Understanding Candidate Compare

Candidate Compare is an AI-powered chat interface that helps you analyze and compare interviewed candidates for a specific role. Ask natural language questions about your candidates and receive intelligent responses backed by interview data.

Overview

When you're evaluating multiple candidates for a role, Candidate Compare provides a conversational way to explore their strengths, weaknesses, and how they stack up against each other. Instead of manually reviewing each interview transcript, you can ask questions like "Who gave specific examples in their answers?" or "Whose experience matches the role requirements?" and get instant, evidence-based responses.

The feature uses AI to analyze completed interview transcripts and provide insights with direct links to the relevant parts of each candidate's interview.

Prerequisites

Before using Candidate Compare, ensure you have:

• A role with at least one completed interview
• Candidates whose interviews have been processed by the AI (status shows as complete)
• Owner, Recruiter, or Hiring Manager permissions (Team members without role-level access cannot use this feature)

Getting Started

Follow these steps to compare candidates for a role:

1. Navigate to the role you want to analyze
2. Access Candidate Compare in one of two ways:
   • Click the Actions menu and select Compare Candidates
   • Use the Candidate Insights input at the bottom of the role detail page and type a question directly
3. The Compare Candidates page loads with:
   • A greeting message based on the time of day
   • Up to 6 candidates automatically selected
   • Sample questions to help you get started
4. Review the candidate list on the left panel—each card shows the candidate's name, interview count, and a brief AI-generated summary
5. Select or deselect candidates by clicking their cards to include or exclude them from your comparison
6. Type your question in the chat input or click a sample question to begin
7. View the AI response, which includes links to evidence from interview transcripts
8. Continue asking follow-up questions—your conversation history is preserved

Understanding the Interface

Candidate Compare uses a two-panel layout:

Left Panel - Candidate List

• Displays all eligible candidates for the role
• Each candidate card shows their name, an avatar, and a brief summary of their interview performance
• Candidates with AI analysis appear first, sorted alphabetically
• Click a card to select or deselect that candidate for comparison

Right Panel - Chat Interface

• Shows your conversation history with the AI
• Displays streaming responses as they're generated
• Includes clickable links to evidence from transcripts
• Provides sample questions when you first load the page

Selecting Candidates

You control which candidates are included in each comparison:

• Default selection: The first 6 candidates with AI summaries are automatically selected
• No maximum limit: You can select as many candidates as you want
• Toggle selection: Click a candidate card to include or exclude them
• Changes apply immediately: Your next question will only consider the currently selected candidates

Note: Only candidates who have completed interviews with AI analysis are available for comparison. Candidates with withdrawn or rejected applications do not appear.

Asking Questions

You can ask questions in natural language. Here are some effective approaches:

Comparing specific attributes:

• "Who has the most relevant experience for this role?"
• "Which candidates demonstrated strong problem-solving skills?"
• "Who gave the most specific examples in their answers?"

Understanding strengths and weaknesses:

• "What are each candidate's key strengths?"
• "Are there any concerns about these candidates?"
• "Who described working effectively with teammates?"

Making decisions:

• "Based on the interviews, who would you recommend moving forward?"
• "Which candidates mentioned relevant skills or training?"
• "Whose answers referenced learning from past mistakes?"

The AI provides responses with evidence links—click these to see the exact quotes from interview transcripts that support the analysis.

Common Use Cases

Here are typical scenarios for using Candidate Compare:

• Narrowing down a large candidate pool: When you have many interviewed candidates, use Compare to quickly identify top performers based on specific criteria
• Preparing for hiring discussions: Generate summaries and comparisons to share with your hiring team before making decisions
• Validating impressions: Confirm or challenge your initial impressions by asking the AI to find supporting evidence in the transcripts
• Identifying specific skills: Ask targeted questions about technical skills, soft skills, or experience areas relevant to your role

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions when using Candidate Compare:

Problem: "Compare Candidates" option doesn't appear in the Actions menu Solution: Verify you have Owner, Recruiter, or Hiring Manager permissions for this role. Team members without specific role access cannot use this feature.

Problem: No candidates appear in the comparison list Solution: Ensure the role has completed interviews. Candidates only appear after their interviews have been processed by the AI. Check that applications haven't been withdrawn or rejected.

Problem: A specific candidate is missing from the list Solution: The candidate must have at least one completed interview with AI analysis. If the interview was recently completed, wait a few minutes for processing to finish.

Problem: The AI says there aren't any interviewed candidates Solution: Make sure at least one candidate is selected in the left panel. If all candidates are deselected, the AI cannot provide comparisons.

Problem: Response seems incomplete or cuts off Solution: Try refreshing the page and asking your question again. If the issue persists, try rephrasing your question to be more specific.

Best Practices

Follow these recommendations for effective candidate comparisons:

• Be specific in your questions: Instead of "Tell me about the candidates," ask "Which candidates have experience leading teams of 5 or more people?"
• Select relevant candidates: Deselect candidates who aren't relevant to your current question to get more focused responses
• Use evidence links: Click the links in responses to verify the AI's analysis against actual interview content
• Ask follow-up questions: Build on previous responses to dig deeper into specific areas
• Start fresh when needed: Right-click in the chat area and select Clear Conversation to start a new analysis
• Combine with manual review: Use Compare to identify candidates worth deeper investigation, then review their full interviews

Additional Resources

• Understanding User Permission Levels
• Managing Candidates and Applications
• Reviewing Interview Results

FAQs

Q: How many candidates can I compare at once? A: There's no maximum limit. You can select as many candidates as you want, though comparing fewer candidates may yield more focused insights.

Q: Is my conversation history saved? A: Yes, your conversation is preserved for each role. When you return to Compare Candidates for the same role, you'll see your previous conversation.

Q: Can I share comparison results with my team? A: Currently, conversations are individual and not shareable directly. To share insights, you can copy relevant responses and share them through your preferred communication channels.

Q: What if a candidate has multiple interviews? A: The AI analyzes all completed interviews for each candidate. You'll see an interview count badge on candidates with multiple interviews.

Q: How current is the AI's information? A: The AI uses the latest processed interview data. If an interview was just completed, allow a few minutes for processing before the data appears in comparisons.

Q: Can Team members use Candidate Compare? A: Team members can only use Candidate Compare if they have been granted Hiring Manager or manage permissions on the specific role. Basic team member access does not include this feature.