AI Assistant Candidate Screening Flow

This guide walks you through the end-to-end candidate screening and submission flow when a healthcare professional applies to a job enabled with the AI Assistant on Vivian. The AI Assistant engages candidates via call or text, gathers missing profile information, verifies job-specific qualifications, and guides them through a structured submission packet prep process.

If you prefer a visual walkthrough, please start with this video. 

Otherwise, read below for a step-by-step overview of how the AI Assistant handles candidate screening and prepares them for recruiter submission.

Step-by-Step: How the AI Assistant Screens and Prepares Candidates

1. Candidate Applies to a Job
The candidate clicks “I’m Interested” on an AI Assistant-enabled job. 

Note: If a candidate applies to an AI Assistant-enabled job as their primary application, that job will be prioritized for screening. The candidate may still see and apply to other similar roles, but if those additional jobs also use the AI Assistant, their screenings will be delayed by 5 to 10 minutes. This delay helps ensure the candidate has time to complete screening for the primary role without receiving overlapping messages from multiple jobs.

After confirming their profile details, the candidate is shown the screening method selection page (interstitial screen). They choose between:

• Phone call screening (No longer available as of February 2026).
• Text chat screening

If no option is selected after 2 minutes, they default to text screening.

2. AI Assistant Begins Screening
The AI Assistant asks the following five screening questions:

• Are you currently working in this specialty?
• How many years of experience do you have in this specialty?
• Do you have the required, active license?
• Do you have the required, active certifications?
• What is your requested time off and preferred start date?

The AI Assistant cross-checks the job requirements (from the VMS) with the candidate’s profile. If information is missing (e.g., certifications, licenses, experience), the AI Assistant will prompt the candidate to provide it directly in the chat or call.

Note: The AI Assistant may skip related screening questions if a candidate already has a fully completed item—such as a license or an unexpired certification with a valid document upload. This helps prevent asking for information already on file, reduces candidate frustration, and streamlines the screening process.

Once a candidate has screened with the AI assistant, it will remember their responses. The first message should begin with “Based on your prior screening responses…” and include a summary for the candidate to confirm. Prior answers are visible in the “Candidate Prior Screening Responses” section of the summary panel. The AI will continue screening for any requirements not yet addressed, while avoiding repeat questions already answered.

We will send a reminder 2 hours post-application if the candidate does not respond. Reminders are paused from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET, so candidates don’t receive messages during late-night hours.

3. AI Assistant Determines Qualification
If the candidate is qualified as a healthcare worker with US-based experience, the AI Assistant sends a submission packet link within the chat. 

The candidate opens the link to begin completing missing items.

4. Candidate Completes Submission Packet
The submission packet may include the following steps:

A. Work Experience
Candidates must add:

• At least one year of experience in the specialty within the last year, or as specified in the VMS job requirements.
• Explanation of any employment gaps over 30 days
• Complete work history since graduation (up to 7 years)

If a candidate has fewer than 7 years of experience, they can select “I’ve entered all my work history.”

B. Licenses and Certifications
The AI Assistant prompts candidates to upload required documents.

• License entries must include the license number, the candidate’s full legal name, and the state of issuance. Candidates can also identify the license as an NLC if applicable.
• Certifications (e.g., BLS, ACLS) require a document upload
  • The system scans documents for expected text and format
  • If deemed invalid, the candidate may confirm the document as correct or upload a replacement
  • The expiration date and issuing body of any certification are entered manually by the candidate

C. Application Questions

Candidates provide the following data:

• Last four digits of their Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Full legal name
• Home address including city, state, and zipcode. 

D. Skills Checklist
Candidates complete checklist items specific to the role (e.g., patient age groups treated or unit-specific competencies).

Note: If the candidate doesn't respond, we will send a reminder to complete the missing items 2 hours after the submission packet link is sent. 

5. Candidate Marks Submission as Ready
Once most required fields are completed and validated, the “I’m ready to be submitted” button becomes active.

Candidates may proceed once they’ve completed the critical requirements—such as work history and experience—even if minor items like optional certifications are still outstanding. This allows recruiters flexibility to gather the remaining items after submission and allows high-quality candidates to signal intent.

6. AI Assistant Signals Recruiter
Once the candidate clicks “I’m ready to be submitted,” the following occurs:

• A message appears in the recruiter’s chat:
  “[Candidate name] has completed the majority of submission requirements and indicated they're ready to be submitted.”
• The candidate is tagged as Ready to Submit in your inbox
• You may now begin engagement and guide the candidate toward submission
   

FAQ’s

• What happens if the candidate applies to the same job twice in the chat?

We’ve updated the platform to prevent candidates from applying to the same job across multiple application surfaces. If they’ve already applied, they will see a greyed-out button labeled “Already applied.” If a candidate does reapply, the AI Assistant will either recall their previous screening and confirm the details or attempt a new screening if they did not participate in the first one.

The AI Assistant retains completed phone or text screenings regardless of the agency. In these cases, you may see “Based on your prior screening...” appear in the chat. A “Candidate Prior Screening Responses” section in the left-side panel summary will also be seen.

• What happens if the candidate applies to another role in the same chat?

Each new application resets the screening prompt. If the candidate previously completed a screening, the AI Assistant will recall that information and screen only for any new or role-specific requirements. If no prior screening was completed, a new screening for the current role will begin. The job card displayed and the qualifications shown in the chat will always reflect the most recent job the candidate applied to.

• What visibility does the candidate have regarding the AI Assistant? Have they been notified that this is an AI-driven conversation?

When candidates receive chat messages from the AI Assistant on the Vivian platform, the messages appear in pink, while recruiter messages appear in yellow. AI Assistant responses are also clearly labeled. Screening and submission packet reminders appear in yellow, as they are hard-coded Vivian messages within the AI workflow.

If a candidate selects a phone screen, the voice agent introduces itself as the AI Assistant. In text/SMS conversations, candidates may not immediately realize they are chatting with the Assistant, but it will disclose its identity if asked. The Assistant is also designed to clarify the recruiter's presence in the conversation. For example, if a candidate asks about pay, it may respond: “I can’t answer that question, but the recruiter is also in this chat and should be able to.”