# Create a Position

A position is a role you are hiring for. It holds the interview questions, the
messages candidates get, and the score you want to use as a cut-off.

You need one before you can add anybody.

## 1. Open Positions

Select **Positions** in the left-hand menu, then choose **Add Position**.

![The Positions list](/imgs/guides/02-positions-list.png?v=2)

The list has three tabs — **All**, **Active** and **Draft** — and a column for
each of *Position*, *Department*, *Location*, *Status*, *Min Score* and *Date
Created*.

## 2. Describe the role

![Position Details](/imgs/guides/02-position-details.png?v=2)

| Field | What to put | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| **Position Name** | What the role is called | 50 characters |
| **Job Description/Context for AI** | What the job involves | 500 characters |
| **Department Name** | e.g. *Receiving* | 20 characters |
| **Department Location** | e.g. *Denver* | 20 characters |
| **Status** | **Active** to start interviewing now, **Draft** to finish later | |

**Job Description/Context for AI is the field that matters most.** It is what the
interview uses to judge people. You can paste your job advert, upload a file, or
just write a couple of sentences about what the job actually involves — *"Handles
the receiving, storing, packing, and shipping of goods within a fulfillment or
distribution center"* is plenty.

Leave **Department Location** blank and the list will show *Not specified*. It is
optional.

## 3. Check the messages candidates will get

![Candidate Communications](/imgs/guides/02-position-communications.png?v=2)

**Position Calendar Link** — candidates **who pass the interview** are sent this
link. It is not for everybody who applies, only the ones who get through.

**Communication Templates** says *Using HRMLESS defaults* until you change
something. Open it and you get six messages, each of which you can switch off or
point at your own wording:

| Message | When it goes out |
|---|---|
| **Initial Email** | First email, when a candidate enters the pipeline |
| **Initial SMS** | First text message to the candidate |
| **Daily Reminder Email** | Follow-up email reminders |
| **Daily Reminder SMS** | Follow-up text reminders |
| **Passing Email** | Email to candidates who passed |
| **Passing SMS** | Text to candidates who passed |

**The reminders are daily.** Worth knowing before you switch them on for a big
batch — a candidate who has not started will hear from you every day.

Unticking **Enabled** turns that message off entirely. Leaving the template as
*HRMLESS Default* uses our standard wording, which is fine to start with. See
[Candidate messages](/docs/communication_templates) to change it.

## 4. Set the score, the recording options and the questions

![Interview Settings](/imgs/guides/02-position-interview-settings.png?v=2)

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Minimum Passing Score** | A number from 1 to 10. Start at **5** — that is what HRMLESS suggests, and it keeps candidate flow high while you see what scores look like for your roles. Anyone below it is flagged for you, not rejected. |
| **Allow candidates to retake interviews** | On by default. Lets someone restart if their call drops. Leave it on. |
| **Allow video recordings of interviews** | On by default. Records candidate video via WebRTC during the interview. See below. |
| **Interview Languages** | English, Spanish and French. English is selected by default but is not required. |

### Writing the questions

You start with two empty questions and can add **up to 20**. Each holds **250
characters**, with a counter under the box. Drag the handles to reorder them.

**Four to six good questions is plenty.** Twenty is the limit, not a target — a
longer interview means more people give up part-way.

Ask open questions. *"Tell me about a shift where everything went wrong"* gives
the interview something to follow up on. *"Do you have experience?"* does not.

A question over 250 characters turns the box red and blocks saving. If one needs
more room than that, it is usually two questions.

### About video recording

Video is recorded by default. Turning it off does not change anyone's score —
the score comes from what the candidate *said*, not how they looked. With it
off, you still get the audio and the full transcript, and the candidate's page
shows **No Video Available**.

If your company has a policy about recording people, set this deliberately
rather than leaving the default.

## 5. Add a hard requirement, if you have one

Tick **Knockout Question?** under a question to make it a requirement rather
than something scored — lifting a certain weight, holding a licence, working
particular shifts.

You then fill in **Expected Answer to Pass Knockout Question** — what a passing
answer sounds like, e.g. *"Yes I can lift 50 pounds or more"*.

Failing one does **not** reject anybody. It flags them for you to look at. See
[Knockout questions](/docs/knockout_questions).

## 6. Choose Create Position

![The saved positions](/imgs/guides/02-positions-table.png?v=2)

Your position appears in the list, and you can now add candidates to it.

## Editing it later

Click a row to open the position. That view is read-only — use the edit option
to change anything.

Changes apply to people invited from that point on. Anyone already interviewed
was assessed against the old version, so if you want a fair comparison across a
group, settle the questions before you start inviting.

## Common questions

**Can I change the questions once people have started?**
Yes, but everyone already interviewed was assessed on the old questions. For a
like-for-like comparison, finish the questions first.

**What is Draft for?**
Saving a position without putting it to work — while you are still writing the
questions, or for a role that is approved but not open yet.

**What happens to people below the minimum score?**
They are flagged, not rejected. HRMLESS never rejects anyone on its own.

**Do I have to fill in the calendar link?**
No. It only matters if you want candidates who pass to be able to book time
with you.

## What next

- [Add candidates](/docs/add_candidates)
- [Knockout questions](/docs/knockout_questions)
- [Candidate messages](/docs/communication_templates)