How HireVation works, step by step

What HireVation is

HireVation is an online platform for screening job candidates with real skills tests, one-way video interviews and live AI-assisted interviews, with all results in one place.

Recruiter quick start (SOP)

The standard way to run a hiring round on HireVation, from an empty account to a hiring decision.

1. Create the assessment. Press Start from a role pack and pick the job (for example IT Support, Customer Support, Sales or a developer stack). You get a ready screening from our question bank and skills tests. Or press New assessment to build your own.
2. Review the questions. Remove, add or reorder questions, add your own or import them from Excel or CSV (up to 500 rows). An assessment holds up to 45 questions.
3. Choose the settings. Camera-on (proctored) or not, one go or breaks allowed, up to 3 days candidates may choose, the voice for video questions, and an optional company introduction.
4. Invite candidates. Copy the open link and share it anywhere, or invite by email (up to 50 at a time). Each emailed invite has its own private link.
5. Watch progress. The Candidates list shows who started and finished. Switch on alerts in Settings to get an email, Slack or Teams message when someone finishes.
6. Review the results. Open a candidate for the score, rank, topic scores, every answer, recordings and any warnings. Press Compare to see people side by side.
7. Shortlist. Open Shortlist, set a pass mark and how many to suggest, and approve the names you want. You can share the shortlist with a hiring manager through a link that expires.
8. Interview the best. Press Live interview (left menu, Home or Assessments), pick a candidate and send the link. The AI prepares questions from their result.
9. Decide. Compare the test result, the interview score and the AI summary, then make your decision. HireVation never contacts or rejects candidates on its own.

Candidate quick start

1. Open your link from the email or from the recruiter. A personal invite asks you to confirm your name and email; an open link sends you a one-time code.
2. Check your computer. Use a laptop or desktop with a recent Chrome or Edge browser, one screen only and a steady internet connection. Video and camera-on tests also need a camera and microphone.
3. Read the rules and agree. If the employer allows it, choose the day you will take the test.
4. Take a start photo (only for video and camera-on tests).
5. Answer the questions. Watch the countdown at the top. Answers are final once saved.
6. Get your result. At the end you receive a reference number and your performance sheet.

Assessment types

One assessment can mix any of these, up to 45 questions. Each is marked in the way that suits it.

Multiple-choice questions

Multiple-choice questions are the backbone of most screenings: quick to answer, objective to mark and easy to compare.

Where questions come from

• The question bank: thousands of questions written for this platform across 44 tracks and three levels (entry, mid and senior). They are not copied from exam providers.
• Your own questions: write them in the editor, or import an Excel or CSV file of up to 500 rows. They are saved under Your company's questions for reuse.

How candidates answer

• One question at a time, each with its own time limit, all adding up to one overall countdown.
• Questions move one way only: once an answer is saved it is final. A skipped question turns red so it can be answered before finishing.
• The right answers never reach the candidate's browser, so they cannot be found in the page.

How they are marked

Our server compares each answer with the key. For questions with several right answers, the choice must match exactly. The multiple-choice part of the score is the percentage of these questions answered correctly.

Hands-on tasks, coding and games

Hands-on IT tasks put candidates in front of realistic screens: find an IP address, type commands, change DNS settings, clear a browser cache, put troubleshooting steps in order or match connectors. Coding tasks use real code in C#/.NET, Java, C++, Django, Python, Ruby on Rails, React and Node.js: fill gaps, spot the buggy line, say what the code prints, order lines and read errors. Cognitive games measure memory, reaction speed, number series, focus, mental maths, N-back, visual search and task switching.

Scoring, step by step

• Every step allows two tries. Right first time: full marks. Right on the second try: part marks, with a hint.
• After a second wrong try the step is saved as not solved and the candidate moves on.
• Games create new numbers every time, so answers cannot be shared between candidates.

Skills lab and English

The skills lab adds structured tests beyond the question bank: reasoning (numbers, words, logic), situational judgement, personality and work style, typing and data entry, spreadsheets, structured behaviour questions, case studies and in-tray exercises, English writing, speaking and listening, and role-plays with a simulated customer, manager or prospect.

• Personality and work style have no right answers, so they are shown as a profile and never count towards the overall score.
• English speaking: the candidate answers aloud, the browser turns speech into text, and the text is rated on task, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and clarity. Accent and pronunciation are not judged. If speech cannot be captured, the candidate may type and the recruiter is told.
• Role-plays are rated against a published scale, and the recruiter sees the whole conversation.
• Typing tests block pasting.

