or a desktop.
- Sign In Scheduling is extremely versatile and you could use it for any kind of appointment. There is also no limit on the number of services that you can offer.
CONS
- The system can be clunky and inflexible when booking time slots.
- No upper limit for daily appointment requests, requiring manual time blocking.
- Overloads users with messages for repeat appointments, necessitating manual booking.
- Accessing appointment history may require scrolling through the calendar or personal records.
- Only offers solutions for appointment scheduling.
- The booking times are a little clunky. One user complained about how “You are only able to book in certain slots e.g. 9-10 but you can't select 9:30-10:30 if you're available for an hour between 9-11. But it can make it simpler to make a choice to book.”
- There’s no upper limit for how many users can book an appointment with you in a day. So, for example, if you don’t want more than 10 appointment requests for a day, you can’t set that as a limit. You’ll have to manually block time.
- If you have repeat appointments with a single individual or group, Sign In Scheduling overloads them with messages about each appointment. You also have to manually book every single appointment.
- If you want to look at a candidate’s appointment history, you’ll have to scroll through the calendar or resort to your own records.
We like the way Sign In Scheduling helps hiring managers and recruiters make the otherwise daunting task of scheduling simple and thoughtful. The scheduling tool’s two-way chat feature is a huge advantage. It connects interviewers and candidates and lets them easily confirm, change, and cancel interviews. Let’s be honest, there are not so many tools today that focus on fostering human-to-human interaction like this.
Sign In Scheduling is super easy to use. We just signed up for its free plan, headed to its dashboard, and could use it right away without any difficulty. Along with Calendly and GoodTime Meet, it's one of the few tools in the market that offers a free-forever plan. Though there have been some adjustments in its pricing structure since our last review, such as fewer appointments on the free plan and a shorter trial period, you still get the chance to try it out before committing. It’s also pretty awesome to see after all these years, the scheduling tool remains one of the most affordable options you could find in the market.
We think this tool is best for solopreneurs and small teams. While Sign In Scheduling works smoothly with a small number of bookings, we noticed some flaws when trying to book multiple appointments on the app. You can expect a chaotic notifications system and an overwhelming calendar if you’re a bigger team with a high volume of candidates waiting for interviews, as Sign In Scheduling provides no support for setting limits on daily appointment requests.
We found it also quite disappointing that the platform still requires manual booking for recurring appointments, whereas free tools like Google Calendar can automate this process just fine.
Sign In Scheduling's interview scheduling software has a diverse customer base of over 200,000 businesses, from solopreneurs to companies with thousands to dozens of thousands of employees. Yale University, US Bank, and ResMed are a few examples of large organizations that use Sign In Scheduling.
Sign In Scheduling now offers 4 plans:
- Starter: Free for 1 seat and 10 appointments/month.
- Pro: $7.20 per seat per month for 100 appointments.
- Premium: $19.00 per seat per month for 100 appointments.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
Best For
Sign In Scheduling can work for startups, small businesses, and solopreneurs due to its affordable pricing structure. The scheduling app is particularly useful for organizations that want a tool that integrates well with other recruiting solutions.
I used 10to8 for all of my professional encounters on a daily basis. We check the app early in the morning for upcoming meetings and midday for any comments or messages or reschedules. Within a busy working day, we used the application first of all to schedule appointments and to manage our email campaigns. When we have separate projects that we are working on simultaneously the branding feature helped us a lot with the schedules as well as the reporting feature. As an HR rep, I was in charge of attendance so I used the reporting feature to better understand the attendance ratio and fix issues related to it.
- Easy to use: the app has a friendly user interface and a well-explained manual anyone can use from day one
- Customization and branding: the website has branding options where you can customize, add logos and much more to your meetings.
- Free: The application offers multiple plans and there is the free plan that pretty much includes most of the features.
We started using 10to8 after we finally automated all of our HR processes. At the time, we were overwhelmed with clients/partner meetings and we needed a tool that would help us coordinate our appointments. Within just a few weeks of use, the app became a crucial part of the organization. It helped us organize all of our appointments easily, especially with our clients. It also provides us with client satisfaction surveys so we would always know what to improve. and within the company, the personalized communication feature was a great tool for us to improve ongoing communication. When I was with the company we used it for 1 year but personally, I kept using it for 2 years after that.
