This article explains how to use smart interview scheduling in Personio. The feature works by comparing calendars and matching available time slots between interviewers and candidates. This helps you find suitable interview times quickly and improve the candidate experience.

Before you start

This feature is only available if your Administrator integrates your company calendar with the Personio Recruiting calendar. Once the integration is complete, the smart scheduling feature is available for you to use.

To use smart scheduling, you need edit permissions for the Recruiting app. Other employees can also use the feature if they have a specific recruiting role with interview permissions. For example, the hiring manager for the relevant job.

Set up your calendar availability

The dates and times that candidates see are a combination of your availabilities. The information comes from your external work calendar and your Personio calendar (in Personal settings). Candidates can only see the available dates for the next 35 days.

To set up your calendar availability in Personio, follow these steps:

1. Click on your name at the bottom-left corner and select Personal settings.
2. On the left, go to Calendar availability.
3. Define your weekly availability. Times marked in green are set as available. Times in white are set as unavailable. Make sure your time zone is correct.
4. Apply your changes.

Tip:
Note that public holidays from your Personio Time off calendar aren’t blocked in your external work calendar. You need to block them manually.

Send a smart scheduling link

You can include a smart scheduling link when scheduling an interview with a candidate. This allows them to choose a suitable time based on your availability.

To send a smart scheduling link to a candidate, follow these steps:

1. Go to Recruiting > Applications.
2. In the candidate’s profile, go to the Interviews tab.
3. Click New interview and select the interview type and interviewers.
4. Click Set up a scheduling link and complete the relevant fields.
   ▶︎ Select a start time increment. For example, you can set the start times for the available slots to be 30 minutes apart. The smaller the increments, the more choices the candidate has.
   ▶︎ Set a buffer. For example, place a ten-minute buffer at the start and end of interviews to give you time to prepare and wrap up. By having a buffer, you can also make sure that candidates can't schedule interviews back-to-back.
5. [Optional] Under Automatic email confirmation, you can select an email template. Once candidates pick a slot, they receive a confirmation with the interview details. If you don’t select a template, Personio applies a default template. The language of the automatic email depends on the job's default language. You can’t change this.
6. Create the link.
7. Complete the remaining interview details, such as the interview method, the room, etc.
8. Click Email candidate and insert the scheduling link. The scheduling link appears in the email body.
9. Send your email. The interview status shows the status Scheduling link sent.

Tip:
Be mindful of selecting meeting rooms when scheduling the interview. Personio doesn’t consider the room calendar, and someone can potentially double-book it.

Understand what the candidate sees

When the candidate clicks the link in the email, they see a list of days and time slots to choose from. These time slots are based on the participants' external work calendars and their Personio calendars. Review the following scenarios:

• The interview only has one organizer: The candidate only sees the organizer’s availability.
• The interview has several participants: The candidate sees a combination of the different participants' availabilities.
• The interview's organizer is also a participant: The candidate sees a combination of the different participants' and the organizer's availabilities.

Once the candidate selects a slot, the candidate and participants receive a confirmation email. If you’re using videoconferencing, the email includes the videoconferencing link. The language of this email depends on the job's default language. You can’t change this.

In Personio, the status of the interview appears as Scheduled. Internal participants also receive a task on their Recruiting homepage about the interview. You can review all interview details in the Interviews tab of the candidate profile.

Offer alternative dates to a candidate

If a candidate can’t find a suitable time, they can select the option I can't do any of these days via the scheduling link. You (or whoever is the organizer) receive a task in your Personio Inbox.

To offer alternative dates, follow these steps:

1. Follow the Inbox task to go directly to the Interviews tab. The status of the interview appears as Candidate unavailable.
2. Click the pencil icon to edit the interview details.
3. Next to the existing scheduling link, click the pencil icon.
4. Select a wider date range for the candidate to choose from.
5. Create the link.
6. Proceed to email the candidate. Make sure to insert the scheduling link.
7. Send your email.

Reschedule an interview following a cancellation

If a participant cancels after accepting an interview, you (or whoever is the organizer) receive an email notifying you about the cancellation.

The only option is to schedule a new interview. You need to do this regardless of whether it’s an interviewer or candidate who cancels. You can’t edit the existing interview, as Personio can’t recreate scheduling links.