One-way video interviews

In a one-way video interview the candidate records answers alone, at a time that suits them. You watch the answers later, as often as you like.

How it works

1. You add video questions to an assessment and choose a natural female or male voice. Each question has its own time limit; video answers can total up to 30 minutes.
2. The candidate takes a start photo, so you can check the same person answers every question. A black or covered photo is refused.
3. Each question is shown and read aloud. The candidate records in the browser, can pause and resume, watch it back and re-record before saving.
4. The browser turns speech into text while they speak. To keep them calm, they only see a word count, not the words.
5. You review: watch each answer, read the transcript and see the AI's suggested rating with its notes.

How video answers are scored

The AI never watches the video. It rates only the words in the transcript against a published 1–5 scale. It does not judge faces, emotions, body language, voice or accent. You always have the recording and can change any rating.

Proctoring and integrity

Several checks work together to keep results trustworthy. You can switch camera-on proctoring on or off for each assessment.

Recordings are deleted automatically 60 days after the assessment.

Breaks, dates and company introduction

• One go or breaks: choose for each assessment. With breaks allowed, candidates may pause after finishing a part (a game, skills test, technical or coding task). The countdown stops during the break, and they can continue on the same page, or later the same day with Save & exit or an emailed link.
• Choose the day: offer up to 3 days. Each candidate picks one and takes the whole assessment that day, in their own time zone. If they pick a later day, they are emailed the link for it.
• Company introduction: add text, a PDF, a Word file or a picture. Candidates see it after the rules, page by page, and press Next to start.

Live interviews (two-way)

A real video conversation with a candidate, in the browser, with an AI interview assistant at your side. You ask the questions; the AI prepares, takes notes and summarises.

SOP: running a live interview

1. Start. Press Live interview in the left menu, on Home or in Assessments, or open a candidate and press Live interview. Pick a candidate who took a test, or choose New person: enter their name and email, the job title, and upload their resume and the job description (PDF, Word or pasted text). New people appear in your Candidates list as “interview only” and do not use your assessment allowance.
2. Set it up. Choose a time (optional) and the length (15 to 60 minutes), whether to record, and whether to use the transcript and AI summary. Press Create interview once: the AI needs a few seconds to write the guide.
3. Send the link. Tick Email the join link, or press Copy candidate link to send it yourself. The candidate needs no account or app.
4. Prepare. Open the room. The Guide tab has 6 to 8 questions: a warm-up, role questions, follow-ups on the candidate's weaker test topics (or, for a new person, on job requirements the resume does not clearly show), behaviour questions and time for their questions. Change or add questions as you like. The Test result tab shows their score, strengths and topics to probe; for a new person it is the Resume & job tab.
5. Interview. Press Start. Ask the questions in order, follow up freely, and give 1–5 for Role knowledge, Problem solving and Communication as you go. Private notes save as you type. Colleagues on your team can join the same room (up to 6 people).
6. End. Press End interview. HireVation counts the minutes, collects the recording and transcript, and writes the summary.
7. Decide. Read the summary next to your own scores, watch parts of the recording if needed, and compare with other candidates.

What the AI summary contains

• A short overview, strengths and possible concerns.
• A one-line summary of each answer.
• A suggested 1–5 score for each criterion, with the evidence from the conversation.
• Up to three questions for a next round.

Your scores are averaged into an interview score out of 5, shown on the summary, in the Candidates list (Columns → Interview score) and in Compare. The AI's scores are suggestions shown next to yours; they never replace them.

Minutes and recordings

• Minutes count only while you and the candidate are both in the room, rounded up to whole minutes. Starter 100, Pro 250, Business 550, Enterprise 1,200 minutes a month.
• Recordings are usually ready a few minutes after the interview and are deleted after 60 days; scores, notes, transcript and summary stay.
• The transcript is made on secure servers, works best in English with clear audio, and may miss names or technical words, so check the recording when something matters.

Live interviews: a guide for candidates

1. Open the link in your invitation email. There is no account or app. You can join up to 15 minutes early.
2. Check your setup on the join page: camera preview, microphone and internet checks. It also tells you if the interview is recorded and that an AI assistant helps the team take notes.
3. Join and talk. The interviewer asks the questions. Screen sharing and chat are available if needed.
4. If your internet drops, open the same link again to come straight back.

