Overview
The Retake Request feature allows hiring teams to fairly review and approve exceptions for candidates who have already reached their interview retake limit.
Sometimes, candidates encounter unexpected technical issues—like a poor internet connection, webcam failure, or browser crash—that prevent them from completing their AI interview. The Retake Request feature provides a simple, transparent way for the hiring team to review these cases and decide whether to grant another interview attempt.
This ensures that all candidates have a fair experience while keeping hiring teams in control of the process.
💡 What is the Retake Request feature?
The Retake Request feature is designed to handle exception cases when a candidate has reached the maximum number of interviews allowed for a job.
Recruiters can configure a global retake limit, which determines how many attempts candidates can take—either:
- At the company level (applies to all jobs), or
- At the job level (specific to one role).
Once a candidate hits this limit, instead of being blocked from proceeding, they’ll see an option to request another interview.
They must provide a short explanation for why they’re requesting an exception (for example, “I lost my internet connection midway through the interview”).
📸 Screenshot: Retake Limit Reached Modal
👤 Candidate experience
- Candidate reaches the interview limit
When a candidate has used all allowed attempts, they’ll see a message explaining that they’ve reached the retake limit for that job.
- Request another interview
Candidates can submit a brief explanation describing why they believe a retake is warranted.
- Wait for review
After submission, the system confirms that their request has been received.
They cannot submit multiple requests for the same job.
📸 Screenshot: Request Submitted Confirmation
- Status updates
While the request is under review, candidates will see a message confirming that their request is being reviewed.
Once a decision is made:
- If approved, they’ll receive an email notification with a link to retake their interview.
- If declined, they won’t receive an email but will see an in-app message explaining that their request was not approved.
- If approved, they’ll receive an email notification with a link to retake their interview.
📸 Screenshot: Request Under Review Message
📸 Screenshot: Request Not Approved Message
📸 Screenshot: Retake Approval Email
🧑💼 Hiring team experience
Job owners and company admin can find all requests in the Retake Requests section of the AIR Dashboard.
Each request includes:
- Candidate name and email
- Associated job
- Candidate’s explanation
- Submission date
- Complete interview history for that job, including both completed and incomplete attempts, with AI scores and durations
This context helps the hiring team make an informed decision on whether to approve or decline the request.
📸 Screenshot: Retake Requests on Dashboard
✅ Approving or declining requests
- When a request is approved, the candidate automatically receives an email notification with a link to start their new interview.
- When a request is declined, the candidate does not receive an email, but they will see a message indicating the decline if they revisit the interview page.
- Candidates cannot submit another request for the same job after a decline.
⚠️ Important:
Once a decision is made (approve or decline), it cannot be changed or overwritten.
🔄 At a glance: the Retake Request workflow
Candidate flow
- Hits interview limit
- Requests retake + adds explanation
- Waits for hiring team review
- Gets approval email or sees declined message on welcome page
Job owner or admin flow
- Sees request on AIR Dashboard
- Reviews reason + interview history
- Approves or declines
- Decision applies instantly and cannot be changed
💬 Need help?
If you or your candidates experience issues with the Retake Request process, please contact our support team:
📩 airsupport@usebraintrust.com.