Candidate prep pages are a separate sharing surface from team share links. Team share links show the full scorecard to colleagues; candidate prep pages show a candidate-friendly subset of questions with rationale.
When to Use a Prep Page
- You want candidates to arrive prepared and skip the warm-up phase
- You believe in transparent hiring and don’t gate interview prep behind insider networks
- You’re filling roles where depth of answer matters more than the surprise factor
- You want a polished candidate experience without building a careers microsite
How It Works
When you turn on candidate sharing for a scorecard:- Waffle generates a candidate-facing question set from the scorecard’s competencies — distinct from the rubric questions your team uses internally.
- A unique prep URL appears on the scorecard (for example,
app.waffle.cards/edge/abc123def456). - You share that link with the candidate by email, scheduler, or hiring-platform template.
- The candidate opens it in any browser, no account or login required for the preview.
| Bucket | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Free preview | One sample question per scorecard, visible to everyone |
| Role clarity | Two questions about scope, expectations, and success metrics |
| Red flags | Three questions covering common pitfalls for the role |
| Strategic depth | Three deeper questions about judgment and trade-offs |
Turning On Candidate Sharing
Find the Share with Candidate card
Scroll below the bento grid to the Share with Candidate section. This appears on every scorecard you own.
Toggle sharing on
Flip the switch to On. Waffle generates the candidate question set in the background — this typically takes a few seconds.
What the Candidate Sees
The prep page is intentionally minimal — no Waffle branding in the page title, no marketing chrome. It contains:- Role and company header — the job title from your scorecard
- Scoring rubric — a candidate-friendly version of how strong answers are evaluated
- Free sample question — one fully visible question with a “why this matters” tooltip
- Locked question previews — blurred placeholders for the eight remaining questions, with a single unlock CTA
- Magic-link sign-in — optional, for candidates who want to come back later
Magic-Link Sign-In
Candidates can enter their email to receive a magic link. Clicking the link signs them in to the same prep page on any device, with no password. Magic links are:- Single-use — each link works exactly once
- Time-limited — they expire after a short window
- Rate-limited — both per-IP and per-email, to prevent enumeration
Candidate Unlock (Optional)
Locked questions stay blurred until the candidate completes a one-time unlock. The candidate chooses one of two paths from the prep page — both reveal the same eight questions and are free for the hiring team.Path A — Pay $7 to unlock instantly
The candidate clicks Unlock for $7, walks through a short three-step modal (email + first name → trajectory → reminder preference), and completes a Stripe Checkout session.- Reveals all eight locked questions immediately
- One-time charge — no subscription, no auto-renew
- Candidate also receives a
WAFFLE-XXXXXXpromo code they can give to one person (manager, friend, peer) for a free 3-month Starter trial
Path B — Share to unlock for free
If the candidate prefers not to pay, they can unlock by sharing the prep page with up to eight people across three buckets:| Bucket | Capacity | Suggested audience |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring managers | 3 | Recruiters or hiring managers in their network |
| Peers | 3 | Engineers, designers, or PMs at peer level |
| Mentors | 2 | Coaches, former managers, or senior advisors |
- All eight questions unlock once any combination of invites lands successfully (down to one valid recipient — the first invite reveals everything; the rest are encouraged for community spread)
- Recipients receive a short, branded invite email with the prep URL and an optional note from the candidate
- Self-invites, disposable email domains, suppressed addresses, and duplicates are rejected before send
Redeeming a promo code
Promo codes earned through Path A unlock a 3-month Starter trial for the redeemer with no card on file.Open the redemption link
The redeemer visits
app.waffle.cards/redeem/WAFFLE-XXXXXX. The page validates the code and shows a confirmation panel.Sign in or sign up
Existing Waffle users click Activate Starter to apply the trial to their account. New users enter their email and receive a Clerk invitation that bounces them back to the redemption page after signup.
Candidate Unlock is in early rollout. The unlock CTAs may be hidden during specific pilots — your prep URLs continue to work either way, with the free preview always visible.
Unsubscribing from invites
Every share invite, welcome, and redemption email includes a one-click unsubscribe link. Recipients added to the suppression list never receive future Edge invites, and any in-flight invites to that address are no-ops. Hard bounces add the address to the suppression list automatically.Sharing the Link
Drop the prep URL into any candidate touchpoint:Email confirmation
Scheduler description
Turning Sharing Off
Toggle the Share with Candidate switch back to Off at any time. The prep URL immediately stops resolving — anyone who tries to open it (including candidates who previously unlocked) sees a generic “Page not found” message. There’s no way to re-enable the same URL; toggling on again generates a new shareId.Prep Pages vs. Team Share Links
| Candidate prep page | Team share link | |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | The candidate | Hiring team and stakeholders |
| What’s shown | Candidate question set | Full scorecard (rubric, red flags, internal questions) |
| Branding | Minimal, candidate-friendly | Branded, internal |
| Account required | No | No |
| Optional unlock | Yes ($7 one-time, or share with up to 8 people) | No |
| Magic-link sign-in | Yes | No |
| Best for | Pre-interview prep | Calibration and post-interview review |