- Appointment Limit: Depending on the plan there is a monthly limit on the appointments so for big businesses it is hard to use the application.
- Not phone friendly: The calendar screen on the phone is cluttered and it is really hard to use the phone version.
- Limited integration: for CRM and other calendar integrations, the application needs to expand. It also doesn't support a lot of e-commerce websites.
I prefer 10to8 because it offers many options other applications don't like surveys and branding. They also have a great customer support team that get on the problem swiftly and they take less than 24h to fix it.
The size of the business is something you need to consider before getting the application since it has a limited number of appointments each month and you also need to consider the compatibility of the tool with your website.
When I first started using the application it was about schedules only. Now they add great features and functionalities within every update such as surveys, branding, team management, and emailing campaigns, in addition, they also improved their customer support experience which helped them get more users.
10to8 is perfect for startups and small businesses. As for big companies, the platform doesn't have the capacity to support a huge amount of requests and schedules on a daily basis.
10to8 won't be a good fit for big-size businesses that schedule and a lot of meetings daily, and companies that need CRM integration.
Calendly
Calendly stands out as a straightforward and user-friendly event scheduling tool suitable for various business settings, including candidate interview scheduling. The free version offers ample functionality for ongoing use.
PROS
- Calendly simplifies interview scheduling through self-service, allowing candidates to book, reschedule, or cancel meetings easily.
- Recruiters and managers can tailor availability, meeting durations, and buffer times to their preferences.
- Integrates smoothly with popular calendar and email tools, ensuring up-to-date schedules and video conferencing links.
- Candidates can book interviews directly from LinkedIn.
- Affordable pricing, includes a free plan.
- Calendly’s simplicity is its biggest pro. It has an elegant user interface, it's very easy to navigate, it promptly gets the task done, and connects seamlessly with other applications.
- The reduction in back-and-forth emails. Your invitees can book a meeting slot, without reaching out to you multiple times. Calendly automatically sends them a confirmation and they can reschedule or cancel on their own. It’s even better for virtual meetings because once your invitees schedule a meeting with you, Calendly will automatically generate a meeting link based on your preferred video conferencing tool.
- The ability to set your own rules so that you can get complete control over your availability preferences. For example, you can decide how long a particular kind of meeting should be, buffer time between meetings, how many appointments can be booked per day, etc.
- Calendly seamlessly integrates with popular calendar and mailing tools. Meetings are automatically reflected on your personal calendar and video conferencing links with tools like Zoom or Google Meet are generated without any extra steps.
CONS
- Customization options beyond branding and color choices are limited, which can be challenging for embedding Calendly while maintaining a consistent appearance.
- Some users find the mobile version less functional than the desktop version.
- The free plan allows only one type of time slot to be booked.
- Besides branding and the ability to choose different colors, Calendly does not offer a lot of options for customizations. This could be frustrating for users who want to embed Calendly in their website without making it seem like a completely different component.
- Calendly is not very mobile-friendly. You can’t perform all the functions on the mobile version.
- The payment collecting feature is not available in all currencies. Your invitees can only pay in the United States Dollar (USD), Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Pound Sterling (GBP), and Euro (EUR).
- You’ll be severely limited in terms of features if you choose the free plan or the cheaper ones. According to Craig, a Customer Success Manager at a small business, “All advanced functionality is locked behind higher subscription levels – We have the Professional level so that we can set up a team, but they locked the most obvious and useful meeting type for teams behind yet another upgrade to the sub level.”
Calendly caught our attention with its unwavering commitment to prioritizing candidates. The scheduling tool puts candidates in the driver’s seat by allowing them to take charge of booking, changing, and even calling off meetings at their own convenience.
When it comes to integrations, Calendly stands tall among its peers. It can connect with over 100 different apps, and never once has it occurred to us that the system we want to sync with Calendar isn’t supported—whether it's an ATS, video interview software, communication app, or CRM. We can even easily share our availability as we chat with candidates on LinkedIn using Calendly’s Chrome or Firefox extensions. No need for platform-hopping.
However, the more content we feel about Calendar’s desktop version, the more disappointed we are with what its mobile app has to offer: bookings don't instantly update, calendars sync with delays, and there's no support for scheduling date overrides.
