# HRBlade MCP

> HRBlade connects your AI agent to a full Applicant Tracking System suite. It lets you manage candidate pipelines, create custom video interview templates, schedule invitations by email, and review submitted responses—all without leaving your chat interface.

## Overview
- **Category:** productivity
- **Price:** Free
- **Tags:** video-interviewing, candidate-screening, hiring-pipeline, asynchronous-communication, interview-templates

## Description

Managing hiring can be slow. You spend hours juggling job boards, internal databases, and scheduling tools just to get a clear picture of where candidates stand. This MCP lets you do that work using natural conversation. Instead of switching between five different dashboards, your agent handles the entire process: finding potential talent, setting up technical interviews, sending personalized invitations, and pulling in recorded answers for review.

When you connect HRBlade through Vinkius, you give your AI client a full view of the hiring funnel. You can track every candidate's progress—from initial listing to final response evaluation—all from one place. It’s built for high-volume recruiting, letting teams scale their asynchronous interviewing process without adding administrative overhead.

## Tools

### create_interview
Builds a new interview template with specific questions and parameters.

### get_candidate_details
Retrieves all specific information about a single candidate in the pipeline.

### list_candidates
Gets a full list of all candidates currently tracked in your system.

### list_interviews
Shows a list of all saved interview templates you have access to.

### list_interview_responses
Retrieves and lists every recorded video response submitted by candidates for review.

### send_interview_invitation
Sends a personalized video interview invitation to one or more candidates via email.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
Create a 'Senior Developer' interview with 3 technical questions and send it to 2 candidates.
```

**Response:** 
```
Interview template created! Title: 'Senior Developer — Technical Screen', ID: int_4521. Questions: 1) 'Describe your approach to designing scalable microservices architectures.' (3 min limit). 2) 'Walk us through how you would debug a production performance issue.' (3 min). 3) 'Explain a complex technical decision you made recently and the trade-offs involved.' (3 min). Invitations sent: 1) sarah.chen@email.com (Sarah Chen) — ✅ Invitation delivered. 2) mike.torres@email.com (Mike Torres) — ✅ Invitation delivered. Both candidates will receive a link to record their video responses at their convenience. You now have 8 active interview templates. Would you like to review pending responses?
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Show all candidates in my pipeline and the latest video responses.
```

**Response:** 
```
Your pipeline: 24 candidates total. By status: Invited (8), Responded (12), Reviewed (3), Hired (1). Latest video responses: 1) Ana Costa — 'Product Manager' interview, submitted 2 hours ago. 3 answers recorded (avg 2:15 each). 2) James Rodriguez — 'Senior Developer' interview, submitted yesterday. 3 answers (avg 2:45). 3) Lisa Park — 'UX Designer' interview, submitted 2 days ago. 4 answers (avg 1:50). Pending invitations: 5 candidates haven't opened their invitation yet. Would you like to get details for a specific candidate or send reminders?
```

**Prompt:** 
```
List all interview templates and show which ones have pending responses to review.
```

**Response:** 
```
Interview templates: 8 total. Active: 1) 'Senior Developer — Technical Screen' (int_4521, 3 questions, 12 invited, 8 responded, 4 pending review). 2) 'Product Manager — Case Study' (int_4518, 4 questions, 8 invited, 6 responded, 3 pending). 3) 'UX Designer — Portfolio Review' (int_4515, 5 questions, 6 invited, 5 responded, 2 pending). 4) 'Sales Rep — Pitch Exercise' (int_4510, 3 questions, 15 invited, 10 responded, 5 pending). Archived: 4 templates. Total pending reviews: 14 video responses. Would you like to start reviewing or create a new template?
```

## Capabilities

### Review all existing candidates
See a list of every person currently in your hiring pipeline and view specific profile details.

### Set up new interview formats
Create structured templates for interviews, defining custom questions, time limits, and instructions.

### Invite candidates to record videos
Send personalized video interview links and invitations directly via email to specific prospects.

### View stored interview templates
List every current or past interview template you've created for easy reference.

### Inspect submitted videos
Retrieve a list of all recorded video responses, allowing you to evaluate candidate performance against the job requirements.

## Use Cases

### Need to assess 50 candidates quickly after a job opening.
The agent runs `list_candidates` to pull the names. Then, it uses `create_interview` to build a standardized 'Technical Screen' template and immediately runs `send_interview_invitation` for all 50 people at once.

