Willo's screening platform is now built around one idea: define what good looks like for a role before candidates apply, then score everyone against that definition. Setup is still quick, but there's more to configure than in earlier versions, and the payoff grows with the number of candidates you screen.

Building the Blueprint

The first step for a new role is Willo's Blueprint feature. Your team uploads whatever material you already have for the role: a job description, a scorecard rubric, an email from the hiring manager, even an audio recording of a team member describing the job. Willo analyzes those files and drafts a Blueprint split into three parts: must-haves, differentiators and context.

You can edit the Blueprint before locking it in, and change it later. This matters, because every candidate's score downstream is based on it. Few teams write down structured role criteria today, so the real value here is forcing that conversation with hiring managers up front. Garbage in, garbage out still applies: a vague job description will produce a vague Blueprint.

Setting up the assessment

Next, you add an intro video and written instructions for candidates. Willo then suggests questions based on the Blueprint, which you can edit, replace or reword to fit your brand. You can also start from Willo's assessment library, which the vendor says covers 1,500+ roles and seniority levels.

Question formats include video, audio, text, multiple choice and file uploads, plus identity checks. For each question, admins set the number of retakes allowed, thinking time and maximum answer length. Email and SMS templates for every candidate touchpoint are fully editable, and you can share access with hiring managers before publishing.

Once published, there are several ways to invite candidates:

• Through your ATS, so moving a candidate to a set stage triggers an automatic email and SMS invite
• Directly from the Willo platform
• A shareable link you can post on LinkedIn, WhatsApp or Slack
• A printable QR code for career fairs, shop windows or office notice boards

The QR and link options are useful for frontline and retail hiring, where candidates often aren't coming through an ATS at all.

The candidate experience

From the candidate's side, the assessment is branded with the employer's colors, logo and intro video, alongside information about the role and process. Candidates can choose from 18+ languages, and Willo defaults to the language of their browser.

Before starting, candidates land on a tips page with a practice question they can answer as many times as they like. Nothing on that question is saved. A support widget connects to 200+ help articles and an AI agent, with 24/7 human support behind it.

During the assessment, candidates see one question at a time with a visible time limit and an audible countdown before recording. If their laptop fails, they can scan a QR code and finish on their phone. Willo says the platform works in any browser, on low bandwidth, and is built to WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards.

At the end, candidates review all their answers before submitting, then share their availability for next steps. That availability syncs with Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo calendars, which cuts some back-and-forth scheduling. Candidates get a confirmation page and email.

Reviewing candidates

Back on the employer side, candidates appear in a list with a green, amber or red rating based on how well they match the Blueprint. Most teams will start with the greens.

Clicking into a candidate shows their score against each Blueprint criterion. Each score links to timestamped evidence from their answers, so reviewers can jump straight to the moment a candidate discussed a given skill instead of watching every video end to end. From there, reviewers can watch videos, leave comments for colleagues, complete a scorecard, and accept, reject or progress the candidate in the ATS. Every action is logged in an audit trail.

We like that Willo keeps the final decision with people rather than auto-rejecting candidates. That said, the RAG ratings will heavily shape who gets watched first. Teams should spot-check amber and red candidates periodically to make sure the Blueprint isn't filtering out people it shouldn't.

One metric still worth tracking with this tool, or any one-way interview product, is candidate completion rate. It depends on the role and where in the funnel you send the invite. Late-stage invites should approach 100% completion. Expect 20-30% if you invite every applicant as a first step, especially for lower-skilled roles.