As for the eternal question “Is Calendly free forever?” Yes, it is. With a few 1:1 interviews to schedule per week, Calendly’s free plan has been a godsend for managing both our personal and business calendars. Yet, we wouldn’t say the same for those with more complex scheduling needs, as the freebie supports only one-off meeting types, with very limited customization options allowed.
Speaking of Calendly’s paid plans, compared to GoodTime Hire and HireVue, setting up group interviews and custom slots wasn't as seamless as we expected. But the more annoying part was its delays in syncing with multiple calendars, which resulted in double-booked interviews that we had to either reschedule or cancel later on.
Nevertheless, Calendly has shown us its commitment to improvement. The vendor frequently rolls out new features and updates their current ones. They also have recently acquired Prelude, an automation software company specializing in job recruitment, to expand its capabilities toward larger firms with heavy interview schedules.
Calendly has over 50,000 customers, including big firms like eBay, Dropbox, and Stack Overflow. However, most of its customers are SMBs, which can be explained by its free entry-level pricing.
Calendly offers five pricing plans, billed monthly or annually with a 20% discount. Here are the monthly rates for annual billing:
- Basic: Free with limited features.
- Essentials: $8 for scheduling automation.
- Professional: $12 for customizations, integrations, and basic team features.
- Teams: $16 for collaborative scheduling.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
All paid plans include a 14-day trial, with an automatic downgrade to the free plan afterward. Non-profit organizations can inquire about special pricing with customer support.
Best For
Thanks to its affordable pricing plans, including a free version, Calendly emerges as a top-rated interview scheduling software for sole business owners and small businesses. It manages to deliver budget-friendly scheduling capabilities without compromising on essential features.
As a technical recruiter, I use Calendly for scheduling interviews with candidates and hiring managers. To set up an interview, I simply share my Calendly link with the candidate or hiring manager, and they can choose from the available time slots that work best for them.
Once the appointment is scheduled, both the candidate and I receive an email confirmation and calendar invite with all the details. This makes it easy to keep track of my interviews and ensures that everyone is on the same page.
Additionally, I use Calendly to set up different types of appointments for different types of interviews. For example, I have different appointment types for initial screening calls, follow-up interviews, and offer discussions. This allows me to tailor the interview process to the specific needs of each candidate and hiring manager.
Overall, Calendly has made scheduling interviews much more efficient and streamlined, saving me time and reducing the risk of scheduling conflicts.
- Calendly is user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy for both candidates and hiring managers to schedule interviews with just a few clicks.
- The platform integrates seamlessly with my calendar, allowing me to easily view and manage my scheduling schedule in one place.
- Calendly's customizable options and availability settings allow me to easily tailor the scheduling process to fit my specific needs and preferences
As a technical recruiter, I bought Calendly to streamline the scheduling process for interviews with candidates and hiring managers. Prior to using Calendly, I used to spend a lot of time coordinating schedules through email and phone calls, which was time-consuming and often resulted in scheduling conflicts.
Calendly has been a game-changer for me, making it easy for candidates and hiring managers to choose a time that works for them, without the back-and-forth. I've been using Calendly for about 2 years now, and I can't imagine going back to my old scheduling process.
One of the key benefits of Calendly is its intuitive interface, which makes it simple to set up and use. The ability to integrate with my calendar has also been a huge plus, as I can see all of my upcoming appointments and scheduled interviews in one place.
Overall, I highly recommend Calendly to any technical recruiter looking to simplify the interview scheduling process and save time.
- Calendly can be limited in terms of customizability, making it difficult to fully meet the unique needs of certain recruiting processes.
- The platform can sometimes have glitches or slow loading times, which can cause frustration and hinder the scheduling process.
- Calendly's reporting features can be limited, making it difficult to track and analyze scheduling data and performance.
Calendly stands out from its competitors by offering a more user-friendly interface and a more comprehensive set of features. Unlike other scheduling tools, Calendly allows for real-time availability updates, making it easier for both candidates and hiring managers to find a mutually convenient time for an interview. Additionally, Calendly's customizable scheduling options and robust integration capabilities set it apart from other scheduling solutions.
I've used several other scheduling tools in the past, but I find Calendly to be the most efficient and effective for my needs as a technical recruiter. The platform's ease of use and flexibility make it my preferred choice for scheduling interviews.
