How to Set Up Video Interview Software: A Complete Guide for 2026

Video interview software supports two fundamentally different formats, and the right choice depends on where in the hiring process you're deploying it.

Async (one-way) video interviews — candidates record responses to pre-set questions on their own schedule; you review recordings when convenient. No scheduling required. Best for: early-stage screening of larger candidate pools (10+ applicants), roles where you're replacing phone screens, high-volume hiring.

Live video interviews — recruiter and candidate meet in real time over video. Requires scheduling, but allows natural conversation and follow-up questions. Best for: later-stage evaluation of shortlisted candidates, senior roles requiring nuanced assessment, cases where two-way dialogue is essential.

Most teams use both: async for first-round screening, live for finalists. One-way video interviews are particularly useful during the initial screening phase, especially for entry-level, graduate, or high-volume positions. For more specialised or senior roles, live video interviews are better suited during the mid to late stages of hiring.

If you're setting up for the first time, start with async. It's simpler to configure, easier for candidates to complete, and produces comparable data across all applicants — which makes the learning curve much shorter.

Before configuring the interview itself, set up the role you're hiring for. This is where candidates land before they get to the interview.

What to configure at the role level:

• Job title and description — candidates see this before starting. Keep it specific: what the role actually does, what success looks like, and what kind of person thrives in it. Vague descriptions attract vague applicants.
• Application questions — any information you need before the video interview begins. Keep this minimal: name, email, and 2–3 knockout questions that filter out mismatched candidates before anyone reviews a video. Every additional field reduces completion rates.
• Deadline and response window — how long candidates have to complete the interview after receiving the link. 72 hours is the standard for async interviews; 5–7 days for roles where candidates may be harder to reach quickly.

This is the most consequential part of setup. The questions you ask determine the quality of data you get back. Generic questions produce generic answers. Role-specific, competency-mapped questions produce comparable, evaluable answers.

The optimal question set for async screening: 3–5 questions

Three to five questions with 60–90 second response windows is the sweet spot. Completion rates drop with anything longer. Your question set should cover three things: motivation (why this role, why now), relevant experience (evidence they've done the work), and one or two competency-specific questions tied to what actually matters for the role.

Question types that work well in async format:

Opening question (1 question). "Tell me about your background and why you're interested in this role." Clear, self-contained, gives candidates a chance to settle in. Keep the time limit to 60–90 seconds so answers are focused.

Behavioural questions (1–2 questions). "Tell me about a time you [specific situation relevant to the role]. What did you do and what was the result?" Behavioural questions work well async because they're self-contained — candidates can answer fully without follow-up. Tie each one to a specific competency you're evaluating.

Role-specific question (1–2 questions). Something specific to the responsibilities of the role. For a customer support role: "Describe how you'd handle a customer who's frustrated about a delayed order." For a technical role: "Walk me through how you'd approach [specific type of problem]." These questions can't be answered generically — they require actual knowledge or experience.

Closing question (optional). "What's one question you'd want us to ask you — and how would you answer it?" This reveals preparation, self-awareness, and what the candidate considers their strongest selling point.

Once questions are written, configure how the interview actually runs. These settings have a direct impact on both candidate experience and the quality of responses you receive.

Per-question time limits. Set a time limit for each question response. Recommended ranges:

• Opening/background question: 60–90 seconds
• Behavioural question: 90–120 seconds
• Role-specific question: 90–120 seconds

Time limits do two things: they keep responses comparable across candidates (a candidate who talks for 8 minutes answers differently than one who answers in 90 seconds), and they signal to candidates that focused, structured answers are expected.

Thinking time (preparation time before recording). Give candidates 30–60 seconds to read the question and collect their thoughts before the recording timer starts. This single setting meaningfully improves response quality — candidates who have a moment to think give more organised, specific answers than those who start talking the second they see the question. Provide practice questions before the real interview — this ensures a smooth interview experience and helps candidates perform at their best.

Retake allowances. Decide whether candidates can re-record individual answers before submitting. Allowing retakes (1–2 per question is standard) produces better responses without reducing comparability — every candidate still answers the same question under the same conditions. It also reduces the anxiety of a single-take format, which improves completion rates and the quality of what you receive.

Practice question. Add a practice question at the start — something neutral like "Tell us a fun fact about yourself" — so candidates can test their camera, microphone, and setup before the real questions begin. One third of candidates have dropped out of interview processes due to poor video interview experiences. Common causes include confusing interfaces, mandatory downloads, technical failures, and unclear instructions. A practice question catches technical issues before they affect real responses.

Deadline for completion. Set a clear deadline after which the interview link expires. 72 hours from invitation is standard for most roles. For roles where candidates may be harder to reach (senior roles, passive candidates), 5–7 days gives more flexibility. Always communicate the deadline clearly in the invitation.

The interview experience is part of your employer brand. A bare, unbranded interface signals a low-effort process; a well-presented one signals that the company takes the experience seriously.

