# Interview Retake

> HeyMilo allows you to offer interview retakes when it makes sense. This helps reduce false negatives, improves candidate experience, and gives you cleaner signal without reopening the entire workflow.

## What Interview Retakes Do

When enabled, candidates who don’t pass an interview stage can be given **one or more retry attempts**.

<figure><img src="/files/UgsVcDwiKl4tZh8YYe7d" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

This is useful when:

* a candidate had a technical issue
* nerves affected performance
* the role is high-volume and you want to avoid premature drop-off
* you want to confirm signal before disqualifying someone

Retakes are optional and fully controlled by you.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Important:** Interview retakes must be configured when the interview experience is created. They can’t be added or changed after an agent is created.
{% endhint %}

## What You Can Configure

You control two things:

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Max Retakes" %}
Set how many additional attempts a candidate is allowed.

* Example: `1` = one retry after the initial attempt
* Set to `0` to disable retakes entirely

Limits & ranges:

* **Max retakes:** 0–10
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Cooldown Period (Days)" %}
Set how long a candidate must wait before retrying.

* `0 days` = immediate retry
* Short cooldowns work well for quick corrections or technical issues
* Longer cooldowns help prevent rushing or memorized responses

Limits & ranges:

* **Cooldown:** from **near-immediate (≈0 days)** up to **100 days**
  {% endtab %}
  {% endtabs %}

## Where to Find This Setting

When creating or editing an interview experience:

{% stepper %}
{% step %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Step 1**</mark> Go to **Create Interviewer**

<figure><img src="/files/8LEmeP6sKrL7RSkQb3xi" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Step 2**</mark> Once you’re in the **Interview Stages** tab

* Scroll to **Timeline & Completion**
  {% endstep %}

{% step %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Step 3**</mark> Enable **Interview Retake**
{% endstep %}

{% step %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Step 4**</mark> Set:

* **Max retakes**
* **Cooldown (days)**
  {% endstep %}
  {% endstepper %}

This applies per interview experience.

### Allowing a Retake For an Individual Candidate

Retake policy is set per interview experience when you create or edit the agent. You can also grant or adjust retakes **per candidate** from the dashboard.

<figure><img src="/files/NMcpN2aSXZ4u0qRfhWWU" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Inside a **candidate profile**, open the **Actions** menu and choose **Allow Retake**. There you can set max retakes and cooldown for that candidate only.

This **overrides** the agent’s retake setting for that candidate. For example, if the agent is set to no retakes (max retakes = 0), you can still allow a retake for one candidate (e.g. after a technical issue) without changing the agent. If the agent already allows retakes, the per-candidate setting lets you give that person a different limit or cooldown.

See Scorecards & Analysis for where to find the **Allow Retake** action on the candidate profile.

## How Recruiters Use Retakes Effectively

<details>

<summary><strong>Use retakes when:</strong></summary>

* accuracy matters more than speed
* candidates are unfamiliar with AI interviews
* the role has a tight talent pool
* interviews are short and structured

</details>

<details>

<summary><strong>Avoid retakes when:</strong></summary>

* you need strict pass/fail enforcement
* compliance requires a single attempt
* interviews are long or resource-heavy

</details>

<details>

<summary>A common setup looks like:</summary>

* **1 retake**
* **0–1 day cooldown**

This balances fairness with efficiency.

</details>

## What Candidates Experience

* Candidates clearly see when a retake is available
* They cannot exceed the limit you set
* Retakes follow the same scoring and evaluation rules
* Previous attempts remain visible to reviewers

Nothing is overwritten or hidden.

## Key Takeaway

Interview retakes help you:

* reduce false rejections
* improve candidate trust
* get clearer signal before making decisions

Use them intentionally, keep limits tight, and test once before going live.

If you’re unsure, start with **1 retake + short cooldown** and adjust from there.

## Additional resources

For additional information not covered here, or if you need live assistance, reach out to <support@heymilo.ai>.


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