When buying a scheduling tool like Calendly, there are several key criteria to consider, including:
- User-friendliness: The tool should be easy to use for both the recruiter and the candidates/hiring managers, with a simple and intuitive interface.
- Customizability: The tool should allow for customization to fit the specific needs of the recruiting process, such as availability settings and scheduling preferences.
- Integrations: The tool should integrate seamlessly with other systems and tools being used, such as calendars and applicant tracking systems.
- Reporting and analytics: The tool should provide robust reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing recruiters to track and analyze scheduling data and performance.
When evaluating scheduling tools, it's important to carefully consider these criteria and how they align with your specific needs. It's also a good idea to try out a few different options before making a final decision to ensure that you're choosing the best solution for your organization.
Calendly has made several changes and improvements over time to better meet the needs of its users. Over the past few years, the company has rolled out new features and updates to make the scheduling process even more seamless and efficient, such as:
- Improved integrations: Calendly has expanded its integration capabilities to better integrate with other systems and tools being used, such as calendars and applicant tracking systems.
- Enhanced customization options: Calendly has added new customization options to allow recruiters to tailor the scheduling process to fit their specific needs and preferences.
- Advanced reporting and analytics: Calendly has improved its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide recruiters with more detailed data and insights into their scheduling performance.
- Mobile app: Calendly has also introduced a mobile app, making it easier for recruiters to manage their schedules and appointments while on the go.
By continually updating and improving its platform, Calendly has remained a popular choice for recruiters and has established itself as a leading scheduling solution in the market.
Calendly is a highly flexible scheduling tool that is suitable for a wide range of users and organizations. Calendly is a great solution for all, but it is particularly well suited for small and medium-sized companies.
It may not be the best fit for organizations that have extremely complex scheduling needs and require a high degree of customization, as Calendly's customization options are limited compared to some other scheduling tools.
Additionally, Calendly may not be the best choice for organizations with strict security and data privacy requirements, as the platform may not fully meet their needs in terms of data protection and access control.
It's important to carefully evaluate your organization's specific scheduling needs and requirements before choosing a scheduling tool, to ensure that you're selecting the best solution for your needs.
Clara
Clara is a scheduling app like no other. You simply email or cc Clara, and she’ll take care of your scheduling needs. The best part? Clara even gets trained by a team of skilled executive assistants to ensure she understands manners and delivers natural language.
PROS
- Clara is cloud-based and quick to set up, with no software installation required.
- It lives in your email, so there's no new user interface to learn.
- With Clara, you are effectively removed from the process of scheduling meetings, cutting down on back-and-forth emails.
- The tool gives you high visibility into tasks.
- The AI feels like a human assistant.
- It has a free trial and a transparent pricing structure.
- No software installation. Clara is completely cloud-based and lives inside your email. This makes it very quick to set up and easy to use.
- No new user interface to familiarize yourself with. Implementing Clara is as good as bringing a new person on your team who only interacts with you over email.
- Cuts down on back-and-forth emails. Clara removes you from the process of scheduling meetings and saves you time and mental energy caused by distraction.
CONS
- Limited features. Good for straightforward scheduling, not for advanced needs.
- Can't directly edit meeting invites via Clara. You must use a calendar to make changes.
- Limited third-party integrations.
- Pricing starts at $99, which is quite expensive.
- Limited features. Clara is great if you have straightforward scheduling needs. If you need advanced features like payment integration, meeting polls, routing forms etc., you’re better off using other scheduling tools.
- Clara's philosophy to never ask for more access than necessary can become a hindrance at times. For example, if you need to make last-minute changes, you will not be able to directly edit your meeting invites via Clara. You’ll have to use your calendar to make such changes.
- Although they’re constantly building new integrations and you could reach them out with a suggestion, at present Clara integrates with a very limited amount of third-party applications.
Clara grabbed our attention with its elegant simplicity and a virtual assistant that makes you feel more like a human than a robot.
Powered by AI, Clara is the only tool we’ve seen in the interview scheduling landscape that resides directly in a user's email and takes care of all the bookings—no extra software required. We love that every time we want to set up an interview, we can just email or cc Clara, and it will handle the rest. To ensure Clara understands your preferences, you'll be in the loop for your first three meetings, and then the AI will take it from there. It arranges interviews, sends reminders, and even seeks candidate feedback later.