### A hiring manager needs to compare two candidates side-by-side.
The agent calls `list_candidates` to identify the pair. Then, it uses `get_candidate_details` and `list_interview_responses` for both records, grouping all submissions so the manager can make a direct comparison.

### A recruiter needs to audit current interview processes.
The agent runs `list_interviews` first. Then, it checks if any templates are missing necessary questions or time limits before scheduling new interviews using `create_interview`.

## Benefits

- Stop switching tabs. Use your agent to send invitations and track candidates with `send_interview_invitation`—all without opening the main dashboard.
- Streamline quality control by using `create_interview` to build specific templates; you define questions, time limits, and instructions upfront.
- Evaluate performance quickly: The `list_interview_responses` tool lets you pull up all submitted videos for review, letting you compare answers easily.
- Get a full picture of your funnel. Running `list_candidates` shows everyone in the pipeline, while `get_candidate_details` drills down into one person's history.
- Maintain process consistency by using `list_interviews` to confirm all active templates are current before running a campaign.

## How It Works

The bottom line is, you talk to your agent like a recruiter and it runs the backend hiring workflow for you.

1. Subscribe to this MCP and enter your unique HRBlade API Key in the settings.
2. Authorize access from any compatible client. Your agent now sees the entire ATS data set.
3. Start giving commands—ask it to list candidates, create templates, or send invitations—and it executes the actions.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How do I use list_candidates to see my full pool of applicants?**
Call `list_candidates`. This tool returns a comprehensive list of everyone in your pipeline, providing the initial overview you need to start any workflow.

**Can I review old video responses using list_interview_responses?**
Yes. Use `list_interview_responses` to pull up all submitted videos across various templates so you can evaluate past performance data.

**What is the first step for creating a new interview template? Does it require list_interviews?**
While you can use `create_interview` directly, running `list_interviews` first lets you check existing templates. This helps ensure your new design matches your company's established format.

**If I send an invitation using send_interview_invitation, do I need to call get_candidate_details afterwards?**
No. `send_interview_invitation` handles the outreach. You only need `get_candidate_details` later if you want to pull specific information about that candidate's profile.

**If I need to process a large number of applicants, how should I handle rate limits when calling list_candidates?**
The MCP handles standard API rate limiting automatically. For massive batches, you'll want to implement exponential backoff in your agent logic. This ensures calls slow down gracefully instead of failing completely.

**When I call get_candidate_details, what happens if the candidate record is missing key information?**
The tool returns a clear error status rather than failing entirely. You'll receive all available fields, and any critical missing data will be marked as null or absent in the response object.

**Does calling list_interviews require special permissions, or is it available to all connected agents?**
Access requires an API key associated with a valid HRBlade account. Your agent needs read scope permissions for this MCP tool to execute successfully.

**If I use send_interview_invitation, what format must the candidate's email address be in?**
The system requires a standard, valid email format. Incorrectly formatted addresses will trigger a specific API error code indicating invalid input.

**Can I create an interview template and send invitations to candidates?**
Yes. Use `create_interview` with a JSON payload containing the title, description, and an array of questions. Then use `send_interview_invitation` with the candidate's email, first name, last name, and the interview ID. The candidate will receive an email with a link to record their video responses.

**Can I review all video responses submitted by candidates?**
Yes. The `list_interview_responses` tool retrieves all submitted video responses with candidate details, interview template reference, and submission timestamps. Use `get_candidate_details` to inspect a specific candidate's full profile and response history.

**How does asynchronous video interviewing work with HRBlade?**
HRBlade enables one-way video interviews where candidates record responses at their own pace. You create a template with questions, send an invitation, and the candidate records video answers through a web link. You can then review all responses asynchronously without scheduling live calls. Use `list_interviews` to see all templates and `list_candidates` to track your pipeline.