Overview 

This feature allows for application actions to be automatically triggered after a specified time (number of days) has passed. Some examples of how you might use this feature are when the application is in the:

  • “Incoming” bucket for X days, send processing delay email to candidate.
  • “Incoming” bucket for X days, send decline email and move to “Screened out” bucket. 
  • “Manager Review” bucket for X days, send email to prompt hiring manager. 
  • “Short List” bucket for X days, send short list processing delay email to candidate. 
  • “1st ivw – invited” bucket for X days (i.e. they have not yet picked a time slot), send interview slot not selected decline email and move to screened out bucket. 
  • “1st ivw – invited” on a pipeline job for X days (i.e. they have not yet picked a time slot), move the application back to the previous bucket for consideration for future jobs (no email sent). 
  • “1st ivw – booked” bucket for X days and is an internal candidate, send email alert to the Recruiters supervisor. 
  • “1st ivw – booked” bucket for X days and is an external/agency candidate, send a warning email to the Recruiter. 
  • “Decline later” bucket for X days and is an external candidate, send neutral decline email and move to “Screened out” bucket. 
  • “Onboarding” bucket for more than X days (i.e. not yet completed activities and moved to “Onboarding complete” bucket), send email to remind the candidate to complete the onboarding activities as soon as possible.  


Please note that the action can only be triggered to run once, it cannot repeat itself when a further number of days have elapsed. For example: 

  • If the timed action is set to 10 days, and the application remains in the bucket for 10 days, the action will be triggered. 
  • If the application stays in the bucket for another 10 days, the action is not re-triggered. 
  • The only way the action would occur again for this application is if the application is moved out of the bucket, and then returned to the bucket… and then only if the application stays in the bucket again for another 10 days. 


This article contains the following information:


Workflow / bucket options

Your organisation can configure up to three actions to be automatically triggered per bucket, per workflow, based upon the time (number of days) specified. The three actions available are for:

  1. An action for an external candidate after X days. 
  2. An action for an internal candidate after X days. 
  3. An action for an agency candidate after X days. 


Below is an example of a site with three workflows, and a variety of timed application actions setup:


TIP:  Your organisation may have included information about any timed application actions set up on your site in the bucket instructions you see when viewing job applications. 


Timing of action processing and time calculation

Timing of the action processing

The timed application actions process runs once a day for your site (Client Success can advise of the time the process runs on your site if required). This process is what triggers the actions to be taken on any matching applications based on the number of days specified.

During configuration, your organisation will have decided if this process should run every day, or only on weekdays (please note that if a public holiday falls on a weekday, the process will still run).


Time (number of days) calculation

The diagrams below shows how the time (number of days) is calculated for the timed application actions. In these examples, the site has been configured to only process timed application actions on weekdays, and the process runs on the site at 2 pm.


Example 1: For this workflow, if an application from an external candidate is still in the “Incoming” bucket at 3 days, send an email to the candidate apologizing for the delay. 



Example 2:  For this workflow, if an application from an internal candidate is still in the “Manager Review” bucket after 2 days, send an email to the manager to prompt action.


Example 3: For this workflow, if an application from an external candidate is in the “Decline later” bucket at 3 days, send a neutral decline email to the candidate and move the application to the “Screened out” bucket.


Conditions for action to trigger 

When a timed application action is configured for your site, there are a set of conditions the action must meet in order to be triggered. For your information, these conditions are listed below – please review these if you’re considering setting up a new timed application action for your site. 


For the application action to be triggered:

  1. The action to be triggered has to be configured with a “number of days” which is more than zero. 
  2. The action to be triggered must be a one-way action (i.e. not a two-way action where a reply is expected from the recipient of an email). 
  3. If the action to be triggered is set to generate an email to the candidate, there must be an email address associated with the candidate profile related to the application. 
  4. The action to be triggered cannot include any mandatory fields (even if there is a default value for the field, or the field already has an answer). 
  5. The action to be triggered also has to have the following setup: 
    • The status of active. 
    • Be able to be raised in the workflow you wish to trigger the action in.
    • Be able to be raised in the bucket you wish to trigger the action from.
    • Be able to be raised on the type of candidates (internal/external/agency) that you wish to trigger the action for.

Please note:  If you are considering setting up a new timed action for your site, you’ll need to consider the impacts on all jobs/applications on your site as timed application actions will run on any job, regardless of its status (e.g. it would include “Closed” jobs). Please discuss your requirements with Client Success so they can ensure the implementation of your new timed application action has the intended results.


History information 

Whenever a timed application action is triggered, a history item is added to the application history. For example:


  • After “Complete:” is the name of the application action which was triggered.
  • The “By:” will be “System”.
  • The “Date:” will be the date (and time) the timed application action process ran.