We chose Clara as one of the best interview scheduling software platforms not only because of its smart algorithm but also the human touch behind the robot. If Clara doesn't fully understand your request, unlike ChatGPT, it won’t just execute actions anyway but will loop in a real person from Clara’s team to support and make sure everything's on track. Case in point, we gave the AI a test by giving it an odd task: schedule a call for us with ourselves. The AI right away included a customer success rep in our email loop, and though it was outside of business hours, the person got back to us within 3 hours.
While Clara excels in many aspects, we wouldn’t recommend it to those seeking advanced features like payment integration or meeting polls, as they are beyond its capabilities. Clara isn’t a good fit either if you often encounter last-minute changes in interview scheduling. We still remember that not-so-happy time when we couldn’t push back the time of one of our scheduled interviews at the last minute and had to use our calendar to make the update.
Regarding integrations, Clara still has a long way to go. Though the scheduling tool has been working on adding more integrations for the past few years, it’s quite disappointing for us to discover that it can connect with very few third-party apps.
Clara has been used by over 1,000 organizations, including Mattermark, InVision, and Rubrik.
Clara offers four pricing plans, with a 20% discount available for NGOs:
- Clara Essential: $99/user/month on @claralabs.com domain with branded email signature.
- Clara Professional: $199/user/month on your domain ([email protected]) with a non-branded email signature.
- Clara Executive: $399/user/month on your domain ([email protected]) with a custom Clara name and email signature.
- Clara for Teams: Custom plan for high-volume scheduling and growing businesses, contact sales for pricing.
Best For
Clara interview scheduling software is best suited for businesses reliant on email-based scheduling and those requiring an efficient virtual assistant for booking tasks.
Key Use Cases of Interview Scheduling Software
Automated interview scheduling software serves several critical use cases, including better interviewer performance, strategic interviewer matching, and efficient scheduling.
- Enhanced Interviewer Performance: Many platforms offer training modules to equip interviewers with the essential skill sets required to effectively assess job applicants. Such training ensures a consistent interview process, thereby, a better candidate experience and better hires.
- Strategic Interviewers Matching: Research has highlighted the importance of pairing candidates with interviewers who can relate to their backgrounds and perspectives. For example, a female engineering candidate may be ideally matched with a female engineer interviewer, especially in the early stages of the process. This strategic matching elevates the candidate experience and increases job offer acceptance rates.
- Efficient Scheduling: It might sound like a no-brainer, but these tools do the heavy lifting when it comes to scheduling interviews. They eliminate the dreary back-and-forth email exchanges that have historically plagued the hiring process, which leads to a much shorter recruitment cycle. 59% of recruiters using interview scheduling software have reported saving between 2 and 10 hours per week.
What Are the Common Mistakes When Using Interview Scheduling Software?
Most common misconceptions and pitfalls when using interview scheduling software include lack of human interaction, underutilizing the software, and thinking it’s only for external candidates.
- Lack of human interaction: While interview scheduling software can streamline the process, it shouldn’t replace the need for human interaction, even when using AI recruiting software. Ensure that candidates know there's a human touch behind the process and that they can reach out if they have any questions or concerns.
- Underutilizing the software: Many interview scheduling tools offer additional functionalities beyond scheduling, such as automated reminders, candidate tracking, and reporting. Failing to explore and use these features means missing out on the full benefits of the software.
- Thinking it's only for external candidates: No, it’s not. Interview scheduling software can also be used for internal processes, such as coordinating team interviews, performance evaluations, and employee development discussions.
How to Measure Interview Scheduling Software ROI
Investing in the right interview scheduling software pays off in several ways. You can measure its success using these easy-to-follow metrics:
- Time-to-fill reduction: The right software helps you set up interviews quickly, so candidates come in sooner. You can see the change by comparing how long it took to hire before and after using it.
- Reduced turnover rate: Efficient scheduling makes candidates like your company (more). You’re likely to achieve reduced candidate drop-out rates after you start using the software.
- Increased efficiency: With automation, you can set up lots more interviews in less time. See how many more interviews your team handles each week after using the app.
- Employee value enhancement: When scheduling is easy, your team can focus on important tasks. Calculate the time they spend on admin tasks (like email ping-pong) before and after installing the software.