Tips: a laptop works best; sit near your router or use a cable; close other video apps; use headphones in a noisy place. In a live interview with a person, the AI does not speak to you. If the company chose an AI interviewer, you are told before you start, and you can ask for a person instead. The AI never decides the outcome: the hiring team does.

The AI interviewer

For first interviews, an AI interviewer can ask the questions for you. The candidate takes it any time before your deadline; you review the recording, transcript and summary later.

SOP for recruiters

1. Start. Press Live interview, pick a candidate (or a New person with their resume and the job description) and choose AI interviewer.
2. Set it up. Choose the deadline (3 days by default), the length (10 to 30 minutes), the voice and the interviewer's name. The name is remembered for your company. Press Send AI interview.
3. Wait. The candidate gets an email that explains clearly that an AI will interview them. The Live interviews page shows “Waiting”, “In progress” or “Done”.
4. Review. Open the interview: the AI summary is made automatically the first time you open it, with suggested scores and evidence. Read the transcript (interviewer and candidate are colour-coded), watch the recording, and click 1 to 5 to give your score for each area, or press Use the AI suggestions as my scores. You decide.

What the candidate experiences

• A page that says what will happen: an AI interviewer (not a person), recorded answers, people decide, nothing judged but the words. They tick to agree.
• A camera and microphone check, then the interviewer (a glowing orb) greets them, introduces your company and the role in about 15 seconds (taken from your job description), and asks the first question out loud. The question also stays on screen.
• They answer naturally and see the words being heard on screen. After about 5 seconds of silence (a countdown shows, so they can keep talking), or when they press I've finished my answer, the interviewer continues: one short follow-up if the answer was vague, otherwise the next question. They can press Repeat the question.
• Their questions are answered. At the end, and once or twice during the interview, the candidate can ask about the job: pay, hours, location, the team. The interviewer answers only from your job description; anything it does not say, it passes to your team. So include those details in the job description.
• If their browser cannot turn speech into text, they can type their answers.
• Prefer a person? On the first page they can ask for an interview with a person instead. You are emailed straight away, and the interview shows “Asked for a person”.

How it decides what to ask

The questions come from the same structured guide as a live interview. After each answer a fast AI model decides only one thing: move on, or ask one short follow-up on the same topic. It treats the candidate's words as information, never as instructions; it never says whether an answer was right, never gives scores during the interview, and never asks about personal traits. When the time is nearly up, it closes the interview politely.

Booking interview times

Switch on scheduling under Assessments → Scheduling and add the times you are free. Candidates get a link to pick a slot, receive a reminder the day before, and you see who booked what. Tick Hold booked interviews in HireVation's live interview room and every booking gets its own live room, join links in the emails and calendar invites, and an AI guide prepared in advance.

How results are worked out

1. Each part is marked

• Multiple choice and true/false: percentage answered correctly.
• Hands-on tasks, coding, games and scored skills-lab tests: each gets a score from 0 to 100 from its step-by-step marking; tasks not attempted count as 0. Open exercises waiting for a rating are left out until rated, never counted as 0.
• Written and video answers: the AI suggests a rating on a 1–5 scale, turned into a percentage; a recruiter can change it.
• Personality and work-style profiles are never part of the score.

2. The overall score

The parts are combined into one percentage, weighted by how many questions or tasks each part has, so a part with 20 questions counts more than a part with 2.

When a recruiter changes a rating, the overall score is worked out again straight away.

3. Rank and recommendation

Finished candidates in the same assessment are ranked by overall score. The performance sheet also shows the score for each topic, strengths and gaps, time taken, and the answers (for recruiters).

4. Live interview score

Separate from the test: the average of your 1–5 ratings for Role knowledge, Problem solving and Communication, out of 5.

Reviewing and shortlisting

• Candidate view: score, rank, topic scores, every answer, transcripts, video answers, session recordings, the start photo, AI notes and warnings.
• Compare: people side by side, including the live interview score.
• Shortlist: set a pass mark and a number; HireVation suggests the best finished candidates with any warnings. Nothing happens until you approve.
• Hiring-manager link: share approved names (and, if you allow, scores) through a link that expires in 3 to 30 days. Managers pick Interview, Maybe or No; you see their picks and get an email. No email addresses, answers or recordings are shared.
• Analytics and export: see where your candidate pool is strong or weak and download everything as CSV.
• Alerts: email (up to five addresses), Slack or Microsoft Teams when a candidate finishes.

