Common Questions About Live Interviewing
Updated
by
Amy Thomas
Successful interviewing requires thoughtful planning around question design, technical setup, candidate communication, and evaluation criteria to ensure a fair and effective assessment process. The following frequently asked questions will assist with implementing interviews that enhance your recruitment strategy while providing candidates with a positive experience that reflects well on your organization.
General
What is live interviewing?
Our live interviewing tool gives you a structured way to run phone or face-to-face interviews by providing interviewers with an Interview Guide built from your live interview template. The guide lists the questions to ask and can include instructions or signposts to help interviewers stay consistent, keeping each candidate’s interview fair and comparable. Candidates are not sent an invitation email for live interviewing in the Criteria system; instead, evaluators use their evaluation links to complete ratings and notes during or after the interview.
Who is structured interviewing for?
✅ Customers who already use Criteria assessments and want to add another reliable data point to help them make a more informed selection decision.
✅ People with remote or hybrid teams.
✅ People looking for a way to save the time spent on phone screens - which includes interview times and scheduling effort. We recommend using video interviews (in most cases) to replace phone screens, which avoids the hassle of scheduling, dealing with no shows, and the time interviewers need to spend on each call.
✅ People who understand the benefits of structured interviews. When combined with cognitive aptitude testing, you're getting the fastest, most accurate prediction of future job performance.
✅ People who want to present their brand positively and give candidates a real feel for what it's like to work for them.
How do I add Structured Interviewing to my Criteria account?
Please contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss adding Structured Interviewing to your Criteria account.
Setup
How do we create our own interview template (questions and messages)?
First, build your custom questions and messages in Manage → Interview Content Library.
Next, create the template in Manage → Interview Templates. Add items from your Interview Content Library and arrange them. Add messages (signposts) for your interviewers.
How do we add a live interview to a job (and/or add it to an existing job)?
You can add live interviewing when you create a job by selecting Live Interview as an evaluation tool, then selecting a Live Interview Template and configuring evaluators as needed.
To add a live interview to an existing job, go to Jobs → … More Actions → Edit Job. In Evaluation Tools click Add (or Edit) next to Live Interview, complete the details, and click Save.
How do we add a live interview to a job?
You can include Live Interview as an evaluation tool during job creation, then select a Live Interview Template and configure evaluators and the number of evaluations required.
Can we assign which evaluator will ask each question in the live interview?
Yes, you can assign question responsibility so evaluators see who is assigned each question in the Interview Guide.
How do we add new evaluators after candidates were already invited? What happens to existing candidates’ evaluator access?
Evaluators can only evaluate candidates invited after the evaluator was added. If a candidate was invited earlier, you can delete the pending live interview evaluation and reinvite the candidate.
New evaluation links will be generated for all evaluators assigned to the live interview.
If we edit a live interview template, will it affect candidates already invited?
No, changes won’t affect candidates/evaluators already invited. Future invited candidates will use the updated template.
Is there an expiration date for live interviews in the platform?
No, there is not expiration date for live interviews; these can be completed whenever your scheduling permits.
Why are open links disabled when live interviewing is in the Incoming pipeline stage?
Llive interviewing requires you to take action to schedule candidates. They are not automatically emailed when added to a Live Interview stage, nor could they complete any task associated with the open link.
Candidate Experience
It's already challenging attracting good candidates. Won't this add friction to the recruitment process?
In today's remote and hybrid working world, candidates are increasingly familiar with online and virtual hiring methods. Virtual interviews give you a great way to showcase tyour brand and provide a great experience for candidates. Most candidates also expect to complete a phone screen as part of the recruitment process, so this is just a different way of performing that function. It also lets them see that you've adopted a fair and standardised recruitment process that gives all candidates the same opportunity to showcase their talents.
We recommend giving candidates as much information about you and your recruitment process as possible, so candidates understand why you’re doing this and that you’re committed to a quality process.
What are some of the ways we can really enhance the candidate experience?
✅ Give candidates as much information and context as possible, including why you’re asking them to complete a virtual interview.
✅ Think through the structure of the candidate experience – what process do you want to take them through?
✅ Make the experience as personal and user-friendly as possible.
✅ Make sure the process is clearly fair and equitable, including the option of reasonable adjustment so candidates can perform at their best of their ability.
Will candidates receive an invitation email when I invite them to a live interview?
No, candidates are not automatically sent an invitation email for live interviews because there is no task for them to complete in the Criteria system for that step. You will need to contact them to schedule the interview.
Evaluations and Results
What is a live interview template used for?
You can use the live inteviewing template as a structured guide for interviewers, including:
• Questions to ask during a phone or face-to-face interview.
• Instructions/signposts and scoring rubrics to keep interviews fair and comparable.
Can we resend or copy evaluator links?
Yes, you can resend evaluator links from the candidate card or you can copy an evaluator link and send it in your own email.
How do evaluators/interviewers access the live interview (evaluation links / interview guide)?
You can email evaluators their unique evaluation link per candidate (so ratings/comments are attributed to each evaluator). You can also resend links or copy links into your own custom email.
Can interviewers print the Interview Guide?
Yes, you can print/save a PDF version using your system print function.
How do interviewers conduct the live interview using the Interview Guide?
Email evaluators their unique evaluation link per candidate. Any ratings and comments they add via their link will be attributed to them.
We recommend opening the link before the interview to familarize yourself with the questions to ask. Keep the Interview Guide open during the interview and add your notes immediately after the interview, while the details are fresh.
What does “Number of Evaluations Required” mean for live interviews?
You can set how many evaluator submissions are required before live interview results become visible. If fewer evaluations are submitted than required, scores won’t appear.
Where do we view live interview results, and how is the total score calculated?
Open the candidate card and:
• View totals in the Results → Summary tab. The Total Score is shown as a percentage of stars given vs total possible stars.
• View evaluator status in Live Interview → Evaluators.
• View ratings/comments in Live Interview → Score, and download Summary/Score PDFs.
Technical
If candidates don’t receive an invitation email for a live interview, how do we handle scheduling and communication with candidates?
You can use an external scheduling tool such as Calendly orChiliPiper to manage this. Add the scheduling link in your email to your candidate.
Learn more
Explore our structured interviewing help guides:
