Overview
HackerRank for Work enables you to send Test invite emails to candidates. Customizing these emails allows you to include a custom URL to access the Test, set an expiry date for the invite, send reminders to candidates to attempt the Test, etc.
Example:
You want to invite candidates for a C++ Programming Test and would like them to take up the Test within a week. Before sending the Test email invite, you can use the email invite settings to:
- Set a duration of 1 week for the Test to expire.
- Set a reminder to be sent to candidates two days before the expiration date.
- Include the predefined or a custom URL for students to access the Test from the invite email, and also indicate the expiry date for the Test invite.
- Receive a copy of the Test email invite to your registered HackerRank email address.
Steps to Customize Test Invite Email
Prerequisites
- You must have created and published a Test for which you want to send invite emails to candidates.
Sending a Test Invite
- Navigate to the Tests. You will see the Invite icon on the extreme right of every Test. Alternatively, you can click on the link to open a Test. You will see the Invite button on the extreme right.
2. Click on the Invite button for the Test for which you want to send email invites. The Send Test Invites page is displayed in which you can customize the email invite and configure necessary settings. These settings are specific to every email invite.
For detailed information about inviting candidate(s) to a Test, please refer to the Inviting Candidates to a Test article.
Email Invite - Configurations
Let us take a look at configuring the various settings related to the invite email
Expiry
This option enables you to set a specific duration during which the Test invite is active. Once this duration finishes, the Test invitation will expire, and the candidate(s) will no longer be able to take the Test. By default, the Expiry option is set to ‘Never’, meaning, the invitation will not have an expiry date. You can select a predefined time duration from the Expiry list, i.e., you can set it to ‘Never’ or ‘1 Day’, ‘2 Days’, or, set a custom expiry date and time based on when you want the email invite to expire. 
Setting Test invite expiration date
Once you set the test invite expiry, you will be able to see the appropriate expiry date and time reflected on the screen, as shown below. 
Send Reminder
You can also click on ‘Set Reminder’ to send reminder emails to the candidate(s) about the Test. This will trigger an email to the candidate reminding them to take the Test.
The options in the Send Reminder list are populated based on the expiry date set for the invitation. Additionally, the list provides the Custom option where you can specify when to send a reminder.
Note: You can set reminders only for invitations whose expiry date is at least more than a day from the current date.
Setting Reminders for Test Invitations that Do Not Expire
For Test invitations that do not have an expiry date, you can send reminders after a specific duration from when the invitation was sent.
When the Expiry option is set to Never, the Send Reminder option lists predefined durations after which a reminder can be sent to the candidate(s). You can select one of the predefined options, or, select the Custom option to manually specify the duration to send a reminder.
For example, you want to send an invitation for the Beginners Java Test which does not have an expiration date and candidate(s) can attempt the Test anytime. However, you would like to remind the candidate(s) two weeks after sending the invitation.
- Ensure that the Expiry option is set to Never.
- From the Send Reminders list, select “After 14 days”, or use the Custom option and specify the number of days as 15.
- Send the Test invitation.
Setting Reminders for Invitations with an Expiry Date
For Test invitations that have an expiry date, you can set reminders to be sent before a specified duration from the expiration date. Based on the expiry date of the email invite, the Send Reminder option lists predefined durations before which a reminder can be sent to the candidate(s) to take up the Test. You can select one of the predefined values, or, select the Custom option to manually specify the duration.
For example, you want to send an invitation for the C# Developer Test today, and ensure that the Test is taken by the candidate(s) within a week, after which the Test expires.
To do so:
- Set the Expiry option to 1 Week.
- In the Send Reminder list, select 1 day before expiry.
- Send the Test invitation.
On the day prior to the expiration date, the candidate(s) will automatically receive an email reminding them to take the Test.
Note: Reminder emails are only sent to candidates who have not started the Test.
Time Accommodation
Under special circumstances such as network outages, erroneous questions, or other issues, you might find it necessary to add extra time to all or some specific candidates' test attempts. Use the 'Time Accommodation' feature, to do the same. Choosing a particular percentage of add-on time, increases overall test duration by that much, for the said candidate(s). 
Read more about Time Accommodation here.
Settings
The options in the Settings list include:
-
- Send a copy to myself
- Include Test link in email
- Include start/end dates in email
- Send a copy to myself - Select this option to receive a copy of the Test email invite in your mailbox. In addition to the candidate(s) to whom the invitation is sent, a copy will also be sent to your mailbox.
- Include Test link in Email - An option that is enabled by default, this is often used to include the link to the online Test in the email invite. To provide a custom URL for the Test, clear the selection of the Include Test link in Email option, and ensure that you manually include the URL in the body of the email invitation.
- Add Tags - This option enables you to associate candidates with any tags. This will help you while searching for the candidate. You can use any of the tags to search.
Note: If you uncheck this option, you must include the Test link. The original Test link that is a part of the email invite will be removed.
- Include start/end dates in email - By default, this option is selected and ensures that the Test invitation expiry date, time, and time zone are indicated in the email.
Note: For Test invitations that do not have an expiry date, the expiry date, time, and time zone are not indicated in the email.
HackerRank Test email invites allow you to send different Tests to varied candidates. Customizing email invites using the settings simplifies the process and makes each Test a rich experience for your candidates.