Interview
An Interview in Salesforce is the runtime instance of a flow, alternately known as a Flow Interview.
Definition
An Interview in Salesforce is the runtime instance of a flow, alternately known as a Flow Interview. The term shows up across documentation in two contexts: as a synonym for Flow Interview (each run of a flow definition), and occasionally as a synonym for a candidate interview process tracked in Salesforce-based applicant tracking systems. The Flow Interview meaning is the primary one. Each time a record-triggered flow fires on a save, a screen flow launches from a user click, or an autolaunched flow runs from Apex, the platform creates an Interview that tracks the variables, current element, and running user for that specific execution.
Most interviews finish in milliseconds and never appear in the database. Paused screen flows, scheduled-path waits, and Pause-element-paused interviews persist as rows in the FlowInterview standard object. Admins can monitor paused interviews under Setup, Paused and Waiting Interviews, resume them on behalf of the user, or delete them when the underlying scenario no longer applies. The Interview term is also visible in the Apex Flow class (Flow.Interview) and the Bulk API job model where each running job has its own interview-like execution context.
The runtime nature of an Interview across flow types
Interview as flow runtime
The Flow definition (the metadata record visible in Setup) is the blueprint; the Interview is the instance. Each fire of a record-triggered flow on a DML event creates one Interview; each launch of a screen flow by a user creates one Interview; each Queueable Apex invocation of an autolaunched flow creates one Interview. The interview holds the current element pointer, the variable values, and the running user.
When interviews persist
Most interviews live only as long as the transaction that spawned them. They run, complete, and vanish. Interviews persist when a Pause element fires (screen flows), when a scheduled-path element queues an after-save action, or when a Wait element pauses an autolaunched flow waiting for a time or event. Persisted interviews appear in the FlowInterview standard object and are visible in Setup, Paused and Waiting Interviews.
Bulk DML and the interview count
Inserting 200 records that match a record-triggered flow''s entry criteria creates 200 Interviews in one Apex transaction. The interviews share the transaction''s governor budget (100 SOQL, 150 DML, 10s CPU); a flow that loops DML inside an element will exhaust the budget in the bulk case even when it works fine on single-record saves. This is the source of most production flow failures.
Debugging an Interview
Flow Builder''s Debug feature simulates a single interview against the live org. It shows variable values at each element, the path taken through decisions, and the SOQL counts. For interviews that have already run in production, the Apex Debug Log captures the same data with the Flow log level set. For paused interviews, Setup shows the saved state but not the full execution path.
Resuming a paused Interview
Paused screen-flow interviews appear in the user''s My Paused Interviews list on the Home page. Clicking Resume reloads the flow at the paused element with every variable already restored. Admins can resume on behalf of users from Setup; doing so changes the running-user context, which affects record access for the rest of the interview.
Apex Flow.Interview class
Apex code that wants to invoke a flow does so via the Flow.Interview class. The pattern: Flow.Interview myFlow = Flow.Interview.createInterview(''My_Flow_Name'', inputs); myFlow.start(). The class lets Apex pass input variables, control the start, and read output variables when the flow completes. The interview created this way runs in the calling Apex transaction.
Stale interview cleanup
Paused screen flows accumulate in FlowInterview indefinitely. A renewal wizard left half-finished six months ago still consumes a row. Build a schedule-triggered flow that queries FlowInterview older than a threshold and deletes them, or surface a list view to the relevant admin team. Without cleanup, the table grows and the paused-interviews list becomes unmanageable.
Manage paused interviews in production
The Setup, Paused and Waiting Interviews node is the operational view. Monitor weekly; cleanup quarterly.
- Open Paused and Waiting Interviews
Setup, Quick Find, Paused and Waiting Interviews. The list shows every interview that persisted.
- Filter by flow and owner
Group by flow name or owner to find the long-paused interviews. Stale interviews on a specific flow signal a screen flow that users abandon.
- Resume on behalf of users
For interviews that should complete, click Resume. The flow opens at the paused element.
- Delete dead interviews
For interviews that should not continue, delete them. Deletion is hard; the interview cannot resume after.
- Build automated cleanup
Create a schedule-triggered flow that deletes FlowInterview rows older than the chosen retention threshold (commonly 60-90 days).
- Configure unhandled-fault email
Setup, Process Automation Settings, set the unhandled-fault email recipient. Errors in interviews route to this address by default, instead of the running user.
- Stale FlowInterview rows accumulate indefinitely without cleanup. Plan a recurring delete-old-interviews job.
- Resuming an interview as a different user changes the running-user context, affecting record access for the rest of the run.
- Bulk DML creates many interviews in one transaction. A flow that runs fine on single records can fail on bulk saves; test with at least 200 records.
- The Apex Flow.Interview class runs flows in the calling transaction''s governor budget. Heavy Apex-invoked flows hit the same limits as direct Apex.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Flow InterviewSalesforce Help
- Paused and Waiting InterviewsSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Interview.
- FlowInterview ObjectSalesforce Developers
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is a Flow Interview?
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