> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.talview.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How to use Interview Insights to Evaluate Candidates
Making a hiring decision requires weighing multiple data points, how the candidate performed, where they excelled, where they struggled, and whether their profile aligns with the role. Talview's Interview Insights consolidates all of this into a single view, giving you the information you need to confidently recommend whether to advance, hold, or pass on a candidate.
In this article, you will learn how to use the different components of Interview Insights to arrive at a well-informed hiring decision and submit your recommendation.
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### Before You Begin
Make sure you have:
* Logged in to Workflow Tools with your recruiter or evaluator credentials.
* Open the **Interview Summary** page for a candidate with a completed interview.
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### Step-by-Step Guide
**1. Start with the overall Interview Summary**
On the **Overview** tab, read the **Interview Summary** paragraph at the top.
* This gives you the high-level narrative of the interview - what happened, how the candidate responded overall, and how the session ended.
* Ask yourself: does this summary leave you with a positive, neutral, or cautious impression? Use that as your starting frame of reference.
**2. Weigh the Strengths against the Areas of Improvement**
Review the **Strengths** and **Areas of Improvement** sections together rather than in isolation.
* Count isn't everything a candidate with three strengths and five areas of improvement isn't automatically a rejection. What matters is relevance. One strength that directly addresses a critical role requirement can outweigh multiple weaknesses in peripheral areas.
* Similarly, a single area of improvement in a must-have skill for the role may be a significant concern even if the rest of the interview went well.
**3. Check alignment with the job description**
Click the **Job Description Preview** icon in the top-right action bar to open the role's requirements.
* Map the candidate's strengths and weaknesses to the specific skills and qualifications listed in the job description.
* Focus on the non-negotiable requirements first. If the candidate's weaknesses fall primarily in nice-to-have areas, the overall picture may still be strong.
**4. Review the Key Discussion Points for depth**
Scroll through the **Key Discussion Points** to understand how the candidate handled each topic.
* Look for patterns. Did the candidate struggle across most topics, or were the issues concentrated in one or two areas? Scattered issues across many topics may indicate a broader readiness concern, while a concentrated gap might be addressable through training or a follow-up assessment.
* Pay attention to how the candidate responded when challenged, did they recover, ask clarifying questions, and work through problems, or did they stall?
**5. Factor in the Competency Scores**
Expand the **Candidate Performance** section and review the competency-wise scores.
* These scores give you a structured, numerical perspective to complement the qualitative insights in the summary sections above.
* If a candidate's competency scores are consistently strong but the Areas of Improvement section calls out a few specific moments, the overall signal may still be positive. Conversely, if scores are low across the board, the qualitative sections are likely to confirm that pattern.
**6. Consider the Recommended Next Steps**
Review the **Recommended Next Steps** section before making your final decision.
* If the AI suggests significant follow-up actions, such as re-running a technical exercise or asking for additional work samples, consider whether a **Hold** recommendation might be more appropriate than a definitive Select or Turn Down. This gives the hiring team the option to gather more information before committing.
* If the recommendations are minor or confirmatory in nature (e.g., clarifying a specific experience claim), they're unlikely to change the overall direction of your decision.
**7. Verify the candidate's identity**
Before finalizing your decision, switch to the **Verification** tab and confirm the candidate's face authentication status.
* A **Passed** status confirms the candidate's identity was verified throughout the session.
* If the authentication raised any flags, factor that into your decision and flag it for the recruiting team.
**8. Watch key moments from the recording**
If any part of the AI-generated insights feels unclear or you want to validate a specific data point, play back the interview recording in the left panel.
* Focus on the moments related to the candidate's strongest strengths or most concerning weaknesses. Watching even a few minutes of relevant footage can add confidence to your decision.
**9. Submit your recommendation**
Once you've reviewed all the available insights and are confident in your assessment, click the **Evaluate** button in the top-right corner.
* A side panel will open where you can:
* Write detailed comments summarizing your reasoning.
* Fill out an evaluation form, if one is configured for this step.
* Select your recommendation: **Select** (advance the candidate), **Turn Down** (do not recommend), or **Hold** (reserve for further consideration).
* Your recommendation, along with your comments, will be visible to recruiters and other stakeholders in the workflow dashboard.
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**Additional Tips**
* There's no single "right" section to base your decision on. The value of Interview Insights is in the combination the AI summary gives you the narrative, the strengths and weaknesses give you the specifics, the competency scores give you the structure, and the recording gives you the full context. Use them together.
* You can always return to edit your submitted evaluation if new information comes to light or if you want to revise your recommendation after reviewing additional candidates.
* The candidate's resume is available throughout the process via the **Resume Preview** icon, so you can cross-reference their claimed experience with their actual interview performance at any point.