Schedule interviews, collect references, and convert an applicant

Understand the outcome

Interviews, references, decision, and conversion all stay on one applicant record.

Recruiting (formerly Applications Flow) is applicant tracking for Fire and EMS departments. Build branded public Application Hubs, review submissions, schedule interviews, collect references, run Smart Scan review checks, message applicants, and convert approved candidates into personnel. Applicants use an email-code applicant portal and never need a department account.

Before you begin

Make the decision before changing the screen. Record the current configuration when the department already uses this feature, and use a test record or test account when the change can affect active members.

• Prepare scorecards and reference questions.
• Set up interview availability pools.
• Publish an Onboarding program.

Where to work and what access you need

Start from the portal destination named in the procedure. Administrators normally need permission to view Recruiting plus the specific create, edit, manage, approve, report, or all-record action used by the task. Visibility alone does not grant management access.

• Submissions/officer-hub/applications/submissions
• Submission detail/officer-hub/applications/submissions/:id
• To review/officer-hub/applications/review-queue
• Interviews/officer-hub/applications/interviews
• Interview pools/officer-hub/applications/interviews/pools
• Hubs/officer-hub/applications/hubs
• Hub builder/officer-hub/applications/hubs/:id
• Templates/officer-hub/applications/templates
• Reports/officer-hub/applications/reports
• Settings/officer-hub/applications/settings
• Public application/apply/:org/:hub
• Applicant portal/applicant

Required foundation

• Core must be enabled and correctly configured before this workflow can operate reliably.

If your department uses custom roles, test the procedure with that role—not only with a full administrator account. This confirms the people responsible for daily operations can complete the workflow without receiving unrelated access.

Complete the task

1. Step 1Offer interview times

   Send the applicant a booking link to your availability pool.

2. Step 2Interview

   Interviewers complete weighted scorecards; mark no-shows.

3. Step 3Request references

   Send reference questionnaires and follow up as needed.

4. Step 4Decide

   Record the outcome.

5. Step 5Convert

   Create the member account and assign role, station, and supervisor.

6. Step 6Start onboarding

   Assign the Onboarding program to the new member.

Operational safeguards

Apply these module-level controls while completing the procedure. They prevent a technically saved configuration from becoming an operational or access problem later.

• Control point
  Define stages and decision authority before building forms.
• Control point
  Mark sensitive fields and limit who can view them.
• Control point
  Set reviewer counts and deadlines.
• Control point
  Test the public form, email verification, save-and-resume, and phone layout.
• Control point
  Plan interview and reference follow-up; reminders are not sent automatically.
• Control point
  Publish an Onboarding program before your first conversion.

Verify the result

Do not consider the setup complete merely because the save action succeeded. Confirm the behavior from the user-facing or operational view, then retain evidence of the test when department policy requires it.

• Interview and reference results are on the record.
• The new member account exists.
• Onboarding is assigned.

If any verification fails, return to the source configuration and correct it there. Do not edit a report or downstream record to conceal an incorrect setup.

Troubleshooting

Applicant can’t open the booking link

Send a new request.

A document must be replaced

Send a single-use replacement link.

Onboarding didn’t start

Conversion doesn’t start onboarding; assign it.

Related Recruiting capabilities

This task sits inside a larger module workflow. These related capabilities may affect the result or provide the next administrative step:

• Branded public Application Hubs across 17 hub types
• Form builder with about 40 field types, drag-to-reorder, show/hide follow-ups, email verification, and field sensitivity levels
• Save-and-resume and document uploads for applicants
• Submissions with filters, tags, priority, stages, and internal or applicant-visible notes
• Reviewer assignments with deadlines, a To-review queue, recommendations, and majority votes
• Interview availability pools applicants book themselves, weighted scorecards, and no-show tracking
• Reference questionnaires and single-use document replacement links
• Smart Scan: rules-based (not AI) completeness and document checks that raise flags for reviewers
• Applicant email with 14 template types, variables, attachments, and a delivery log
• Conversion that creates the account and assigns role, station, and supervisor

Use the module hub to open the dedicated procedure associated with any capability listed here.

Connected modules and downstream effects

A change here can alter what members see, what data appears in reports, or how another module completes its workflow. Review the connected areas below before making a department-wide change.

• OnboardingVersioned programs with stages, tasks, dependencies, approvals, and progress tracking.
• TrainingEvents, attendance, hours and CE, certificates, self-logged training, and compliance.

After deployment, test one complete workflow from the originating module through every connected destination your department uses. Document the final configuration so another administrator can audit or reproduce it later.

Continue in Recruiting

Return to the Recruiting module guide for connected workflows, dependencies, portal destinations, and additional procedures.