What to customise:

Company logo and colours. Most platforms let you add your logo and primary brand colour to the interview interface. This takes five minutes and significantly improves how the experience reads from the candidate's perspective.

Intro video from your team. Record a 60–90 second video from the hiring manager or a team member, introducing the role, the team, and what candidates can expect. Customisable branding allows companies to add logos, colours, and tailored messaging to the video interview platform, creating a professional and consistent candidate experience across every stage of the hiring process. An intro video is the most impactful piece of this — it makes the process feel human rather than automated.

Welcome message and instructions. Write a brief welcome message candidates see before starting. Cover: what the interview involves, how many questions, how long it should take, and that they can take a practice question first. Candidates who know what to expect before they start are less anxious and give better answers.

Invitation email. Customise the email candidates receive with the interview link. Include: the role they applied for, why you're using video screening, what to expect, the deadline, and a contact for technical issues. A warm, specific invitation email increases completion rates measurably compared to a generic automated send.

Setting up how your team evaluates responses before the first submission arrives is as important as setting up the interview itself. Teams that define their scoring criteria upfront make faster, more consistent decisions; teams that review first and score later disagree more and take longer.

Build a scorecard for each role. A scorecard has one row per evaluation criterion — typically 3–5 criteria tied directly to the interview questions. For each criterion, reviewers give a 1–3 or 1–5 rating and a brief comment. The aggregate score tells you who to advance; the comments surface the reasoning.

Criteria should map to your questions:

• If one question assesses communication clarity → scorecard has a "Communication" row
• If one question assesses problem-solving → scorecard has a "Problem-solving" row
• If the opening question covers motivation → scorecard has a "Role motivation" row

Avoid vague criteria like "culture fit" or "overall impression" — these produce inconsistent ratings and are difficult to defend if challenged. Specific, behaviourally-anchored criteria produce more consistent and defensible evaluations.

Set up team access and review permissions. Decide who reviews which roles and what permissions they have. A typical setup:

• Recruiter: full access — invites candidates, reviews submissions, manages pipeline
• Hiring manager: review access — watches recordings, completes scorecards, can't edit interview settings
• Additional team members: limited access — can watch specific recordings and add comments, can't see other reviewers' scores until they've completed their own (blind review mode, where available)

Blind review — where each reviewer scores independently before seeing others' scores — reduces anchoring bias and produces more independent assessments. Worth enabling if your platform supports it.

A single interview configuration doesn't work equally well for every type of role. Once your base setup is working, customise it for the specific demands of each role category.

Customer-facing roles (sales, support, success). Focus questions on: handling difficult interactions, motivation for the role, and communication style. Add a scenario question: "A customer contacts you frustrated because [specific scenario]. Walk me through how you'd handle it." Time limits can be slightly longer (90–120 seconds) for these roles because articulate communication is the core competency being assessed.

Technical roles (engineering, data, product). Pair async video questions with a built-in code editor or technical assessment for roles where demonstrated ability matters more than described ability. Video questions for technical roles should focus on how candidates think and communicate about technical problems, not on testing knowledge that a code challenge tests better.

Management and leadership roles. Fewer questions, longer time limits (120 seconds per question), and questions focused on leadership decisions, team development, and how they handle ambiguity. "Tell me about a time a team you led wasn't performing as expected" gives you more signal than "what's your management style." For senior roles, async screening may cover only the first filter — expect live interviews to carry more weight at this level.

High-volume roles (retail, customer service, logistics). Maximise simplicity: 3 questions maximum, 60-second limits, no retakes to keep the process fast. The priority is throughput — reviewing 200 submissions efficiently — rather than depth. AI analysis of responses becomes most valuable here: with large volumes, AI-assisted triage determines which recordings warrant full attention.

Graduate and early-career roles. Candidates with less experience benefit from more context before starting. A longer intro video from the team, a practice question, and questions focused on potential signals (curiosity, learning orientation, specific academic or personal projects) rather than years of experience. These candidates are often completing their first video interview — generous thinking time (60 seconds) and retake allowances improve the quality of what you receive.

Before inviting real candidates, complete the interview yourself from the candidate's perspective.

What to check:

• Does the welcome message read clearly and set the right expectations?
• Is the practice question working?
• Do the time limits feel appropriate — enough time to answer well, short enough to stay focused?
• Is the branding displaying correctly?
• Does the submission confirmation page tell candidates what happens next?
• Does the invitation email arrive, read clearly, and contain a working link?

Share clear instructions, including tech requirements and deadline details, in advance. Suggest candidates test their webcam, microphone, lighting, and internet connection. If your platform has a candidate-facing tech check page, confirm it's working before the first invite goes out.

Run a test submission through the review workflow too: does the scorecard work? Can team members access and review the submission? Is the rating system intuitive?

Fixing issues before live candidates experience them takes 20 minutes. Fixing them after takes considerably longer.