The short answer: ask alfred_, by text or in the app, “Book a 45-minute interview with Jamie from the times in her email, and reply to confirm.” It reads the times she offered, checks them against your calendar, and shows you the slot, the invite and the reply before anything goes out. Say yes and both are sent, from your own calendar and email address.
Four emails to book one interview
You’re a recruiter at a staffing agency with twelve open roles. A candidate you want to move fast on writes back: “Thanks! I’m free Tuesday after 2, Wednesday before 11, or anytime Thursday morning.”
Now you open your calendar, find Tuesday, see a client call at 2:30, check Wednesday, find 10 AM open, create the event, type her email, set 45 minutes, add the video link, save, then go back to the email and write “Great, I’ve sent an invite for Wednesday at 10.” Two minutes if nothing goes wrong. Fifteen times a week. And the candidate you didn’t get to until the afternoon has already accepted a call with another agency.
The native ways, and where they stop
Scheduling links. Calendly and similar tools let the candidate pick a slot. They’re great when you send the link first. When the candidate has already written their times in an email, sending a link back is one more step for them.
Outlook and Google suggestions. Both can suggest an event from some emails, mostly bookings like flights and reservations. A candidate’s plain-language availability isn’t one of them.
Doing it by hand. Reliable, and two minutes each time.
Ask once
- Connect your email and calendar to alfred_. Sign in with Google or Microsoft; iCloud Calendar connects separately.
- When the availability email arrives, ask: “Book a 45-minute interview with Jamie Rivera from the times in her email, and reply to confirm.”
- alfred_ shows you what it’s about to do. Say yes, or change it (“make it Thursday at 9 instead”).
You: book a 45 min interview with jamie rivera from the times in her email and reply to confirm
alfred_: Jamie offered Tuesday after 2, Wednesday before 11 and Thursday morning. You have a client call Tuesday at 2:30, so I’d book Wednesday, Oct 29, 10:00 to 10:45 AM: “Interview: Jamie Rivera, Operations Coordinator,” inviting jamie.rivera@example.com. Reply to Jamie: “Hi Jamie, thanks for the times. I’ve sent an invite for Wednesday at 10 AM. Looking forward to it.” Book it and send?
You: yes
alfred_: Done. The invite is on your calendar and Jamie has the reply.
Illustrative exchange. The candidate and role are invented.
Where each step happens
- Phone, between calls: text the request and answer with yes. No app to install.
- Desktop: ask in the app; the event and the reply open for you to check before they go.
- When it moves: “move Jamie’s interview to Thursday at 9” works the same way, and the update to her waits for your OK.
The honest caveat
alfred_ books from the times the candidate wrote and the calendars connected to your alfred_. If her email says “sometime next week”, give it a range or ask it to offer times instead. It checks only the calendars it can see, so a hiring manager’s calendar that isn’t shared with you isn’t checked. And nothing goes to the candidate until you approve it. alfred_ is a paid product; plans are on the pricing page.
