Video interview software RFP: a copyable template for recruiters

A video interview software RFP is a short document that describes how you hire and what the tool must do, then asks every vendor the same questions. That lets you compare answers and quotes side by side instead of comparing sales demos. The template below has eight sections with the exact questions to ask, plus a scoring table you can paste into a spreadsheet today.

Keep it short. A short RFP is easier for vendors to answer completely and easier for your team to score. Cut any question whose answer would not change your decision.

What should a video interview software RFP include?

At minimum, include these sections:

• Who you are and the hiring problem you want to solve
• Your interview volume
• Candidate experience requirements
• Reviewer features
• Integrations
• Security and accessibility
• Pricing
• Your timeline

Each section should end in questions a vendor can answer with yes, no, or a specific detail. A prompt like "Describe your platform" invites marketing copy, while asking whether a candidate can finish the interview on a phone browser without installing an app gets a real answer.

Decide early whether you are buying one-way (asynchronous) interviews, live video, or both. If your stakeholders are fuzzy on the difference, share this plain guide to one-way video interviews with them before you start.

What to gather before you write the RFP

Spend an hour on these before drafting. They make every later section easier to fill in.

1. Your monthly interview volume in your slowest month and your busiest month.
2. The roles you will use the tool for. Hourly and high-volume roles need different things than salaried professional roles.
3. Whether hiring managers or outside clients will review recordings alongside your recruiters.
4. Your ATS and any other system the tool must connect to.
5. Your current time to screen and interview completion rate. If you do not track these yet, start measuring them now so you have a baseline.

Without a baseline, you will have no way to tell later whether the new tool actually improved anything.

The video interview software RFP template

Copy the sections below into a document and replace the bracketed text. Mark each question as must-have or nice-to-have, and delete any that do not apply to you.

Section 1: About us and the problem we are solving

• Company or agency name and industry: [ ]
• Number of recruiters on the team: [ ]
• Roles we hire for most: [ ]
• The problem in one paragraph: [example: "Recruiters spend most of Monday and Tuesday on 15-minute phone screens that end in a no. We want candidates to answer the same three to five screening questions on video so recruiters can review in batches."]
• What success looks like in 90 days: [example: "Phone screens for warehouse roles cut by half."]

Section 2: Scope and volume

1. We expect [X to Y] candidate interviews per month and [N] recruiter seats, so please explain how your pricing changes across that range.
2. Does any plan cap the number of interviews or the amount of storage, and is there a separate limit on open jobs?
3. How long are recordings kept by default, and can we set our own retention period?

Section 3: Candidate experience

1. Can candidates complete the interview in a browser on both a laptop and a phone without downloading anything, and which browsers and operating systems do you support?
2. Can we choose how many questions to ask and set a time limit for each answer, with or without retakes?
3. Is there a practice question candidates can try before they record a real answer?
4. What reminders go out if a candidate has not finished, and can we change their timing and wording?
5. What is your average interview completion rate, and how do you calculate it?
6. Can we brand the interview page with our logo and add a short welcome message for candidates?
7. What happens if a candidate loses their connection partway through an answer?

On question 5, ask each vendor how they define "completed." Some count only candidates who opened the link. Others count everyone invited. The first method always produces the higher number, so two vendors quoting the same rate may not mean the same thing.

Section 4: Recruiter and reviewer features

1. Can reviewers speed up playback, and can they compare different candidates' answers to the same question one after another?
2. Can teammates leave ratings and comments that others on the team can see?
3. Can we share a shortlist with hiring managers or clients who do not have an account, and if so, how is access controlled and can we revoke a link?
4. Do you provide question templates, and if so, how many do you offer and for which role types?
5. Do you offer recorded live video interviews in addition to one-way interviews?
6. Does the product score or rank candidates automatically, or reject anyone without a person reviewing them, and if so, what data does it use and how can we turn it off?