AI and fairness

• AI is used to rate written and spoken words, write live interview guides and summaries, and help candidates polish their own resume text on request.
• It never watches video and never judges faces, emotions, body language, voice tone or accent.
• It never rejects, emails or moves anyone forward. People decide.
• Age, gender, nationality, religion and similar traits are never asked for or used.
• HireVation has not yet had an independent bias audit. Check the rules where you hire (for example New York City Local Law 144 or the EU AI Act) and keep a person in charge.

Read the full Fair use of AI page.

Taking an assessment

Before you start

• Laptop or desktop, recent Chrome or Edge, one screen only (unplug extra monitors).
• Steady internet; close other apps, chats and notifications.
• For video or camera-on tests: working camera and microphone, good light, a quiet room.

During the test

• Stay on the test tab: leaving it is counted, and repeated leaving can send you back to question 1 or end the test.
• Watch the countdown at the top; when it reaches zero your answers are sent.
• Answers are final once saved. Red numbers mean skipped questions you can still answer.
• If breaks are allowed, you may pause after finishing a part; the countdown stops during the break.

After the test

• You get a reference number and your performance sheet. Open it again for 90 days at Find my report with your reference and email.
• Your video recordings can be watched from your candidate area for 30 days.
• The employer who invited you makes the decision. If something went wrong, ask the recruiter to review your answers.

Practice, Premium and your resume

• Free account: see and apply for jobs, upload and change your resume, the free resume templates, and one proctored assessment for the role you want (camera on) with an overview and improvement advice.
• Candidate Premium ($12.00 a month): every month, 2 technical assessments with Verified Skills Reports employers can check online and 2 personality or English tests. Also full answer review, interview preparation from your resume, a private vault to share your best results, and all Pro resume templates. Request it in your portal.
• Resume builder: free with 2 templates, PDF and Word download; Pro adds 39 templates, photo, links, extra sections, colours and Improve with AI. Open the resume builder.
• Jobs: apply on the Jobs board with your saved resume and set job alerts. Your test results are shared only if you agree.

Plans and allowances

One assessment = one candidate taking one assessment of any type: questions, video, camera-on, games, hands-on or coding. There are no extra charges for video or proctoring.

Add-ons: top up any time

If you need more in a month, buy a prepaid pack. Your plan's allowance is always used first; add-on credits are used only after that, and stay valid for 12 months.

How to buy: Plan & pricing → Add-ons → choose a pack → Request. Online payment is not switched on yet, so we email you how to pay and switch the pack on as soon as payment arrives. Your credits are shown on Home and on the Plan page.

*Monthly price divided by the monthly allowance, when you use all of it. Business and Enterprise include team accounts for up to 10 recruiters. Current prices are always on the pricing section.

How our prices compare

Entry-level list prices of well-known assessment and video interview platforms, as published by the company or reported by the review sites linked below. Plans differ in what they include, so compare at your own volume.

What this means in practice

• Cost per candidate: at full use, HireVation Starter works out at about $0.75 per assessment. Testlify Standard's 100 yearly credits at $1,668 are about $16.68 each, and HackerRank Starter's 120 yearly attempts at $1,200 are about $10 each.
• Everything in one allowance: on HireVation, video and camera-on tests use the same allowance as any other assessment, with no per-attempt fees.
• Live interviews included: every paid HireVation plan includes live interview minutes with the AI assistant.

• TestGorilla: Compono buyer's guide (updated 18 Oct 2026)
• Testlify: testlify.com/pricing (checked 3 Nov 2026)
• HackerRank: Lodely, HackerRank pricing 2026 (Mar 2026, third-party)
• Spark Hire: Noon, Spark Hire pricing 2026 (28 Sep 2026)
• Willo: SelectSoftware Reviews (21 Oct 2026)
• Vervoe: Compono buyer's guide (30 Sep 2026)
• HireVue: Hireflix pricing overview (Mar 2026)

Data and privacy

• Data is kept in a secure cloud database and private file storage. Recordings open only through short-lived private links for the hiring team.
• Assessment and interview recordings are deleted automatically after 60 days.
• We do not sell personal data, run advertising trackers or share data for advertising.
• To delete your data, email support@hirevation.com from the address you used. Recruiters can also delete assessments and candidates in the app.

Full details: Security & data and Privacy Policy.

Glossary

Get help

Ask Sarah, the chat assistant in the corner of the homepage and inside the app, any time. If she cannot help, she passes your message to our team. You can also email support@hirevation.com or read the FAQ.