A video interview reminder schedule that gets interviews finished

A good video interview reminder schedule sends the invite on day 0, a first reminder about two days later, a second reminder on day 3, and a short final notice the day before your deadline. A deadline three to five days after the invite works for most roles, which means two or three nudges in total, each one short and each one carrying the same link.

What does a good reminder schedule look like?

Here is a schedule you can copy for a one-way interview with a five-day deadline.

With a three-day deadline, move the reminders to day 1 and day 2 and let the day 2 message serve as the final notice. With a one-week deadline, keep the reminders at day 2 and day 3, then add a final notice the day before the deadline. Avoid spreading reminders evenly across a long window, because interest fades fast. A nudge on day 2 reaches someone who still remembers applying, while one on day 6 mostly reaches people who have already moved on.

Why do one-way interviews need reminders at all?

A live phone screen has a calendar slot. A one-way interview does not. Candidates can record any time before the deadline, which is the appeal of the format, but nothing forces them to act at a particular moment. The invite lands in an inbox next to a dozen other applications. The plan to record tonight slides to tomorrow, then gets forgotten.

Reminders give the candidate the moments to act that a calendar slot would have provided. If you are new to the format, this plain guide to one-way video interviews explains how the asynchronous setup works and why it shifts the timing onto the candidate.

Reminders also show the candidate that someone is paying attention. People who are actively looking are usually talking to other employers too. A reminder on day 2 tells them a person on your side is watching their application. An invite followed by silence can look like an automated pipeline nobody watches.

How many reminders should you send?

Two is a sensible default. A third is fine when it is a short final notice tied to the deadline. Past that, reminders start to feel like pressure. Candidates who have decided not to continue may unsubscribe or mark you as spam, which can hurt delivery for everyone else on your list.

As a rule of thumb, make each message after the invite shorter than the one before it. The invite explains everything, and by the final notice you should be down to two sentences.

When should you send each reminder?

Day 0: the invite

Send the invite as soon as the candidate passes your first screen, ideally within a day of applying. Include:

• the link
• the number of questions
• roughly how long the interview takes
• the exact deadline with date and time zone
• whether retakes are allowed

People are more willing to start when they know the effort up front. Point nervous candidates to a resource like how to prepare for a one-way video interview so they have something to read besides the record button.

If you can choose the send time, a weekday late morning or early evening is a reasonable place to start. For hourly and shift workers, early evening is often better, since many cannot check personal email during a shift.

Day 2: the first reminder

This one catches people who meant to record after opening the invite but got busy. Keep it friendly and factual. Restate the deadline and repeat the link so nobody has to dig through old email to find it.

Day 3: the second reminder

A candidate who has not started by now is often stuck on something. Common blockers include:

• nerves about being on camera
• a phone browser that acts up
• no quiet place to record
• doubts about whether the role fits

Repeat how long the interview takes and offer a real way to get help, such as replying to the email or texting a number that a person actually checks.

If your interview tool sends reminders automatically, you only need to decide on the deadline and whether to add a personal note from the recruiter.

Day before the deadline: the final notice

Keep it short. Say the deadline is tomorrow and include the link. Add that they can reply if they need more time. Some candidates act only when a date is close, and this message gives them one.

Closing the loop once the deadline passes

Send a closing message. If the role is still open, offer one short extension on request. If it is filled, say so. Either way the candidate is not left wondering, and they may apply again later.

Reminder templates you can copy

Adjust the bracketed parts and keep the link in every message.

Invite (day 0), email

Subject: Next step for the [job title] role at [company]

Hi [first name], thanks for applying. The next step is a short recorded video interview: [number] questions, about [minutes] minutes total, recorded in your browser on a phone or laptop. You can do it any time before [day, date, time, time zone]. Here is your link: [link]. Reply to this email if you have questions.

First reminder (day 2), email

Subject: Your [job title] video interview is still open

Hi [first name], a quick reminder that your video interview for [job title] is open until [date and time]. It takes about [minutes] minutes. Your link: [link].

Second reminder (day 3), email or text

Hi [first name], this is [recruiter name] at [company]. Your video interview for [job title] is still waiting for you. If something is getting in the way, like a tech issue or a scheduling problem, reply here and I will help. Link: [link].

Final notice (day before deadline), text

Hi [first name], your [job title] interview closes tomorrow at [time]. Link: [link]. Reply if you need more time.

Closing message after the deadline, email

Hi [first name], the video interview window for [job title] has closed. If you are still interested, reply this week and I will see if I can reopen it for you.

Text messages bring their own rules. Get the candidate's consent before texting and honor opt-out requests. Avoid sending outside normal daytime hours. Consent and quiet-hour rules vary by place, so check with your legal team before you add texting to the schedule.

How should the schedule change by role type?

One schedule does not fit every req. Use this as a starting point.

For hourly hiring, compress the whole thing. If you are running a lot of reqs at once, fold the reminder check into your daily routine so incomplete interviews do not pile up. For senior roles, slow down and personalize. A senior candidate who gets three templated reminders in three days may decide the company does not know who they are.

Which mistakes make reminders backfire?

• Leaving the link out of the reminder, so the candidate has to search for the original invite.
• Writing "soon" or "this week" instead of a specific date, time, and time zone.
• Sending the same long message three times, which teaches people to ignore it.
• Reminding candidates who already finished. Make sure a completed interview stops the sequence.
• Using a no-reply address, so stuck candidates have nowhere to ask for help.
• Texting at 7 a.m. on a Sunday.
• Sending reminders for a role that has already been filled. Close the req and the sequence together.

How do you know if your reminder schedule is working?

Track three things for each role type:

• completion rate (finished interviews divided by invites sent)
• time to complete (hours or days from invite to submission)
• which message came right before each completion

The recruiting metrics glossary has plain formulas if you want your team to calculate these the same way.

Look at the pattern after a few weeks. When most completions come right after the day 2 reminder, the schedule is doing its job. A cluster of completions after the final notice suggests your deadline may be longer than it needs to be. Low completions across the board point to a problem upstream. Maybe the invite is unclear or the interview runs too long. It is also possible the role details give candidates no reason to bother.

For a reference point, DeepHire sends two automatic reminders and reports an interview completion rate of about 97%. Your own numbers will depend on the role and the interview length, as well as how clear the invite is.

Change one thing at a time. Move the first reminder a day earlier, or shorten the deadline, then compare the next batch of candidates with the last one.