Before you begin
Open the Tests section from the left-hand navigation in your Colare dashboard. This is where every assessment lives, and where every new hiring flow starts.
From here, you can see your existing tests, search and filter them by activity or status, and create new ones. To start a new assessment, click into the test creation flow. You build the test from your question library, question by question.
Once questions are added, you'll land in a preview page that shows the number of questions and the estimated time for a candidate to complete the test. You can rename the test and modify any question by clicking Edit. Editing gives you full configuration over each property: constraints, problem, load case, assumptions, writing prompts, and estimated time.
When you click Create test, you'll see the test duration, a Preview button to view the candidate experience, and a checkbox to Skip proctoring during test previews.
Creating an assessment
You assemble the assessment yourself, so you have full control over what it measures from the start.
Start a new test
This opens your question library, where you can browse and select the questions you want to include.
Browse and select questions
The library includes multiple choice, long answer, and project questions. Click any question to add it. It'll appear in the test preview on the right.
Watch the test preview build
As you add questions, the preview updates the total count and expected duration. Use it as a running check on the size and scope of what you're building.
Save the test
When the assessment looks complete, save it. It'll appear in your Tests section, ready to send.
Adding or creating custom questions
You can add questions to any assessment after it's been created. Open the assessment from the Tests section and click Add question.
Every question lives in My Library. Your company's own questions are kept separate from the Colare question bank, so you can tell at a glance which ones your team wrote. You can filter by question type and skill, sort the list, and create a new question there without opening an assessment. Adding a library question to an assessment also works from the assessment itself: click Add question → Add from library.
Add from library
Pick any question from My Library and add it to the current assessment.
Create custom
Write a brand new question tailored to this role.
Creating a custom question
Choose the question type (multiple choice, long answer, or project), then configure the content. The question builder has a sections editor for laying out the question, lets you tag the skills it assesses, and lets you attach files that candidates see in the test. A live candidate preview sits beside the builder while you edit, so you can check how the question reads as you write it.
Multiple choice
Configure title, estimated time, assessed skills, short description, candidate instructions, context, objective, prompt, and answer choices. Choices are labeled A, B, C, and D, and you can add more with + Choice. Mark one as correct using the Correct toggle. Add a rubric where each row pairs a scoring criterion with a description and weight.
Long answer
Same configuration as multiple choice, plus a long-answer prompt and an optional answer placeholder, a writing hint shown inside the candidate's response box, useful for nudging structure or starting points. A long-answer question can have several parts, and you can set a character limit on the candidate's response.
Once configured, click Save task. The question is saved to My Library and can be added to any test.
Editing assessments after creation
Assessments aren't locked in once they're saved. From the Tests section you can rename, archive, or delete any assessment, and you can open any assessment to add new questions, swap existing ones, or update its configuration. Candidates who have been invited but haven't opened the assessment yet see the updated version. Candidates who have already opened it or are in progress finish the version they started, and are scored against that version's rubric. Completed results stay as they are. See How to send an assessment for the full breakdown.
General settings: renaming an assessment
Every assessment has a Settings tab where you can manage its configuration. The General sub-tab is where you rename the test. Open the assessment, click Settings → General, update the test name, and save. Renaming is safe to do anytime, even after candidates have been invited. The assessment URL and ID remain the same, so existing invitation links continue to work.
Sharing your assessment for internal review
Before sending an assessment to candidates, you may want internal teammates to preview it and weigh in on the content. Open the assessment, click Settings → Test Invites, and click Create link to generate a shareable preview link. Anyone with the link can experience the assessment the way a candidate would, without affecting your candidate data or the test's metrics. Create as many preview links as you need and revoke them later.
What's next
Once your assessment is built, you're ready to start inviting candidates. For more on how invitations work, see Inviting candidates in the Quick Start Guide.