Using Autopilot with a shared calendar

For organizations that share recruiting and interviewing responsibilities or require multiple hiring managers to step in for one another at any given time, the following guide will help you set up Autopilot to get the most out of CareerPlug using a shared calendar.

In this article:

• What are the hiring roles associated with Autopilot?
• How do I set up Autopilot for a shared calendar?
• How do I use Autopilot Defaults with a shared calendar?
• Are there any alternative strategies?

What are the hiring roles associated with Autopilot?

When using a shared calendar to split recruiting responsibilities, it’s essential to understand the two hiring roles associated with Autopilot: Hiring Manager and Interviewer.

Hiring Manager

The Hiring Manager is the user who manually starts Autopilot — i.e., the user who clicks Begin Autopilot and then Launch — for an applicant. The Hiring Manager is responsible for setting up Autopilot before launching it.

Autopilot will text applicants using the Hiring Manager's CareerPlug phone number. They will not be introduced by name, only as the "Hiring Manager" of your company.

Interviewer

The Hiring Manager selects an Interviewer when setting up and launching Autopilot — or when setting up a job's Autopilot Defaults. Any Admin or Full Access user whose calendar is connected can be selected as the Interviewer.

The Interviewer's Working Hours (i.e., availability) determine the time slots offered to an applicant. After an applicant books a time slot, the Interviewer will receive an email notification, and the event will automatically be added to their calendar.

How do I set up Autopilot for a shared calendar?

To use your shared calendar more effectively in CareerPlug, follow the instructions below.

1. In CareerPlug, add a new user as the dedicated hiring profile for your company's shared calendar. Give it an easily recognizable name, such as "Dedicated Hiring Manager," and ensure all of your recruiting team can access it.

2. Log in as your new user and click the Connect Your Calendar button in your top navigation bar.

3. Connect your shared calendar to your dedicated hiring profile to enable Autopilot.

4. Once your shared calendar is connected, you'll want to review — and edit, if necessary — your Autopilot calendar settings. Return to the Calendars tab of My Profile and click the Edit button.

4. Review the Minimum Interview Notice for your shared calendar and, if necessary, change it using the drop-down menu. This is the minimum notice you require when an applicant schedules an interview. This will default to 1 hour.

5. Verify that your shared calendar account is selected as your Primary Calendar and, if necessary, change it using the drop-down menu. This will default to the primary calendar of whichever calendar account you connect for Autopilot.

6. Set the Working Hours for your shared user profile by clicking any of the green ("Available") blocks on your calendar, blocking out any specific time your team is unavailable for interviews — or any time you want to make your team unavailable.

When determining the time slots to offer an applicant, Autopilot looks for any existing events on your Primary Calendar and then considers the Working Hours you set. Applicants can only select time slots that are open on an Interviewer's Primary Calendar and fall within their Working Hours.

7. Once you finish configuring your calendar settings, click the Save button at the bottom of the page.

Now you have a CareerPlug profile that you can reliably use as your Interviewer without worrying about who is working during whichever time slot an applicant books their interview.

How do I use Autopilot Defaults with a shared calendar?

To effectively use your shared calendar with your Autopilot Defaults — the saved Autopilot configurations for a specific Autopilot hiring step of a specific job — follow the instructions below.

If you have set up Autopilot Defaults:

1. Navigate to your Jobs page to edit all the Autopilot Defaults you've set up for active jobs.

2. Find the job you want to edit and click the Edit button.

3. Navigate to the Hiring Settings tab.

4. Click the down arrow icon to expand and configure the Autopilot Default for any Autopilot-compatible hiring step.

5. Select your shared calendar user as the Interviewer.

6. If you've enabled Autopilot Fast Track for the job you're editing, select the user you want Autopilot text messages to be sent from using the Hiring Manager drop-down. You can select any user from the drop-down if you haven't enabled Autopilot Fast Track.

7. Finish setting up your Autopilot Default: Enter the In Person, Phone, or Video details, select how long the Interview will last for from the drop-down menu, and set the expiration date for the interview link using the Can be scheduled up to drop-down menu.

8. Set up the Autopilot Default for any other Autopilot-compatible hiring steps in your hiring process (if you have more than one).

9. Once you're done setting up your Autopilot Defaults, click the Update Job Post button in the top-right corner of the page.

If you have not set up Autopilot Defaults:

1. Navigate to your Jobs page.

2. Create a new job posting by clicking the +New Job button in the upper right corner of your Jobs page and selecting either Use a Job Template or Create From Scratch from the drop-down menu.

3. Configure your job posting as you would for any new job.

4. Once you reach the Hiring Settings tab, click the down arrow icon to expand and configure the Autopilot Default for any Autopilot-compatible hiring step.

5. Select your shared calendar user as the Interviewer.

6. If you've enabled Autopilot Fast Track for the job you're editing, select the user you want Autopilot text messages to be sent from using the Hiring Manager drop-down. You can select any user from the drop-down if you haven't enabled Autopilot Fast Track.

7. Finish setting up your Autopilot Default: Enter the In Person, Phone, or Video details, select how long the Interview will last for from the drop-down menu, and set the expiration date for the interview link using the Can be scheduled up to drop-down menu.

8. Set up the Autopilot Default for any other Autopilot-compatible hiring steps in your hiring process (if you have more than one).

9. Finish configuring your Hiring Settings tab and click the Next Section button to proceed to the Onboarding Settings tab, where you can finish configuring your job as usual.

Are there any alternative strategies?

Use a shared calendar with an existing user's profile

We don’t recommend it, but if you’re uncomfortable using a new, neutral profile for your shared calendar, you can connect a shared calendar to an existing user profile to make it your designated shared user profile. This is the user you will select as Interviewer when launching Autopilot and setting up Autopilot Defaults.

The risk associated with connecting a shared calendar to an existing user profile is that if the designated user leaves your company — or even misses a day without giving notice — you will need to get access to the designated user's profile, coordinate transferring your shared calendar to a new user profile, and select that user instead. You can imagine how complicated this could get.

Forgoing a shared calendar

You also have the option to forgo a shared calendar altogether. Instead, you could have each user connect their personal calendar, and coordinate or rotate who you select as Interviewer for each applicant. However, because an Interviewer's Working Hours (i.e., default availability) determine the times/days that an applicant can choose for their interview, we strongly recommend you do not adopt this approach since it limits the days that applicants can potentially book interviews.

Forgoing a shared calendar also limits your ability to take advantage of Autopilot Defaults with the same ease since the Interviewer would need to be manually selected every time you want to begin Autopilot for a new applicant.