The interview plan — what questions the AI will ask
After you send an invite, the platform generates an interview plan: a tailored list of questions the AI will work through with this specific candidate. Here is how it works and how to influence it.
Key takeaways
- Interview plans are generated per invitation, from the JD + candidate resume.
- Generation takes 10–30 seconds. The platform shows *Plan: Ready* when done.
- You influence the plan by writing a good JD and by setting Required/Preferred skills accurately.
- Plans are NOT a script — the AI improvises follow-ups based on the candidate's actual answers.
Before you start
When you send an interview invitation, the platform doesn't just record a row — it generates an interview plan: the structured list of topics and questions the AI will work through with this specific candidate. This article explains how plans work.
What goes into a plan
- The job's JD — used to identify what topics matter for this role.
- The Required and Preferred skills — biases the AI toward questions that probe these skills.
- The candidate's resume (if available) — used for candidate-specific follow-ups ('You mentioned you led a migration to Kubernetes — walk me through that').
- The interview duration — a 15-minute plan covers fewer topics than a 45-minute plan.
- Cultural values (if you set them on the job) — biases the AI to ask values-aligned behavioural questions.
What the plan looks like internally
Five to twelve topic clusters, each with 1–3 questions. The AI works through them in order, but improvises follow-ups and pivots based on the candidate's actual answers. The plan is a scaffold, not a script.
How to write a good JD for plan generation
Why you can't directly edit the plan
TIP
Recruiters often want to add their favourite trick questions ("Why are manhole covers round?"). We deliberately don't expose plan editing because (a) it reduces cross-candidate comparability and (b) the AI is calibrated to ask questions in a way that produces useful scoring — recruiter-edited plans often skew the scoring math.
Influence the plan through the JD and skills. That gives you control over what gets asked while keeping the platform's scoring meaningful.
Plan readiness
Plan generation happens immediately after you send the invite. Most plans are ready in 10–30 seconds. The recruiter side shows Plan: Ready in the candidate detail view; the candidate side just works — if they click their link before generation finishes, they see a brief 'preparing your interview' state.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see or edit the plan before the candidate takes it?
Not directly. The plan is intentionally not exposed to recruiters because hand-editing on the recruiter side often reduces interview quality (recruiters tend to add their favourite trick questions). To influence the plan, edit the JD and the Required/Preferred skills.
Do all candidates for the same job get the same questions?
No. Plans are partly job-driven (so cross-candidate comparison is meaningful) and partly candidate-driven (so each interview probes the candidate's specific background). About 70% of the question topics come from the JD; 30% are candidate-specific follow-ups based on resume.
How long does plan generation take?
Typically 10–30 seconds. You can send the invitation immediately; the candidate's link will work once the plan finishes generating. If the candidate clicks before the plan is ready, they see a brief 'preparing your interview' state.