A conversation, or a recording into a camera.
People looking for a HireVue alternative usually want the candidate to talk with something that asks a follow-up, and they want to know the recording is not the product. InterviewRoom keeps the transcript and the score. It drops the audio.
The screen, side by side
HireVue is the one-way video interview teams name when they want a different first round. The left column is that pattern. The right column is what InterviewRoom does. HireVue’s retention, pricing, and scoring settings are whatever their current contract says.
| One-way video, the HireVue pattern | InterviewRoom | |
|---|---|---|
| What the candidate does | Records answers to a prompt, usually alone, on a timer, into a camera. | Speaks with an interviewer that asks a follow-up when the answer is thin. |
| What is kept | A video product’s artifact is the recording. How long that vendor keeps it is their contract and their current policy. We do not describe it for them. | Transcript, submitted code, and the score. Audio is dropped. The camera is never used, so there is no face analysis to store. |
| What the candidate needs | A camera, enough bandwidth for video, and often a vendor app or a heavy page. | A browser and a microphone. No app install. |
| Who decides | Depends on how that product is configured. Ask them whether a score can advance or reject without a person. | A person. The score is an order for reading. The words are the record. |
A prepared paragraph does not end the question. The next question is about the thin part of what was just said.
The camera is never opened. There is no expression score and no video file to retain or delete.
The candidate opens the invite in a browser. Practice is free inside a daily cap of two 10-minute sessions.
Four scores out of 5 — clarity, specifics, structure, and bar fit — sit next to the transcript. They do not replace it.
Questions from teams leaving one-way video
- Is InterviewRoom a HireVue replacement for every hiring step?
- No. It is the spoken first round: follow-ups, a transcript, and a score. Your ATS stays the system of record for the requisition and the offer. HireVue’s later product surface is theirs. This page is about the screen a candidate actually sits.
- Do you store the video?
- There is no video. The camera is never opened. Speech is transcribed so the interviewer can respond, and the audio is discarded. The company receives the transcript and the score.
- Does the candidate install an app?
- No. The invite is a browser link. A hiring-team interview can run up to 25 minutes. A free practice session runs 10 minutes, with a daily cap.
- Can the score reject a candidate on its own?
- It should not. The score orders which transcripts a recruiter reads. An automatic cutoff is a misuse. Before a counted interview, the candidate is told the company will see the transcript and the score.
Run one role before you move a pipeline
Attach the job description. Read the transcripts yourself. Keep the ATS.