Scheduling: Exception scenarios
Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to describe Eightfold Scheduling users of common exception scenarios encountered when scheduling interviews.
Audience
The guide is intended for use by recruiters and schedulers.
Exception scenarios
Here is a detailed description of four possible exception scenarios for both scheduled and unscheduled interviews:
- Rescheduling a scheduled meeting
- Canceling a scheduled meeting
- Replacing one or more interviewers in a scheduled meeting
- Replacing, canceling, or replacing an interviewer in an unscheduled meeting
Rescheduling a scheduled meeting
If a meeting was scheduled by the scheduler, using Specific time or Suggested times method or was scheduled by the candidate using Let the candidate choose or Open Scheduling link, below are the different possibilities.
Single round Interview
Scheduler led rescheduling
The scheduler can simply reschedule meetings from the Scheduling dashboard using the Reschedule action. This action is equivalent to canceling the originally scheduled meeting and instead scheduling a new meeting.
Candidate led rescheduling
This is controlled by the isOnlyCandidateRescheduleRequested property in the schedulingconfig.
- If set to true, the candidate is redirected to the microsite to leave a note to the scheduler to reschedule. The scheduler will have to follow the steps for Scheduler led scheduling as discussed above.
- If set to false, the candidate will simply be redirected to the candidate microsite to pick another available time slot in the next 7 days. On rescheduling, the scheduler is notified about the new time slot picked and the interviewers' calendars updated.
Multi round Interview
Scheduler led rescheduling
The scheduler can simply reschedule the meeting from the Scheduling dashboard using the Reschedule action. This action is equivalent to canceling the originally scheduled meeting & scheduling a new meeting.
A single round in a multi round interview cannot be rescheduled. All the rounds in the originally scheduled interview are canceled and new meeting is to be scheduled.
Candidate led rescheduling
Regardless of the status- isOnlyCandidateRescheduleRequested, the candidate is redirected to the microsite to leave a note to the scheduler to reschedule & the scheduler will have to follow the steps for Scheduler led scheduling as discussed above.
Interviewer-led rescheduling is not supported in multi-round interview & (s)he will need to get in touch with the scheduler outside of the Eightfold platform to seek a new schedule of the meeting.
Canceling a scheduled meeting
Scheduler led cancellation
Schedulers can simply cancel the scheduled meeting from the Scheduling dashboard using the Cancel action. A cancellation notification is sent to the candidate and the meeting invites are deleted from both the candidate’s and the interviewers' calendars.
Note: A single round in a multi-round interview cannot be canceled. It’s either all or none of them.
Candidate led cancellation
Candidates can’t technically cancel a scheduled meeting. They can only choose to decline a meeting with a reason. When (s)he declines a meeting from the candidate microsite, after confirming their availability, the scheduler gets a decline notification with the reason & the calendar invite is removed from the interviewers' calendar(s).
Candidates cannot decline a meeting without accepting it first. If they decline directly from the calendar invite, no notifications are triggered to the scheduler. This is a gap & will be addressed soon.
Interviewer led cancellations are not supported. They can decline the interview in the calendar invite but no notifications are triggered to the scheduler, based on this decline.
To prevent candidates from rescheduling interviews without a rescheduling request
To prevent candidates from rescheduling interviews without a rescheduling request, you have two options:
If you don't want the candidate to reschedule themselves without a request, do not schedule the interview with the Let candidate select option.
If you have already scheduled the interview with the Let candidate select option but no longer want to allow the candidate to reschedule, you can reschedule the interview from the Scheduling Center and select the Select a time option instead of Let candidate select for another time based on the scheduler/interviewer's availability.
To reschedule the interview once it is scheduled with the Let candidate select option:
- Go to the Scheduling Center -> interview -> click Reschedule
- Select the desired time and choose the Select a time option. This will reschedule the meeting according to the scheduler/interviewer's availability and will not allow candidates to reschedule without a rescheduling request.
