Free n8n template
Job interviews on WhatsApp, answered with voice notes.
Candidates send a job code to your WhatsApp number and answer your questions with voice notes recorded in the chat. Your team gets every original recording, its transcript, how long each answer took and a match score against what you're hiring for. A person makes the call.
48 nodes, built-in only. Works on self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud. Updated November 2026.
- The job code
- Consent, then name, email, LinkedIn and CV
- A CV in PDF
- Stored as sent, text read for the review
- A voice note
- Stored, transcribed and timed
- A typed answer
- Refused, and the clock keeps running
- An audio file or forward
- Refused and logged
- HELP
- An email to the recruiter
What it does
A first interview your team can check, not just a score
Voice answers only
Questions arrive as text and audio. Only voice notes recorded in the chat count as answers; typed answers, audio files and forwarded voice notes are refused and logged.
Timing on every answer
Response time, recording length, time before recording started and long pauses, checked against the limits you set for each job.
The originals, untouched
Every voice note and the CV go to your own S3 bucket as WhatsApp delivered them, with their checksums, and arrive attached to the report.
Scored on your criteria
You list what matters, with weights and must-haves. Zabio rates each one from 0 to 5 with a quote as evidence, and the workflow adds up the score.
A person decides
Nothing is rejected automatically. The report shows strengths, gaps and three questions for the next interview, and the review ignores accent, age, gender and other personal traits.
Reviews at batch prices
Reviews run as Zabio background requests with a 24-hour deadline, which go to the batch queue at about half the list price. Each report shows what the interview cost.
What you need
Five accounts, most of which you already have
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n8n
Your own or a managed one, reachable over HTTPS. Built-in nodes only.
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A Meta developer app
Free, with a test WhatsApp number to try the flow. Real candidates need your own business number.
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A Zabio API key
One key for the transcripts, the spoken questions and the review.
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S3-compatible storage
A private bucket for the original voice notes and CVs.
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An SMTP account
For the reports and help requests. A WhatsApp ping to recruiters is optional.
Setup
About twenty minutes
- 1
Download the workflow and import it into n8n.
- 2
Create the interview_jobs and interview_candidates data tables.
- 3
Add a job: code, questions, weighted criteria and the recruiter's email.
- 4
Add the WhatsApp, Zabio, S3 and SMTP credentials.
- 5
Set your bucket and sender email in Interview Settings.
- 6
Activate it and send the job code from a test phone.
Why Zabio
Transcripts, spoken questions and the review through one key
Timestamps in every transcript
The recording length and the pauses the timing checks use come back with the text.
Batch prices for reviews
A 24-hour deadline sends each review to the batch queue, at about half the list price.
A score you can audit
The review returns JSON against a schema, with a quote per rating. The workflow does the arithmetic.
One key for everything
Transcription, the question audio and the review on the same credential.
Don't want to run n8n yourself?
Run it on n8n we manage
We install n8n on a fully managed server and keep it updated, monitored and behind a firewall. Import this template, and if something breaks, an engineer can look at the workflow with you. Every AI server comes with $20 in Zabio credits.
FAQ
Questions about this template
Is the template free?
Yes. Download it, import it and change anything you like. You pay only for what you use: Zabio for transcripts and reviews, Meta for WhatsApp messaging, and your storage and email, under their own pricing.
Does the AI decide who gets hired?
No. It rates each of your criteria with a quoted piece of evidence and the workflow adds up a weighted score, but nothing is rejected automatically and the report goes to a person. The review is told not to consider accent, voice, age, gender, nationality or other personal traits.
Can it stop candidates from getting outside help?
Not completely, but it makes it harder and shows you where to look. Answers have to be voice notes recorded in the chat, and every answer's response time, the time before recording started and long pauses are measured and flagged when they pass your limits. Flags are signals to check by listening to the original, not proof.
What does the hiring team receive?
One email per candidate: the match score, a summary, each criterion with its evidence, strengths, gaps and follow-up questions, every transcript with its timing, and the CV and original voice notes attached. A WhatsApp message to the recruiter is optional.
What do candidates agree to?
Before the first question they're told what is recorded, who receives it, that an AI tool summarizes their answers and that a person decides, and they reply YES to continue. They can reply HELP at any point to reach the recruiter, for example to ask for an accommodation.
Are there rules for using AI in hiring?
In some places, yes. New York City, for example, requires a bias audit and notice to candidates before an automated tool is used in hiring decisions, and many places regulate recordings and personal data. Check the rules where you hire before you use it with real candidates.
Which languages does it support?
The candidate messages ship in English and Spanish, chosen per job. The questions are read aloud and the review is written in the job's language.
Candidates interview when they can. You decide.
n8n on a fully managed server, from people who have run infrastructure since 2001.