Before You Start

GOAL: Understand the five building blocks so the steps below make sense.

The build order is always the same: Tags → Templates → Training Path → Trainees → Graduation. The steps below walk you through each stage once, so you can repeat the process for every role you train.

At a Glance

The full setup flow on one page. Each step is explained in detail in the sections that follow.

Step 1 — Set Your Foundations

GOAL: Have your tags, templates, and emails ready BEFORE you build a training path.

1.1  Pick your first role

Choose one role with a scheduling bottleneck or a hard-to-fill interview type (e.g. Backend Coding). Start with one path — you can replicate this process for every other role afterward.

1.2  Define the tag trainees will graduate into

1. Keep each tag to a single skill (e.g. “Java,” not “Java + Behavioral”) — combine tags later with Boolean logic if needed.

2. Reuse the same tag across multiple templates so it unlocks more than one interview.

3. If a tag already exists for this skill, reuse it — don't create a duplicate pool.

1.3  Prepare the interview template

1. Confirm the template exists for this role/stage (e.g. “Senior Java – Virtual Onsite”).

2. Give each event a clear, specific name (“Java Skills Test,” not “Panel 1”) — you'll need this to link the right event later.

3. Add the required tag to each event you plan to train for.

4. Decide which events trainees should actually join — don't link unrelated events like an Offer Call.

1.4  Create enrollment & graduation emails (optional but recommended)

1. Go to Communication > Email Templates.

2. Create two ‘Trainee’-type templates: one Enrollment, one Graduation (e.g. “Interviewer Training – [Path Name] – Enrollment”).

3. Keep the copy generic — welcome/congrats, what to expect, who to contact — so the same template works across paths.

Step 2 — Build Your First Training Path

GOAL: Create the path that ties your classes, feedback rules, and graduation tag together.

2.1  Create the path

1. Go to Training > Path Manager → + New Training Path.

2. Name it after the tag it leads to (e.g. “Backend Engineer – Java”) and add a short description.

2.2  Add classes, in order

1. Reading Class (optional) — add first if you want theory covered before any live session.

2. Shadow — add and set how many (e.g. 2). Feedback is usually off for shadows.

3. Reverse Shadow — add and set how many (usually 1–2). Turn on Feedback Automation here so evaluators vote Move Forward / Needs Retraining.

2.3  Set enrollment, feedback & graduation rules

1. Enrollment: choose manual or Auto-Enroll, pick Enrollment email, and set any tags to remove 

2. Feedback (per class): choose who gives feedback, and your auto-advance timeout (7–30 days).

3. Graduation: choose auto- or manual-graduation, pick your Graduation email, and set which tag(s) to add/remove. Optionally auto-enroll into a follow-on path.

2.4  Link it to real interviews

1. In Linked Templates, add the template from Step 1.3.

2. Expand it and toggle on only the specific event(s) trainees should join.

3. Save. You'll now see a purple graduation cap on that event in the scheduler.

Step 3 — Add a Reading Class (Optional)

Reading Classes are self-contained lessons built from chapters of text and links. Placed first in a path, they block shadows/reverse shadows until complete, so every trainee starts from the same baseline.

3.1  Build the class

1. Create a new Reading Class and give it a name.

2. Add chapters (sections) with formatted text and links to any external resources (videos, docs).

3.2  Attach it to the path

1. In your training path, add a class and set its type to Reading Class.

2. Select the class you built. Place it first in the sequence.

3.3  What the trainee experiences

They get an email to start the class, work through chapters in order, then click Finish Class — which unlocks their next class (e.g. a Shadow).

Step 4 — Enroll & Schedule Trainees

GOAL: Get real people into the path and into real interviews.

4.1  Enroll trainees

1. Go to Training > In Training → + Add Trainee.

2. Search for and select the employee, click Next.

3. Choose the training path(s) and click Done.

(Prefer this to be automatic? Skip ahead to Step 6.1 — Auto-Enroll.)

4.2  Schedule them into interviews

Two ways to do this:

A — During normal scheduling (recommended)

1. Click Request Availability / Schedule Now and pick a template linked to your path (look for the graduation cap).

2. Click the + next to that event → Trainee → Select All Trainees (GoodTime auto-picks whoever is available and closest to graduating).

3. Mark the trainee Optional (small pools) or Required (once your pool is bigger).

B — From the trainee's profile

1. Training > In Training → click the trainee → Schedule Class next to the class you want to fill.

2. Pick from the list of matching upcoming interviews → Schedule, Confirm.

4.3  Adjust an individual trainee's path as needed

• Add or remove classes for that trainee only.

• Mark a class Finished to grant credit for training done outside GoodTime.

• Duplicate a class if they need a repeat.

Step 5 — Graduate Trainees

GOAL: Turn a completed trainee into a fully tagged, schedulable interviewer.

Finishing all classes moves a trainee to Completed — not Graduated. That gap is intentional: it's your checkpoint to confirm readiness before they host solo.

1. Review the trainee in the Completed tab (check history, optionally confirm with their hiring manager or bar raiser).

2. Click Graduate.

GoodTime then automatically: adds the graduation tag(s), removes any configured tags, sends the graduation email, and (if configured) auto-enrolls them into the next path.

Track your progress

Export training data to CSV anytime — path names, trainee status, and class history — for manager updates or bottleneck tracking. For graduation-rate trends by path (not individual detail), use the GoodTime Training Insights Report.

Step 6 — Automate It

GOAL: Remove yourself from the repetitive parts of the workflow.

6.1  Auto-Enroll trainees

Trigger enrollment off a tag change instead of adding people by hand — useful for recurring hiring waves or standard onboarding (e.g. every new manager).

1. Choose the tag event that should trigger enrollment (tenure hit, role change, promotion, etc.).

2. Point it at the training path(s) to enroll into.

You can also chain paths: on graduation from Path A, auto-enroll into Path B — useful for progressive tracks (Junior Java → Senior Java). Decide deliberately whether graduation should remove the old tag or let the interviewer keep both.

6.2  Automate feedback

1. On a class (usually Reverse Shadow), enable “Require training feedback before advancing.”

2. Set your timeout (auto-advance after 7–30 days, or never).

All evaluators must vote Move Forward for the trainee to pass; a single Needs Retraining adds a make-up class automatically (if that setting is on). Unresponsive evaluators after the timeout won't block the trainee — GoodTime auto-advances them, and you can see who didn't respond.

6.3  Fix gaps on the fly

Mid-scheduling and the template isn't linked, or your trainee isn't enrolled? Fix it without leaving the scheduler:

• Click Link Training Path in the interview drawer to attach one to the template.

• Search the trainee's name → Add Trainee (twice: once to find them, once to confirm enrollment) → continue scheduling as normal.

Quick Reference — Troubleshooting & FAQ

Overview & Key Concepts›

Getting Ready (Tags and Templates)›

Building Training Paths (Shadow, Reverse Shadow & Reading Classes)›

Reading Classes›

Managing Trainees (Enroll, Schedule, Graduate & Report)›

Automations & Advanced Workflows›

Auto Enroll

Feedback Automation

On-The-Fly Training Path Enrollment & Linking›

FAQs