Managing Interviews: Scheduling, Rescheduling & Availability Settings

This article explains how to set up and manage interviews in Homebase Hiring, including how auto-scheduling works, how to configure your availability, and how to handle rescheduling and interview confirmations.

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How does auto-scheduling work?

Auto-scheduling allows Top Match candidates to request interview times directly based on your availability, eliminating the back-and-forth of manual scheduling. When auto-scheduling is enabled, candidates who complete the AI screener and are designated as Top Matches can view your available time slots and propose an interview time that works for them.

When a candidate requests a time, you receive a notification and can approve the requested time, send a new link to the candidate to select a different time, or decline the request. The event is automatically cancelled if the requested time is never accepted.

When auto-scheduling is turned off, candidates cannot request interview times on their own. Instead, you must review each applicant and send interview invitations individually, which typically takes longer to coordinate.

Note: Only candidates designated as Top Matches can use auto-scheduling to propose interview times during the screener process. All others can still easily be sent a booking link from the applicant section in Hiring.

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How do I turn on auto-scheduling for the first time?

Auto-scheduling is configured during the creation of your first job post only. After that, you will need to go to your Settings from the Dashboard to update it.

Auto-scheduling settings are tied to the calendar of the manager who posted the job. Each manager with access to Hiring has their own individual calendar and can choose to turn auto-scheduling on or off independently.

When a manager updates their auto-scheduling settings, the change applies only to their own calendar and does not affect any other manager's settings. If your team decides to disable auto-scheduling entirely, each manager must turn it off in their own calendar individually.

Note: Auto-scheduling settings are restricted to the location, not the company. If you have a multi-location account then you will need to update your auto-scheduling settings for each location if necessary.

To enable auto-scheduling after posting your first job:

1. Go to your Hiring Dashboard and click the gear icon in the top right.
2. Click Edit interview settings.
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3. Toggle on or off Auto scheduling.
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4. Update Interview duration, Interview location, and/or Interview availability times.
5. Click Save changes at the bottom to finish.

Once saved, Top Match candidates will see these available times and can request slots that work for them.

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How do I change my auto-scheduling settings?

You can turn auto-scheduling on or off and adjust your availability settings at any time from your Hiring Dashboard.

1. Go to your Hiring Dashboard.
2. Click the gear icon in the top right corner.
3. Select Edit interview availability.
4. Toggle Auto-schedule interviews on or off at the top of the page.
5. Adjust your available days, times, interview duration, or interview type as needed.
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6. Save your changes.

Note: Interview availability is based on the individual manager who posted the job. When candidates view available interview times, they only see the availability for that specific manager, not all managers at the location.

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How do I reschedule an interview?

When you need to change a scheduled interview, you have two options:

1. Go to Hire.
2. On the Dashboard, click the three vertical dots to the right of the scheduled interview under Interviews on the right.
3. Click Reschedule, then choose:
   • Reschedule booking — opens a date and time picker so you can select a new time directly. The candidate receives an SMS confirmation once you confirm the new time.
   • Send booking link — sends the candidate a link to choose a new time on their own.

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What's the difference between phone and in-person interviews?

When setting up your interview availability, you choose whether interviews will be conducted on-site or by phone. This setting is attached to your individual calendar and applies to any job posts you create, regardless of whether auto-scheduling is turned on or off.

For on-site interviews, candidates see your business location and understand they need to arrive in person at the scheduled time. For phone interviews, candidates know the interview will be conducted on a call.

Because each manager has their own calendar settings, different managers at the same location can have different interview formats. If one manager has on-site interviews and another has phone interviews, you may see candidates scheduled for both formats in your dashboard when both managers have active job posts.

You can change this setting at any time by going to Hiring, clicking the gear icon, selecting Edit interview availability, and updating your interview location.

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How do I set my interview availability?

Your interview availability determines which time slots candidates can select when requesting interviews through auto-scheduling or when a booking link is sent manually to a candidate. Setting accurate availability helps candidates choose times that actually work for you and reduces the need for rescheduling.

Your availability is required to be set while posting your first job. After that, you will need to update those settings from your Hiring Dashboard.

1. Go to your Hiring Dashboard.
2. Click the gear icon in the top right corner.
3. Select Edit interview availability.
4. Toggle on the days of the week you're available to conduct interviews.
5. Set start and end times for each available day.
6. Use the + button to add multiple time ranges within a single day if your availability is split.
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7. Save your changes.

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How do I integrate my interview schedule with Google Calendar?

Connecting your Google Calendar to Homebase keeps your interview availability accurate and your schedule organized — all without any manual updates.

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How does the Google Calendar integration work?

When you connect your Google Calendar, Homebase will automatically check your existing calendar events and hide any times that are already booked. That means candidates will only see time slots that are actually open when they go to schedule their interview.

Any interviews that candidates book through Homebase will also appear on your Google Calendar automatically, so your schedule stays up to date in one place.

Note: The Google Calendar integration is not enabled by default. Each manager or owner must connect their own calendar to activate it.

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How do I connect my Google Calendar to a job post?

If your account has multiple managers or owners posting jobs, each person can connect their own Google Calendar individually. The integration links to the calendar of whoever created that specific job post, so each job stays connected to the right person's schedule.

To connect your Google Calendar, you will begin by creating a job post. During the Interview Set Up stage, follow the prompts to connect your Google Calendar.

Note: Only the manager or owner who created a job post can connect a Google Calendar to that post. If you are not seeing your availability reflected correctly, confirm that the calendar connected belongs to the job post creator.

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How do I schedule an interview time directly with a candidate?

When you're ready to move a candidate to the interview stage, you can now choose to pick the interview time yourself rather than sending them a booking link to self-schedule.

When you click Move forward on a candidate and select Interview, you'll see two options:

• Schedule it yourself — opens a date and time picker where you select the interview slot directly. You can adjust the interview duration and format (phone or in-person) before confirming. If the time you select overlaps with something already on your calendar, you'll see a warning, but you can still proceed.
• Send a booking link — sends the candidate an SMS with a link to choose from your available times, which is the existing booking link experience.

Once you confirm a time, the candidate receives an SMS confirmation with the scheduled date, time, and location.

Note: You can also select I'll handle this outside Homebase if you plan to coordinate the interview on your own. This moves the candidate to the Interview stage without sending any notification.