Please note that if the meeting is scheduled with the Select a time option, the candidate will not be able to reschedule without providing a reason for the reschedule.
Replacing one or more interviewers in a scheduled meeting
One or more of the original interviewers in the scheduled meeting can be replaced by the scheduler without any additional notifications.
The calendar invites of all parties - Candidate, Scheduler, and Interviewers are updated silently without any additional notifications.
Rescheduling, canceling, or replacing the interviewer in an unscheduled meeting
Currently, there is no support if the candidate hasn’t picked a time slot or scheduled a meeting yet.
When a scheduler asks a candidate to pick a slot using Let candidate Select option and the candidate hasn’t picked a slot yet, and the scheduler wants to either withdraw the request or extend the window of availability or change the interviewer(s) then the rescheduling/cancelation/replacing is not possible.
Variables available for use in Scheduling
The following variables are available for use in Scheduling emails & calendar invites:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| {{audioConferencing}} | The audio call-in option details are present here |
| {{allInterviewerNames}} | Full names of all interviewers each separated by a comma are displayed in the field |
| {{candidateFirstName}} | The candidate first name is mentioned here |
| {{candidatePhoneNumber}} | The candidate phone number is shown here |
| {{candidateProfileUrl}} | The link to a candidate’s Eightfold profile can be found here |
| {{candidateResumeUrl}} | The link to a candidate’s resume is present here |
| {{companyName}} | The company name of the scheduler is displayed here |
| {{currentCompany}} | This field displays the current company of the candidate |
| {{currentDayofWeek}} | This field shows the current day of the week |
| {{currentTitle}} | The current title of the candidate is displayed here |
| {{feedbackLink}} | The interview feedback form link can be accessed from here |
| {{fullName}} | The candidate’s full name is mentioned here |
| {{hiringManagerFullName}} | This space shows the hiring manager’s full name |
| {{interviewerFirstName}} | An interviewer’s first name is shown here. **Note**: If multiple interviewers exist, then use {{allInterviewerNames}}, if using {{interviewerFirstName}} only the first interviewer's first name gets picked. |
| {{interviewerLastName}} | Interviewer last name is shown here. **Note**: If multiple interviewers exist, then use {{allInterviewerNames}}, if using {{interviewerLastName}} only the first interviewer's first name gets picked. |
| {{interviewerName}} | Interviewer full name is displayed here. **Note**: If multiple interviewers exist, then use {{allInterviewerNames}}, if using {{interviewerName}} only the first interviewer's first name gets picked. |
| {{lastApplicationMonth}} | The month in which the candidate applied to a position last is shown here |
| {{lastApplicationPosition}} | The position for which the candidate applied last, is displayed here |
| {{lastApplicationYear}} | The year in which the candidate applied to a position last, is shown here |
| {{meetingAgenda}} | The meeting agenda is mentioned here |
| {{meetingDurationMinute}} | This field displays the meeting duration |
| {{meetingLocationType}} | The meeting location type is shown here |
| {{meetingLocationValue}} | This field mentions the meeting location |
| {{openSchedulingLink}} | The default open scheduling link can be accessed from this field |
| {{positionApplyLink}} | The job posting link is displayed here |
| {{positionCompanyName}} | The company name is present here |
| {{positionID}} | The unique identifier of the position in Eightfold is present here |
| {{positionJobID}} | The unique identifier of the job in ATS is displayed here |
| {{positionTitle}} | This contains that title of the position |
| {{relevantExperienceYears}} | The years of relevant experience is displayed here |
| {{senderName}} | The sender name is mentioned here |
| {{schedulingUrl}} | The link for the candidate to confirm availability for the scheduled meeting can be accessed from here |
| {{schedulingUrlCancel}} | This shows the link for the candidate to cancel the meeting |
| {{schedulingUrlReschedule}} | This displays the link for the candidate to reschedule the meeting |
| {{videoConfLink}} | The conferencing link for the interview can be accessed from here |