## Why It Matters

Interview stages are where scheduling comes alive. You define who interviews, how long it takes, and whether slots require all interviewers (intersection), any interviewer (union), or balanced distribution (round robin). Candidates see only the slots that match your configuration, book directly, and everyone gets a calendar invite automatically.

## Configuring an Interview Stage

When creating or editing a job posting, you can add interview stages through the pipeline configuration.

### Creating an Interview Stage

1. Navigate to your job posting
2. Click **Edit Stages** or open the pipeline editor
3. Add a new stage or edit an existing one
4. Set **Stage Type** to **Interview**
5. Configure interview settings

### Required Settings

| Setting | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **Stage Name** | How the stage appears to candidates (e.g., "Technical Interview" or "Culture Fit") |
| **Duration** | Interview length in minutes (15, 30, 45, 60, 90, or custom) |
| **Interviewers** | Team members who will conduct interviews at this stage |

### Optional Settings

| Setting | Description | Default |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Team Mode** | How to combine multiple interviewers' availability | Union |
| **Meeting URL** | Video call link (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) | None |
| **Instructions** | Guidance for candidates (what to prepare, what to expect) | None |
| **Auto-advance** | Whether to automatically move candidates to the next stage after completion | Disabled |

## Team Modes

When multiple interviewers are assigned to a stage, team mode controls how their availability is combined.

### Intersection: Everyone Required

Shows only slots where **all** interviewers are simultaneously available.

**Use when:**

- Panel interviews where all interviewers participate together
- Group discussions or whiteboard sessions
- Situations where specific interviewers must be present

**Tradeoffs:**

- Fewer available slots (harder for candidates to find a time)
- All interviewers participate in every interview
- Scheduling complexity scales with team size

### Union: Anyone Can Handle It

Shows slots where **any** interviewer is available. When a candidate books, Kit assigns the interview to one of the available interviewers.

**Use when:**

- First-round screening calls where any interviewer can conduct it
- Standardized interviews with an interview guide
- Situations where interviewers are interchangeable

**Tradeoffs:**

- More available slots (easier for candidates to book)
- Interviews may be distributed unevenly if some interviewers have more availability
- Less control over who specifically interviews each candidate

### Round Robin: Balanced Distribution

Shows slots from the **least-loaded** interviewers to distribute interviews evenly across the team.

**Use when:**

- You have a pool of interviewers who can handle first-round screens
- You want to prevent one person from getting overloaded
- Fairness and workload balance matter

**Tradeoffs:**

- Automatically balances interview count across the team
- More available slots than intersection
- Requires setting up interview counts to track workload

| Do This | Don't Do This |
|---------|---------------|
| Use intersection for panel interviews where specific people must attend | Use intersection for routine screens — you'll have too few slots |
| Use union or round robin for standardized first-round screens | Use union if you want specific interviewer-candidate pairings |
| Use round robin when you have a pool of 3+ interviewers | Use round robin with only 2 interviewers — union is simpler |

## Assigning Interviewers

After setting team mode, assign the interviewers for this stage.

### Adding Interviewers

1. In the stage configuration, find **Interviewers**
2. Click **Add Interviewer**
3. Select a team member from the dropdown
4. Choose their availability schedule (or use their default)
5. Click **Add**

### Multiple Interviewers

Add as many interviewers as needed. Kit combines their availability according to the team mode you selected.

For intersection mode, adding more interviewers makes it harder to find common slots. For union or round robin, more interviewers means more available slots.

### Interviewer Roles

Kit doesn't enforce formal roles, but you can designate a **lead interviewer** by setting their role in the interview stage configuration. The lead appears first in calendar invites and receives notifications about cancellations or reschedules.

## Candidate Booking Flow

When a candidate reaches an interview stage:

1. They receive an email with a link to the scheduling page
2. The scheduling page shows all available slots for the next 30 days (or your configured max advance)
3. They select a date from the calendar view
4. They pick a specific time slot
5. They confirm the booking

Kit immediately:

- Creates the interview record in "pending" status
- Sends calendar invites to all assigned interviewers
- Sends a confirmation email to the candidate
- Updates the stage progress to "interview scheduled"

### What Candidates See

The booking page shows:

- Your availability as a calendar grid (dates with slots are highlighted)
- Time zones converted to the candidate's local time
- Interview duration
- Interviewer names (optional — you can hide this in stage settings)
- Instructions or prep guidance you added to the stage config

What candidates **don't** see:

- Why specific slots aren't available (conflicts, meeting limits, etc.)
- Interviewer calendar details or event titles
- Buffer time around interviews

## Confirming Interviews

After a candidate books, the interview starts in "pending" status. Candidates can confirm their attendance through their portal.

