Jobs and Candidates

When someone applies for a published job, OpenATS creates a candidate record for that application. The record keeps the applicant's contact details, resume, answers, and recruitment activity together.

Submit an application

You need at least one published job before you can test this flow.

1. Open http://localhost:3000/careers in a browser. This is the public careers page for your local OpenATS installation.

2. Review the published jobs and select the job you want to test.

   You can also open the dashboard, select Manage Jobs, open the job, and use the careers-page URL shown in the job header. That link takes you directly to the selected public job.

3. On the job page, select Apply.

4. Enter a test first name, last name, email address, and phone number.

5. Upload a resume if you want to test CV storage and analysis. Resume upload requires the Cloudflare R2 configuration described in the setup guide.

6. Answer the custom application questions, if the job has any.

7. Select Submit application.

Use a different email address for each test submission. OpenATS rejects a second application from the same email address for the same job.

After the submission succeeds, return to the dashboard and select Candidates in the sidebar. The new applicant appears in the list and is connected to the job they selected.

Open the candidate profile

Select the candidate in the list to open their profile. The profile header shows the candidate's name, contact details, current status, and actions such as View CV, Edit, and Delete. Use View CV to open the uploaded resume without leaving the profile.

The profile tabs provide separate views of the information collected during recruitment.

Candidate profile tabs

AI analysis (optional)

This tab appears only when AI CV analysis is turned on. It is off by default, and when it is off the tab is not shown at all.

When it is on, OpenATS sends the candidate's CV to Google Gemini, which writes notes to help you read it faster:

• a short summary of the candidate's background;
• strengths;
• gaps and things to check;
• which of the job's required skills were found in the CV, and which were not.

The tab is labelled "Generated by AI. Not part of the score." There is deliberately no AI score, rating or recommendation. The notes can be wrong or miss things, so read the CV yourself before you decide. The candidate's real score is explained in Candidate scoring.

Turning it on or off

1. Open Settings → General.
2. Find the AI CV analysis card and use the switch. Only Super Admins and Hiring Managers can change it.

The switch can only be turned on if the server has a Gemini API key. Without one, the card shows "Add a Gemini API key to use this". Ask whoever runs your installation to add it (see the setup guide).

When	What happens
The switch is off	No CV is sent anywhere. The AI analysis tab is hidden for every candidate.
The switch is on	A CV is analysed when a candidate applies, and again if a recruiter replaces their CV.
You turn it off later	Analyses already made are kept, but hidden. Turn it back on and they reappear.
A CV is replaced while it is off	The old notes are removed, because they described the previous CV.

Analysis runs in the background, so the tab can say "Reading the CV" for a few seconds after an application arrives. You can leave the profile and come back. Candidates who applied while the switch was off have no notes; the tab says so.

Answers

The Answers tab shows the candidate's responses to the custom questions configured for the job. Text responses are shown with their question, and selected options are shown for checkbox or radio questions. If the application had no custom questions, the tab indicates that no answers were submitted.

Stage History

The Stage History tab records each time the candidate's stage changed. It shows the stage name and the date and time of the change, with the most recent entry highlighted. This gives the team a timeline of the candidate's progress without requiring a separate spreadsheet.

Offer

The Offer tab contains the candidate's offer when one exists. It can show the offer status, salary and pay frequency, start date, expiry date, sent date, and offer-letter preview. Draft offers can be reviewed and updated before they are sent.

Interviews

The Interviews tab lists interviews connected to this candidate. Each entry can include the event name, interviewer, scheduled time, meeting or location details, status, and outcome. Use Schedule from this tab when you are ready to invite the candidate to an interview.

Rejection

The Rejection tab records rejection actions and reasons for this candidate. When appropriate, the team can choose a rejection reason and decide whether to send a rejection email using an email template. Keeping the reason here makes the final decision clear to the hiring team.

Send Email

The Send Email tab lets an authorized team member compose an email to the candidate. Enter a subject and message, send it, and review the messages recorded in the profile.

Assessments

The Assessments tab shows assessment invitations and attempts associated with the candidate. It displays the current state, such as pending, in progress, completed, or expired. Select a completed attempt to review its questions, answers, and score details.

Update candidate details

If an applicant's basic information is incorrect, use Edit in the profile header to update their name, email, phone number, or resume. Uploading a replacement resume replaces the current CV and can start a new analysis.

Use Delete only when the record should be permanently removed. It also erases the candidate's CV file; see Deleting candidate data for exactly what is and is not removed. If you need to keep the recruitment history, retain the candidate record and use the appropriate status or decision action instead.