Updated
Interview Broker: How Residency Applicants Use It
Interview Broker is a scheduling website some residency programs use instead of Thalamus. Applicants do not sign up or log in. The program emails you from interviews@interviewbroker.com with a scheduling link, you pick a date, and you can reschedule or join a waitlist from the same link until your date locks. The video link comes later, in the program's own interview day email.
What Interview Broker is
Interview Broker is self-scheduling software that programs pay for. A coordinator imports applicants from ERAS, sets interview dates and slots, and sends invitations. Its own site says programs can “Let applicants wait list for full interview dates.” and that “Recruits can reschedule as many times as they need.” It also tells programs to “Let your Applicants know through ERAS that you'll be scheduling through Interview Broker.” So a program's ERAS message or website is usually where you first learn it uses Interview Broker.
It is not a video platform and not an application service. Your application still goes through ERAS, and the interview itself happens on the program's own Zoom link or in person.
From invitation to booked date
The key fact for anyone searching for an Interview Broker login: “Applicants do NOT need to sign up.” When a program invites you, “you will receive an email from interviews@interviewbroker.com that contains a secure scheduling link at the bottom.”
- Watch for the invitation email. It comes from interviews@interviewbroker.com with a secure scheduling link at the bottom. Add that address to your contacts and check spam.
- Open the link and pick a date. The link takes you straight to the program's open dates. There is no applicant account to create first.
- Book quickly. Dates can fill within a day of a batch of invitations, so book the same day if you can.
- Keep the confirmation. Interview Broker sends a short confirmation when you schedule, reschedule or decline. Put the date in your own calendar.
- Wait for the program's details email. The program sends the interview day details itself, including the Zoom link for a virtual day.
Interview Broker tells coordinators “Filling 400 to 600 interview slots within 24 hrs is not an uncommon rate.” If an invitation you expected has not come, its site says “If you have not received an expected invitation, then most likely the invitation has not yet been sent.” It also notes “Rarely, an email can be misplaced or redirected into a spam filter.”
Rescheduling, canceling and the lockout
Use the same link from your invitation to move or drop a date. Programs can set a lockout period before each interview date. Inside it, “the lockout does prevent self-rescheduling and self-cancellation.” You can still withdraw: “An Applicant can decline to be further considered by your program at any time.” Once a date is locked, email the coordinator as early as you can, and see how to cancel a residency interview for notice and wording.
Its FAQ says “Our systems do send out a brief confirmatory notification when your Applicants successfully schedule or reschedule, or decline an invitation.” The longer emails, like interview day details or a dinner reminder, are sent by the program by hand. “We do not send out any emails derived from these templates automatically.”
“Tell me about yourself.”
A strong answer takes about a minute, moves from where you started to why this specialty and ends on what you want from residency.
How the waitlist works
From the scheduling page you can ask to wait for a full date. Do not confuse this with an alternate list email, which is not an invitation. For those applicants, “Such applicants are not sent a scheduling link and are not able to schedule an interview until an invitation email is sent.” Our residency interview waitlist guide covers both kinds. The date waitlist follows these rules.
You are moved in automatically
“If any of those dates becomes available, they will be automatically scheduled into that date, and removed from the waitlists for any other dates.” You also get an email when it happens.
You can keep your booked date while you wait
“Scheduled applicants can waitlist for other interview dates while holding on to their existing date.” If a better date opens, you switch and give up the old one.
Who gets an open spot first
“By default, unscheduled applicants have priority over already scheduled applicants.” Ties go to whoever joined that date's waitlist first.
You wait for a date, not a session
“Applicants waitlist for a date.” Morning and afternoon sessions on the same day share one waitlist.
Locked dates are off limits
“applicants will not be rescheduled into locked interview dates through the waitlist.” Once a date is inside the program's lockout, the waitlist will not move you into or out of it.
Your waitlist dates are yours to manage
“Applicants are solely responsible for managing their waitlist dates.” Drop dates you no longer want, so you are not moved into one by surprise.
Which programs use it
Interview Broker's site has no list of the programs that use it, so check each program's website or ERAS message. One program that names it on its current interview page is the University of Iowa psychiatry residency. Its interview page says “All interview invitations will be sent out through Interview Broker.” “Applicants will be able to self-schedule into their preferred date and can be added to a waiting list as well.” “All sessions will be conducted live virtually via Zoom.”
For any other program, the sender address on the invitation tells you. Interview Broker's tour page also mentions “recruiting for graduate programs such as medical, dental, pharmacy, optometry” and veterinary schools, so you may have seen it before residency.
Interview Broker, Thalamus and ERAS
Most ERAS programs schedule in Thalamus, and the AAMC notes “ERAS Interview Scheduler within the PDWS was replaced by Thalamus Core in 2023”. Programs are not required to switch. The AAMC says “use of Thalamus is optional for programs, and you can stay with your existing system/process.” That is why one season can mix both. The AAMC adds “Applicants can also self-report interview information in Thalamus Core when they receive interview invitations from other scheduler systems.” Here is how the two compare for applicants, from each company's own pages.
| Topic | Interview Broker, then Thalamus |
|---|---|
| Your account | Interview Broker: No applicant account. You book from the link in each email.Thalamus: An account is made when you register in MyERAS. |
| Rescheduling | Interview Broker: As often as you need, until the date is locked.Thalamus: Pick a new date and it replaces the old one. |
| Canceling | Interview Broker: Self-cancel until the lockout, then contact the program.Thalamus: Some programs limit when you can cancel. |
| Video | Interview Broker: None of its own. Programs email their Zoom details.Thalamus: Thalamus Video, or Zoom, Teams or Webex. |
Our Thalamus interview guide walks through Thalamus scheduling and Thalamus Video step by step. For how the season runs across specialties, see the residency interview guides, and when your dates are booked, turn to the interview itself with residency interview practice and what happens on residency interview day.
Sources: Interview Broker's home page, FAQ, tour, how we help and sign-up page, the AAMC-Thalamus FAQ, the University of Iowa psychiatry interview page and Thalamus. All checked October 25, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an Interview Broker login for applicants?
No. Applicants do not sign up or log in. Each program's invitation email from interviews@interviewbroker.com has a secure scheduling link at the bottom, and you use that link to book, reschedule or join a waitlist.
Why haven't I received my Interview Broker invitation?
Most likely the program has not sent it yet. Interview Broker also notes that an email can rarely land in spam, so search for the sender address. If a program said it invited you and nothing came, contact the program coordinator.
Can I reschedule or cancel on Interview Broker?
Yes, from the link in your invitation, as many times as you need until your date enters the program's lockout. After that you cannot reschedule or cancel on your own, so email the program. How to cancel a residency interview.
How does the Interview Broker waitlist work?
You pick the dates you want, even while holding a booked date. If one opens, you are moved in automatically and get an email. Applicants with no date get priority, then whoever joined first. Residency interview waitlists.
Is Interview Broker the same as Thalamus?
No. They are separate companies. Thalamus is tied to ERAS and most ERAS programs use it, while some programs keep their own system such as Interview Broker. You may use both in one season. How Thalamus interviews work.