How Much Does An Interview Scheduling App Cost?
The cost of an interview scheduling app varies. Free apps are available but are typically better suited for general meetings rather than recruitment purposes. Paid plans offer a more comprehensive set of hiring-oriented features and functionalities, with monthly costs based on specific requirements. Here's a breakdown of estimated monthly costs for different user segments:
- Startups and Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs): These businesses often prioritize simplicity and affordability. Monthly costs for interview scheduling tools tailored to this segment typically range from $7.2 to $99 per user or per month. Features usually include multiple calendars for availability and scheduling, reminders, customizable branding, and basic integrations.
- Larger Teams: Organizations with larger teams often require more advanced features like custom booking links, support for different interview types, automated workflows, and analytics. Their monthly costs can range from $100 to $399 per user or per month.
- Enterprises: Enterprises have complex requirements, such as high levels of customization, advanced integrations (e.g., API data access), strict data security (custom security assessments), and the need to support a large number of users. Costs for enterprise-level interview scheduling apps typically exceed $400 per user or per month.
When considering an interview scheduling app, it's always a good move to request quotes during demos with vendors instead of guessing. This way, you can assess how well each solution aligns with your unique needs and budget to make an informed decision.
What Are the Key Features of Interview Scheduling Software?
Based on our experience testing and using several interview scheduling software tools, automated interview scheduling, calendar integration, candidate self-scheduling, real-time updates, customizable templates, collaboration, and mobile access are seven key features that can truly transform your recruitment process.
- Automated interview scheduling: With just a few clicks, you can send candidates a list of available time slots, and they choose what works for them.
- Calendar integration: Ever accidentally double-booked yourself or a candidate? I actually have (twice), and it’s stressful. But with an interview scheduling tool settled in, once you update your Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendars, the software instantly shows your availability to candidates, stress-free.
- Candidate self-scheduling: Remember when we had to suggest interview times and wait for responses? Now, candidates pick slots that match their schedules in their time zone and at their convenience.
- Real-time updates: If you also worry about candidates forgetting or missing interviews, this software sends automated reminders, saving both sides from last-minute surprises.
- Customizable templates: With the best interview scheduling software, it’s possible to send out personalized interview details to five candidates in less than five minutes.
- Collaboration: A good example of collaborative features is a shared calendar where all members of your recruitment process can access, see each other's schedules, and assign interviews.
- Mobile access: Whether you're on the move or candidates need to book interviews on their mobile devices, this feature keeps things flexible and convenient.
Questions to Ask During Demos with Interview Scheduling Software Vendors
Nearly all interview scheduling software providers offer free demos (except for self-serve tools aimed at very small teams). However, a demo is only as valuable as the questions you bring to the table. Here's a handy list to make sure you're getting the most out of your demo experience:
- ATS integration: Does your software integrate seamlessly with my existing ATS software? If not, do you support API integration? And what's the process for importing and managing candidate data?
- Candidate experience: Can you walk me through the candidate's journey using your software?
- Automated follow-ups: Does the software automatically send follow-up reminders or notifications to candidates if an interview isn't scheduled? How does this process work?
- User training: What kind of training and onboarding support do you offer? How long does it typically take to get up to speed? Is there an additional cost for training?
- Human involvement: To what extent does the scheduling process require human intervention? Are there manual steps in the process?
- Smart scheduling logic: How does your software ensure that the right interviewers or team members are assigned to specific candidates? Are there customizable rules or automated logic?
- Recruiter time savings: On average, how much time can my recruiting team expect to save each month by using your software? Are there any case studies showcasing time savings?
- Automated screening: Does your software include automated screening, like skill sourcing or initial assessments? How do these integrate into the scheduling process?
- Employer brand enhancement: How does your software support improving our employer brand during candidate scheduling? Can you share examples of customization options?
- Communication channels: Which communication channels does your software support? Email, SMS, WhatsApp?
- Supported event types: What interview formats does the scheduling accommodate? Virtual one-on-ones, online panel interviews, in-person interviews?
- Pricing structure: Is the pricing monthly or annually based? Is there flexibility to cancel the subscription at any time? Are there any other costs I should be aware of?
Implementation Best Practices
Once you’ve completed your demos and selected which platform best suits your organization’s needs, the next step is implementation. Here are a few best practices we’ve picked up on from talking to various HR practitioners.
