---
title: "How to let candidates book their own interview time"
description: "Paint your availability, send the booking link, and the candidate picks a slot. No account needed, and the calendar invitation follows."
updated: 2026-10-06
canonical: https://kendor.io/docs/calendar/let-candidates-book
---

# How to let candidates book their own interview time
Open **Calendar**, choose **Schedule interview**, pick the candidate, and select **Candidate picks a slot**. Paint the hours you're free, send the invitation, and the candidate books a slot from their link. Kendor then emails them a calendar invitation.

## Start a new interview

Open **Calendar** in the sidebar and choose **Schedule interview**. Search for the candidate by name or email under **Schedule an interview with…**. The list shows people already in your organization, such as candidates you've invited to a screen.

You can also schedule from a candidate's profile: the **Interviews** card has a **Schedule interview** button.

Either way, the scheduling dialog opens. Viewers can see the Calendar but can't schedule.

## Choose the type of interview

Under **Type of interview**, pick one. Each sets a default length, which you can change under **Rules**.

| Type | Default length |
|---|---|
| **Intro call** | 30 minutes |
| **Technical interview** | 60 minutes |
| **Team interview** | 45 minutes |
| **Final interview** | 45 minutes |

The type names the interview in the email and the calendar entry.

## Pick how it gets booked

Under **How it gets booked**, choose one of three modes:

- **Candidate picks a slot**: you paint your availability and the candidate books a slot.
- **One fixed time**: you set the time under **When**, and the candidate confirms it or asks to move it.
- **My own scheduling link**: paste a Calendly or similar link. Kendor can't see bookings made there, so the interview stays **Awaiting confirmation** until you choose **Mark confirmed**.

## Paint your availability

With **Candidate picks a slot**, drag across the grid under **Your availability** to mark the hours you're free. Times are shown in your own time zone. The label above the grid counts the bookable slots.

The settings under **Rules** decide how your painted hours become slots:

- **Slot length**: 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
- **Buffer between**: none, 10, 15 or 30 minutes. The default is 15.
- **Booking closes**: 2 to 48 hours before each slot. The default is 12.
- **Self-rebook until**: how close to the interview the candidate can still move it. Choose **Not allowed** to turn it off. The default is 24 hours before.

Kendor removes any slot that overlaps another interview for the same people: the interviewers you add, or you if nobody else is on it. It doesn't read your own Google or Outlook calendar, so paint only the hours you're actually free.

> **Tip.** Add colleagues under **Who's joining**. They're added to the calendar invitation, and their other Kendor interviews block the clashing slots.

## Choose where it happens

Under **Where**, pick one:

- **Kendor room**: Kendor's interview room, which opens in the browser. It has a video call and a shared whiteboard. To discuss a screen the candidate has taken, choose it under **Discuss their screen** and the room opens their code.
- **Your own link**: paste a Zoom, Meet or other meeting link. It goes into the invitation and the calendar entry as-is.

A **Note to the candidate** goes into the email. An **Internal note** is visible only to your team.

## Send the invitation

Choose **Schedule & draft email**. Kendor saves the interview first, then opens the email composer with the **Interview invitation, pick a time** template. Edit anything you like, then choose **Send email**. Nothing is sent until you do.

For **One fixed time**, the composer opens with **Interview invitation** instead, and the calendar file is attached.

## What the candidate sees

The email links to a booking page that belongs to that candidate. They don't need a Kendor account: the link itself gives them access.

On the page they choose a slot under **Pick a time that works**, then **Confirm this time**. Times show in their browser's time zone, and they can switch zones. If nothing works, they choose **None of these work** and tell you when they're free.

As soon as they book, the interview becomes **Confirmed** and Kendor emails them a **Booking receipt** with the calendar invitation attached. You get a notification, and so do the interviewers if the **Notify … when it's booked** box under **Automatic** is checked. A slot that isn't booked stays open for 90 days.

## The calendar invitation

The invitation is a standard `.ics` file named `interview.ics`, which most calendar apps accept. It holds the time, the length and where to join, with the candidate and the interviewers as attendees. The candidate's page and the interview's details in your Calendar also offer **Add to Google** and **Download .ics**.

For a Kendor room, the **Join now** button on the candidate's page appears 10 minutes before the start.

## Read the Calendar week view

**Calendar** shows one week at a time. Use **Today** and the arrows to move between weeks, and **Interviewer** to filter by colleague.

Interviews without a time yet appear above the grid under **Waiting on the candidate**, with the number of slots still open. Each interview carries one of these statuses:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Awaiting confirmation** | Waiting for the candidate to book or confirm |
| **Confirmed** | The candidate booked or confirmed the time |
| **New times requested** | The candidate asked for different times |
| **In progress** | The interview room is open |
| **Done**, **No-show**, **Declined**, **Canceled** | Finished, one way or another |

The chips above the grid (**Awaiting**, **Confirmed**, **Reschedule**, **Live** and so on) filter by status. By default only the open ones are on.

Select any interview to open its details. You'll find its history, the **Booking link** or **Join link** to copy, and actions such as **Mark confirmed**, **Reschedule** and **Open room**.