Video interview instructions email: the setup details that prevent a rough start

A video interview instructions email exists to prevent the specific failure mode of a video interview: a candidate who arrives on time but loses the first five minutes to a link that doesn't work, a platform they've never used, or a microphone that isn't picking up. The invitation confirms when the interview happens; this email makes sure the candidate is technically ready when it does.

For the invitation itself, see our interview invitation email template. This page covers the setup instructions specifically — sent as its own message or as an addition to the confirmation — plus the internal version that goes to interviewers with the backup plan.

What the instructions have to cover

• The exact link, plus meeting ID or password if the platform needs one.
• Which platform, and whether an account or app install is required.
• A concrete pre-check — joining early, testing camera and mic — not a vague reminder to "test your setup."
• A backup contact for if the connection fails, with a phone number, not just an email address that won't help in the moment.
• Whether it's recorded, if it is, stated plainly rather than left to an in-call pop-up.

Subject lines

Joining details for your [Role] video interview
Your video interview for [Role]: link and setup check
Before your [Company] interview: link and a quick tech check

Agency to candidate

Subject: Joining details for your [Role] interview at [Client]

Hi [Candidate name],

Here's everything for your video interview on [Date] at [Time] [Time
zone]:

Platform: [Zoom / Teams / Meet]
Link: [URL]
[Meeting ID / passcode, if applicable]

No account or download needed — just click the link a couple of minutes
early. If you haven't used [platform] before, it may ask permission to
use your camera and microphone; accept that when prompted.

Quick check beforehand: join 2–3 minutes early and confirm your camera
and mic show up correctly in the preview screen before the interviewer
joins.

If anything goes wrong — link doesn't work, connection drops — call or
text me directly at [phone]. Don't wait on email.

[Recruiter name]
[Agency name] · [Phone]

In-house recruiter to candidate

Subject: Your video interview for [Role]: link and setup

Hi [Candidate name],

Looking forward to your interview on [Date] at [Time] [Time zone].
Details:

Platform: [Zoom / Teams / Meet]
Link: [URL]

Please join a couple of minutes early to confirm your camera and
microphone are working — the link will let you into a waiting area
before [interviewer name] joins.

This interview [will / will not] be recorded [for note-taking purposes /
to share with the hiring team]. [If recorded, add a line pointing to your
consent notice.]

If you run into any technical trouble, call [phone] and we'll sort it
out or move to a phone backup.

[Recruiter name]
[Company]

Internal: the interviewer's version with the backup plan

Subject: [Candidate name] video interview, [Date] [Time] — link and backup

Hi [Interviewer name],

[Candidate name]'s video interview is on [Date] at [Time] [Time zone].

Link: [URL]
Candidate's phone, in case the video drops: [phone]
If the connection fails on either side: [switch to phone / reschedule
same day], candidate has been told to expect this if needed.

Resume attached. Let me know if you'd like a few minutes beforehand.

[Recruiter/coordinator name]

A filled example

A tech-check line worth adding for candidates new to a platform

If you have any reason to think the candidate hasn't used your platform before — a first-time Teams user, someone whose past interviews were all on Zoom — add one short sentence rather than assuming familiarity: what happens when they click the link (does it open in browser or ask to download an app), and what permission prompts to expect. A candidate who doesn't know whether clicking "join" will download software onto their work computer sometimes hesitates right at the moment they should be joining, and a single clarifying sentence removes that hesitation before it costs them time.

Sending it separately from the confirmation, or folded in

For a straightforward single interview, folding the setup instructions into the confirmation email is fine and keeps the candidate from juggling two messages. For a multi-session panel or an onsite day with a video component partway through, send the instructions as their own message closer to the date, since a candidate managing a full day of logistics benefits from the technical details arriving separately from the schedule rather than buried inside it.

The backup plan, spelled out rather than implied

"Let us know if you have any issues" is not a backup plan; it's a reaction, and it only works if the candidate can actually reach someone at the moment things go wrong. A real backup plan names a phone number that will be answered during the interview window, and says what happens next: does the interview move to a phone call, get pushed back 15 minutes, or reschedule entirely. Give this to the candidate before the interview, not as an apology afterward, and give the interviewer the mirror version so both sides know the plan matches.

Lighting and framing, worth one gentle line

Most candidates already know to check their lighting and camera angle, but a first-time video interviewee sometimes does not, and it costs one sentence to help: sit facing a window or lamp rather than with it behind you, and position the camera roughly at eye level rather than looking down from a laptop on a low table. This is not a requirement to state, and it should never read as a grading criterion, just a small, genuinely useful tip that helps a nervous candidate show up looking and feeling more prepared.

What changes for a phone-first fallback

Some interviews are conducted as video with phone as an explicit fallback rather than an afterthought — useful for a candidate on an unreliable home connection, or a role where you already suspect video may not work smoothly. If that's the plan, say so upfront rather than waiting to suggest it after a failed video attempt: "if your connection is spotty, we're happy to do this as a phone call instead — just let me know before we start." Naming the option in advance removes any awkwardness a candidate might feel about a video call not working on their end.

Accommodations, offered rather than assumed away

A video interview instructions email is a natural place to offer an accommodation without making the candidate ask for one first: captions, extra time, or a written copy of questions in advance for a candidate who processes spoken information better with text alongside it. A single line, such as offering to turn on live captions or to share the question topics ahead of time on request, costs nothing to include and signals that asking is welcome rather than an imposition. For the fuller policy on this, see our guide to ADA accommodations in interviews.

The common mistake

The most common mistake is sending only a calendar invite with an auto-generated video link and nothing else, assuming that's sufficient instruction. A calendar invite tells a candidate's software when to join; it says nothing about whether an account is needed, what to expect when they click, or who to call if it breaks. The candidates who arrive composed and ready are usually the ones who received a short, specific set of instructions beforehand, not the ones who figured it out from a bare link.