- Trigger Point: The software you’ve chosen should integrate seamlessly with your current ATS. Moving a candidate to the interview stage should automatically send them the appropriate communication and scheduling. If there is no ATS integration, you’ll have to find another scalable way to get candidates into your system. For the smallest teams, it may make sense to simply have a dedicated calendar link for each recruiter that you can send on a one-off basis to interviewees.
- Recruiter/interviewer training: Schedule trainings with your team members to show them the features available to them with this new, time-saving solution. This ensures that everyone is on the same page when your new HR tool is rolled out. One pro tip here is to explain the why behind the tool to get people onboard. Namely, you’re going to save people time and headaches through this solution!
Interview Scheduling Software FAQs
What Is Interview Scheduling Software?
Interview scheduling software is a tool designed to automate the interview scheduling process.
What Features Does Interview Scheduling Software Offer?
Interview scheduling software offers the following features:
- Automated scheduling
- Calendar integration
- Candidate self-scheduling
- Real-time updates
- Customizable templates
- Collaboration
- Mobile access.
What Is the Best Way to Schedule an Interview?
The best way to schedule an interview is to keep it simple and efficient. Here's a step-by-step approach that works like a charm:
- Get ready: Have all the necessary information ready—the candidate's name, job role, interviewers, and possible time slots.
- Offer choices: Provide a few time options for the candidate. This increases the chances of finding a suitable slot.
- Consider candidate availability: If the candidate has given their availability, try to accommodate that. It shows you respect their time.
- Send clear invites: When you settle on a time, send a clear and concise invitation. Mention the date, time, and meeting ID (for virtual meetings) or location (for in-person meetings.)
- Send reminders: A day before the interview, send a reminder with all the necessary details to reduce no-shows.
- Be flexible: If the candidate needs to reschedule, be understanding and find a new time that works for both sides.
- Test technology: For virtual interviews, test your video interview software ahead of time to avoid last-minute tech issues.
- Follow up: After the interview, send a thank-you email and let the candidate know about the next steps in the process.
Pro tip: The key is to make the process easy and respectful for both you and the candidate. Using the right tech, being flexible, and maintaining clear communication will help you schedule interviews smoothly.
What Is a Good Tool for Interview Scheduling?
A good tool for interview scheduling depends on your specific needs. Let's split this into three subquestions:
Is there any free interview scheduling software?
Yes, there are. Calendly, GoodTime (the GoodTime Meet module), and Sign In Scheduling (formally 10to8) are excellent choices if you want a free tool.
What is the best scheduling software for small businesses?
If you're a small business or startup, Homebase, When I Work, and Deputy should work well. For more options, check out our review of the best interview scheduling software for small businesses.
What is the best scheduling app for enterprises?
For bigger companies, consider VidCruiter, Paradox, HireVue, and Clara. These are top choices for high-volume recruitment.
What Can Interview Scheduling Software Do?
Interview scheduling software isn't just about setting up interviews. Using the right one will make you feel like having a well-organized assistant that helps you save time, impress candidates, and keep your hiring process smooth. Here's how:
- Easy scheduling: Simplifies interview setup, eliminating back-and-forth emails and phone calls.
- Time zone help: Displays available times in the candidate's time zone, easing scheduling across different regions.
- Real-time updates: Keeps everyone informed if plans change.
- Happy candidates: Using this software the right way, like communicating promptly and professionally or giving them the option to self-schedule the interviews demonstrates you value the interviewees’ time and opinion.
- Smooth rescheduling: Helps candidates and your team reschedule interviews when needed without causing chaos.
- Beyond scheduling: Top scheduling software offers additional features like applicant tracking, video interviews, assessments, reference checking, or an end-to-end recruiting platform itself, as we've highlighted earlier in our detailed review section.
Final Tips for Choosing the Right Scheduling Software
You're almost there! Now, let's narrow down your options. Our rule of thumb is to pick two to three vendors and then investigate them further through demos (Don’t forget to take advantage of demo tips we shared earlier in this guide.)
If you're seeking a more streamlined way to achieve the same outcome, our HR Tech experts can lend a hand. Schedule a 1:1 here, and we’ll help you Sherlock the scheduling tool you’ve been looking for. The call is on the house, by the way.
About Us
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