> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.waffle.cards/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Candidate Prep Pages
> Share an interview prep page directly with candidates so they know exactly what to expect
Waffle Edge turns any scorecard into a public prep page candidates can open before their interview. They see a curated preview of the questions you plan to ask, so they walk in prepared instead of guessing — and you get more substantive answers in the room.
Candidate prep pages are a separate sharing surface from [team share links](/exporting/sharing). 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:
1. Waffle generates a candidate-facing question set from the scorecard's competencies — distinct from the rubric questions your team uses internally.
2. A unique prep URL appears on the scorecard (for example, `app.waffle.cards/edge/abc123def456`).
3. You share that link with the candidate by email, scheduler, or hiring-platform template.
4. The candidate opens it in any browser, no account or login required for the preview.
Each prep page contains four buckets of questions:
| 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 |
Free preview is always visible. The remaining questions appear blurred until the candidate unlocks the page (see [Candidate Unlock](#candidate-unlock-optional) below).
## Turning On Candidate Sharing
Open the scorecard you want to share with a candidate from your library.
Scroll below the bento grid to the **Share with Candidate** section. This appears on every scorecard you own.
Flip the switch to **On**. Waffle generates the candidate question set in the background — this typically takes a few seconds.
Once generation finishes, the prep URL appears below the toggle. Click the copy icon to grab the link, then paste it into your interview confirmation email or scheduler.
If question generation fails (rare), the toggle reverts and surfaces an inline error. Toggle it back on to retry — the second attempt uses a more constrained prompt.
## 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
The page is designed to print cleanly on A4 and US Letter, so candidates can take notes on paper if they prefer.
## 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
If a link expires, has already been used, or is invalid, the candidate sees a friendly error page with a "Request a new link" button.
## 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-XXXXXX` promo 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 |
Each successful invite increments a progress bar (0/8 → 8/8). Hard bounces revoke that invite and the candidate is prompted to try a different address.
* 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.
The redeemer visits `app.waffle.cards/redeem/WAFFLE-XXXXXX`. The page validates the code and shows a confirmation panel.
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.
Plan flips to Starter for three months — no payment method required, no auto-renewal. Both the redeemer and the original candidate receive confirmation emails.
Each promo code is single-use. Expired, already-redeemed, and unknown codes each show a distinct error state.
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:
```text Email confirmation theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
Hi [Candidate],
Looking forward to our conversation on [date]. Here's a prep page with the
kinds of questions we'll be exploring:
https://app.waffle.cards/edge/abc123def456
No login required. See you soon.
```
```text Scheduler description theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
Before our call, take 10 minutes with this prep page so we can spend our
time on the interesting stuff: https://app.waffle.cards/edge/abc123def456
```
## 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.
Toggling off is destructive. Any candidate who already had the prep URL bookmarked will lose access immediately, even if they had previously unlocked the page.
## Prep Pages vs. Team Share Links
| | Candidate prep page | [Team share link](/exporting/sharing) |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **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 |
Use prep pages when you want candidates to come prepared. Use team share links when you want internal stakeholders to read the full evaluation plan or scored result.