Question 6 tells you whether the tool uses AI to evaluate candidates. Decide whether you want that before you sit through demos. Rules on automated hiring decisions vary by state and country, so check with your legal team before you turn on any automated scoring.

If you work at a staffing agency, map these questions against your actual desk process. This staffing video interview workflow from job order to submittal shows where client sharing and reviewer comments fit.

Section 5: Integrations and data

1. Which ATS platforms do you integrate with natively, and for each one, what data syncs in which direction?
2. Do you offer an API, and is its documentation public?
3. Can we export candidate data and recordings in bulk, for example as a CSV file?
4. If we cancel, how do we get our data out, and how quickly do you delete it?

Section 6: Security, privacy, and accessibility

1. Where is candidate data stored, and who at your company can access recordings?
2. Is candidate data encrypted while it moves between systems and while it sits in storage?
3. Which security reviews or certifications do you currently hold, and can you attach the latest reports?
4. How do you handle candidate requests to see or delete their data?
5. How can a candidate request an accommodation, such as extra time or a text-based alternative?
6. Does the candidate interface work with screen readers and keyboard-only use?

Put accommodation questions in every RFP. Your obligations to candidates with disabilities still apply when the interview is recorded. The details vary by place, so check with your legal team on what recruiters should have ready.

Section 7: Pricing and contract

1. Please list every plan with its monthly and annual price, and note which features each plan includes.
2. Do you charge any fees beyond the plan price, such as setup or overage fees?
3. Do you offer a free trial, and does it require a credit card?
4. What is the minimum contract length, and how much notice do you need for cancellation?
5. How do you handle price increases at renewal?

Ask for prices in writing even if they appear on the vendor's website. Some vendors publish their prices openly. DeepHire, for example, lists Basic at $49 a month and Pro at $149 a month, with custom Enterprise pricing and a 14-day trial that needs no card. Other vendors only quote after a sales call. Either approach is fine, but you want every quote back in the same format.

Section 8: Timeline and submission instructions

• RFP sent: [date]
• Vendor questions due: [date, about one week later]
• Responses due: [date, two to three weeks after sending]
• Shortlist demos: [dates]
• Trial or pilot: [dates]
• Decision: [date]
• Send responses to [name, email] as a single PDF, with answers numbered to match this document.

How do you score vendor responses?

Agree on weights before responses arrive, so nobody can tilt the scores toward a favorite demo. Score each section from 1 to 5 and multiply by its weight. The sum of those numbers is the vendor's total.

Change the weights to fit your team. A high-volume hourly team might raise candidate experience to 30% or more. An agency that shares candidates with clients every day might weight reviewer features higher.

Which questions do vendors tend to dodge?

Some answers will come back vague. Push on these:

• If a vendor promises "unlimited" anything, ask them to define fair use in writing.
• If they quote a completion rate with no definition, ask for the formula behind it.
• If an integration is "available," ask whether it is native, built by a partner, or requires work from your developers.
• If accessibility is "supported," ask them to walk you through how a candidate requests more time.
• If data deletion happens "on request," ask for the number of days it takes.

If an answer is still vague after one follow-up, score it as a 1 and flag it for whoever reviews the contract.

Should you run a pilot before signing?

Yes. Written responses and demos only show you so much. Narrow the field to two vendors and run a short trial of each on one real job opening. Send the same three to five screening questions through both tools so the comparison is fair.

During the pilot, track these things:

• How many invited candidates finished the interview
• How long recruiters spent reviewing each candidate
• What hiring managers said about the shared links
• Any complaints from candidates

Also ask a few candidates directly how the interview felt on their phone, and write down anything that confused them.

Common RFP mistakes to avoid

• Writing the RFP around one vendor's feature list. You will get one polished answer and several awkward ones.
• Leaving hiring managers out until the demo. They will be reviewing recordings too, so the tool has to work for them.
• Skipping the exit questions. Terms for getting your data out are much harder to negotiate after you sign.
• Asking for everything. If you do not mark which requirements are must-haves, a vendor can hide a real gap among forty yes answers.