### Confirmation Actions

When a candidate confirms:

- Interview status changes to "confirmed"
- All interviewers receive a notification (if Slack is connected)
- A confirmation email is sent to the candidate

You can also manually confirm interviews from the interview details page if a candidate reaches out directly.

### Reminder Emails

Kit automatically sends reminder emails:

- **24 hours before** — Both candidate and interviewers receive a reminder with the meeting link
- **1 hour before** — Final reminder with join link

You can disable reminders in stage settings if you prefer to handle them manually.

## Rescheduling

Candidates can reschedule interviews if they need to, subject to a cutoff window.

### Reschedule Cutoff

By default, candidates can reschedule up to **4 hours** before the interview start time. After the cutoff, the reschedule button disappears and they must contact you directly.

You can adjust the cutoff at [Hiring > Settings > General](/hiring/settings/general).

### Reschedule Flow

1. Candidate clicks **Reschedule** in their portal
2. They see the same slot picker as initial booking
3. They select a new time
4. Kit updates calendar invites for all interviewers
5. Everyone receives a notification about the change

Reschedule history is logged on the interview record for reference.

## Cancellations

Either side can cancel interviews.

### Candidate Cancels

If a candidate cancels through their portal:

- Interview status changes to "cancelled"
- Calendar invites are updated with cancellation notice
- Interviewers receive a notification
- The candidate can rebook a new time if the stage is still active

### Interviewer Cancels

If you need to cancel:

1. Navigate to the interview details page
2. Click **Cancel Interview**
3. Optionally add a reason
4. Confirm cancellation

Kit notifies the candidate and offers to rebook.

### No-Shows

If a candidate doesn't join the interview, you can mark it as "no-show" from the interview details page. This logs the absence but doesn't automatically reject the candidate — you decide how to proceed.

## Managing Scheduled Interviews

View all scheduled interviews at [Hiring > Interviews](/hiring/interviews).

### Filters

- **Upcoming** — Interviews scheduled in the future
- **Past** — Completed or no-show interviews
- **By Status** — Pending, confirmed, cancelled, completed, no-show

### Interview Details Page

Click any interview to see:

- Candidate name and job posting
- Scheduled date/time in all interviewers' time zones
- Assigned interviewers
- Meeting URL (click to join)
- Interview history (booked, confirmed, rescheduled, etc.)
- Actions: confirm, cancel, mark no-show, complete

### Completing Interviews

After an interview finishes:

1. Navigate to the interview details page
2. Click **Mark Complete**
3. Optionally add notes or feedback (if feedback forms are enabled)
4. Decide whether to advance the candidate to the next stage

Kit tracks completion time and logs it for reporting.

## Meeting URLs

You can configure meeting URLs at the stage level or on a per-interview basis.

### Stage-Level Meeting URL

Set a default meeting URL (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) in the stage configuration. Every interview scheduled at that stage uses this URL.

**Use when:**

- You have a dedicated Zoom room for interviews
- All interviewers share a Google Meet space
- You want consistency across all interviews

### Per-Interview URLs

Override the stage-level URL for individual interviews if needed. Navigate to the interview details page and click **Edit Meeting URL**.

**Use when:**

- Different interviewers have their own Zoom accounts
- You need to switch from video to phone for a specific candidate
- A last-minute URL change is required

### Google Meet Integration

If you connect Google Calendar, Kit can automatically create Google Meet spaces for interviews. Enable this at [Integrations > Google Calendar](/integrations/google_calendar/calendars). Each interview gets a unique Meet link, and Kit adds it to the calendar invite.

## Quick Checklist

- [ ] Add an interview stage to your job posting pipeline
- [ ] Set interview duration based on the type of interview (30-60 minutes typical)
- [ ] Assign interviewers who have [availability schedules](/docs/managing-your-availability) configured
- [ ] Choose a team mode (intersection for panels, union/round robin for screens)
- [ ] Add a meeting URL or enable Google Meet integration
- [ ] Publish the job posting so candidates can reach the interview stage
- [ ] Test the booking flow by viewing the candidate portal
- [ ] Monitor scheduled interviews at [Hiring > Interviews](/hiring/interviews)