Spine Mode (Scripted)

Spine mode is the default interview style. The employer defines a question spine — an ordered list of questions mapped to competencies — and the AI asks them in sequence.

How It Works

1. Employer creates a question spine during posting setup (manually or AI-generated)
2. Each question maps to one competency
3. At interview start, the spine is injected into the AI's system prompt
4. The AI asks questions in order, one at a time
5. The AI may ask follow-up probes (configurable, default: 1 per question)
6. After all questions, the AI closes the interview

Configurable Fields

All configured via admin at /admin/interviewer-prompt:

• System identity — how the AI identifies itself ({companyName}, {role} tokens)
• Tone — "professional but conversational"
• Probing style — "curious and direct"
• Pacing — let candidate finish, redirect if >3 min
• Opening/closing scripts — how to start and end
• Question spine instructions — "Follow the question spine in order, one at a time"
• Max probes per question — default 1
• Probe types — clarifying, depth, ownership, reflection
• Escalation rules — when to probe harder vs. move on
• Hard rules — list of absolute constraints

Strengths

• Maximum consistency across candidates (same questions)
• Simpler for employers to set up
• Easier to compare candidates on identical prompts
• Faster interviews

Limitations

• Cannot adapt to candidate's actual responses
• May miss deeper probing opportunities
• Fixed questions may not cover emerging competency evidence