Setting Up Interview Reminders

SmoothHiring provides automatic interview reminders to ensure candidates, interviewers, and hiring managers never miss an upcoming interview. This page covers how reminders work, when they are sent, and how they relate to your interview workflow.

Overview

Interview reminders are automated email notifications that go out ahead of scheduled interviews. They help reduce no-shows and ensure all parties are prepared. SmoothHiring currently sends reminders automatically based on the interview type and configuration — no manual action is required from your team.

How Interview Reminders Work

When an interview is scheduled in SmoothHiring, the system automatically queues reminder notifications based on the interview type and timing. Reminders are processed through a background job queue, ensuring they are delivered reliably even during high-volume periods.

Zoom Meeting Reminders

For Video interviews using Zoom, a meeting reminder email is automatically sent to the candidate. This reminder includes:

• Interview date and time formatted for the candidate's timezone
• Job title and company name
• Zoom meeting link — A direct, clickable link to join the meeting
• Zoom meeting password (if one was set during scheduling)
• Hiring manager's name — So the candidate knows who to expect
• Interviewer contact — Reply-to address for questions

The reminder is CC'd to the interviewer/scheduler so they also have a copy in their inbox.

Tip: Zoom meeting reminders are only sent for interviews that have an active Zoom meeting attached. If the Zoom meeting creation failed during scheduling, the hiring manager receives a separate urgent notification about the failure instead.

Interview Invitation Emails as Reminders

Every scheduled interview generates a comprehensive interview invitation email that serves as the primary notification. This email includes:

• Full interview details (date, time, timezone, type)
• Meeting link or location information
• An .ics calendar attachment that the candidate can add directly to their calendar (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, etc.)
• Company and job information
• Hiring manager contact details

The .ics calendar file ensures the interview appears on the candidate's calendar with a built-in reminder from their calendar application.

When Reminders Are Triggered

Reminder Recipients

Calendar-Based Reminders

When you connect your Google Calendar (see Zoom Integration and the Connected Apps settings), scheduled interviews are automatically added as calendar events. This provides an additional layer of reminders through your calendar application's built-in notification system.

Benefits of calendar integration for reminders:

• Native calendar notifications — Your calendar app (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.) will send its own reminders based on your personal notification preferences
• Automatic event creation — No need to manually add the interview to your calendar
• Attendee invites — All attendees receive a calendar invite with their own reminder settings
• Real-time sync — If an interview is rescheduled or cancelled, the calendar event is automatically updated or removed

Tip: Connect your Google Calendar via Settings → Account → Connected Apps to get the most out of interview reminders. Calendar events include Google Meet links when that integration is active.

In-App Notifications

Beyond email reminders, SmoothHiring sends in-app notifications for key interview events:

• Interview Scheduled — Hiring managers receive an in-app notification when an interview is scheduled for one of their candidates, including the candidate name, job title, and scheduled date.
• Candidate Requests New Times — If a candidate requests alternative interview times, hiring managers receive an in-app notification with a link to review the request.

These notifications appear in your notification center within the SmoothHiring dashboard.

Interview Reminder Email Content

Scheduled Interview Invitation

The scheduled interview email includes:

• Subject: "Interview Invitation: [Job Title] at [Company Name]"
• Candidate's name and the position they're interviewing for
• Interview date, start time, and end time (converted to 12-hour format for readability)
• Interview type and location/link details
• Hiring manager's name and title
• An .ics calendar file attachment

Zoom Meeting Reminder

The Zoom-specific reminder email includes:

• Subject: "Interview Reminder: [Job Title] at [Company Name] - Tomorrow"
• Zoom meeting join URL
• Meeting password (if applicable)
• Interview date and time
• Job and company details

Rescheduled Interview Notice

When an interview is rescheduled:

• Subject: "Rescheduled Interview for [Job Title] Position at [Company Name]"
• Updated date, time, and timezone
• New .ics calendar attachment with the corrected details
• CC'd to the hiring manager

Customizing Interview Email Templates

You can customize the content of your interview invitation emails via:

Settings → Tools → Templates → Interview Letters

This lets you modify the email template that candidates receive when an interview is scheduled. For more details, see Email Templates.

Interview Inbox Tracking

Every interview-related email sent by SmoothHiring is automatically saved to the candidate's inbox within their applicant profile. This creates a complete communication trail that your team can review at any time.

To view sent interview emails:

1. Navigate to the candidate's profile
2. Click on the Inbox tab
3. All interview invitations, reminders, and related emails appear in chronological order

Zoom Failure Notifications

If SmoothHiring attempts to create a Zoom meeting but the creation fails (for example, if the Zoom connection has expired), an urgent notification email is sent to the hiring manager with the subject line:

"URGENT: Zoom Meeting Creation Failed - Interview: [Job Title]"

This alert ensures the hiring manager can quickly provide an alternative video link or reconnect their Zoom account.

Best Practices for Interview Reminders

1. Connect your calendar — Enable Google Calendar in Connected Apps for automatic calendar events and native reminders
2. Add all attendees — Include everyone who should be notified in the Attendees step during scheduling
3. Use Zoom or Google Meet — Integrated video tools provide the richest reminder experience with direct meeting links
4. Check the candidate inbox — Review the candidate's inbox tab to confirm all reminders were delivered
5. Use scorecard assignments — When you attach a scorecard during scheduling, interviewers are reminded to evaluate the candidate

Upcoming: Configurable Reminder Settings

Note: Custom interview reminder configuration (e.g., choosing reminder timing, adding additional reminder emails, SMS reminders) is coming soon. Currently, reminders are sent automatically at system-defined intervals. Visit Settings → Tools → Automation → Interview Reminders to see the latest status of this feature.

Related Pages

• Manage Interviews — Full guide to scheduling and managing interviews
• Zoom Integration — Setting up Zoom for automatic meeting creation
• Self-Scheduling — How candidates choose from proposed time slots
• Email Templates — Customizing interview invitation emails
• Calendar — Viewing all interviews on your calendar
• Notifications — Managing your notification preferences