Working with Candidates

To get started with the recruitment process with a specific candidate you can click on the stage she/he is currently in or by going to the recruitment records from his/her profile.

You can view the candidate's full name, ID, CV, Recruitment pipeline and current stage s/he is in, the date when the candidate was linked to this recruitment and also see tags. Right within this page you can also make any changes to the hiring team.

Depending on the stage you can perform different actions with the candidate, like: 

• Update Job Related Details: just click the Edit button to make any modifications
• View the Timeline: here you will see any actions that have been performed on the candidate by the hiring team, from linking to recruitment to hiring/rejecting him/her
• View and add public or private Notes to the candidate's profile
• View the Messages field, that is see any correspondence between the candidate and hiring team as well as send new messages 

• See the exact number of candidates in your current filtered or sorted list.
• Track the current candidate serial number within the filtered or sorted list.

Tip: You can unlink the candidate from recruitment (specific pipeline or job opening) while s/he is in the Recruitment Start stage.

To move the candidate to the next stage click the Move to Next Stage button.

• Click the arrow next to the button to reveal a dropdown menu. This menu allows you to move candidates to any custom stage from the current flow or move directly to the Job Offer stage

When a candidate is moved to the next stage, they will automatically receive a survey to provide feedback on their experience and/or test, if their inclusion has been configured for the job opening. The following relevant records will be added to the stage at which the survey and/or test was sent:

• The name of the employee who triggered the survey or test by moving the candidate to the next stage.
• Status of the survey or test (e.g., "Sent," "Submitted).
• Name of the candidate to whom the survey or test was sent.
• The title of the survey or test that was sent.

Note: The View Response button will be visible only when the Survey and Test Status is Submitted, indicating that the candidate has filled out and completed the survey.

When you click on the View Responses button, the "View Responses" sidebar appears with a comprehensive overview of a candidate's submitted answers. This allows you to quickly evaluate their feedback or performance.

At the top, you'll see the candidate' name whose responses you are viewing.

For Survey Responses:

• Questions: Each question from the survey template is displayed.

• Candidate's Answer: Directly below each question, you'll see the candidate's selected response, providing their feedback on the experience.

For Test Responses:

• Total Points / Earned Points: At the top, you'll find a summary showing the maximum possible points for the test and the actual points the candidate earned.

• Categorized Questions: Questions are often organized by categories (e.g., "ENGLISH (LISTENING)", "ENGLISH (READING)") to break down the assessment.

• Questions: Each test question is displayed.

• Candidate's Selected Answer: The specific option chosen by the candidate is shown.

• Points per Question: The points assigned to each question are indicated.

Assigning Associates

Depending on the next stage type, you will be able to add team members to the hiring team. To assign an associate, perform these steps:

1. Click the Assign Associate  button 
2. Select the associates who should complete the assessment by leaving feedback and evaluating the candidate.
3. Specify the Deadline by entering the date and time by which the associate must complete their assessment and feedback.

4. Toggle the Request Feedback switch to determine if the assigned associate should be prompted to leave feedback. If enabled, a Leave Feedback button will appear for them.

5. Add any relevant notes or instructions for the associate in this text input field. 

6. Upload supporting documents or files for the associate. 

7. Enable the Send Survey switch to include an internal survey for the assigned associate. If enabled, you must select a Survey Type and a Survey Template from the available internal surveys.

8. Click Save once finished.

Once an associate is assigned, their entry will appear in the Associate Assignments list. You (as one of the hiring team members) will have access to complete it for yourself by clicking the Leave Feedback button. Depending on the recruitment pipeline configurations, you will be able to evaluate the candidate, leave a comment, and upload attachments.

Once feedback is left, the associates can edit their comments.

For each assignment, you can see:

• A small circle indicating whether the person completed the assessment
• Feedback & Results: The assigned associate will see a Leave Feedback button to submit their evaluation. The results, including their decision, rating, and any comments, will be displayed here once submitted.
• Survey Link: If a survey was included in the assignment, a generated link will be displayed here, allowing the associate to complete it. Once the survey is submitted, a View Response button will appear, which opens the survey response in a sidebar.
•  An Action menu provides options:

• Edit: To make changes to the assignment (including the deadline, text, or attachments).

• Delete: To remove the assignment.

• See Details: To view the full details of the assignment, including the content of the text and the uploaded files.

Scheduling Meetings 

Depending on which stage the candidate is in, you'll be able to schedule a meeting with the candidate and the associate. Meetings can be scheduled with calendar integration (if you have connected a calendar service) or directly within the system.

To schedule a meeting using calendar integration, follow these steps:

1. Click Schedule Meeting button
2. Select the Invite Candidate checkbox to automatically send a meeting invitation to the candidate. If this option is not selected, the candidate will not receive an invitation.
3. Invite other team members to the meeting by selecting their names from the Associates field.
4. Set the date and time of the event
• The meeting duration is automatically set based on the start time, but you can adjust it.
5. In the pop-up window for the meeting invitation, you will see and fill in the following fields:
• Sent via Integration: The switch is enabled by default, meaning meeting invitations will be sent through your connected calendar
• From: The field will be inactive as it already indicates the sender's name and email address
• To: The field will show the name and email addresses of the candidate and associate(s)
• The Info icon next to the field allows you to change the associate.
• Event date and time
• The Info icon next to the field allows you to change the date and time
• Email Subject

• If you haven't manually added the subject, the system will automatically populate the meeting subject line based on the selected email template (for candidate or associate).

•  If both Associate and Candidate email templates are selected, the system will autofill the subject line from the selected Candidate template.

• Location: You can enter the location manually 
• In case the integration is enabled, you will be able to choose the available meeting rooms
• Microsoft Teams: Toggle this option to schedule a Microsoft Teams meeting
• Candidate Email Text: Select whether to send an email invitation to the candidate
• Associate Email Text: Select whether to send an email invitation to the associate
• Attachments: You are free to browse and upload any attachments from your device
• Email Template: You can select the email template that was created beforehand in the Settings → Customizations section
• Signature: You can select a specific signature specifically for this email in case it is created in advance 
• Message content: You can either write it manually or, if the template is used, just add any adjustments using the tools of the editor.
6. Once everything is ready, click the Send button 

Schedule a meeting without calendar integration

Meetings without calendar integration are scheduled similarly to those with integration (See the steps for scheduling meetings with calendar integration), but with a few key differences. To schedule a meeting without integration:

• Disable the Sent via Integration toggle.
• Modify the prefilled Creator Name and Creator Email fields.

Once the invitation is sent and associates have responded (by clicking the Change Response button), the meeting status will change to Upcoming. At this point,  you can:

• Edit: Modify the meeting details if needed
• Get Responses: Track who has accepted or declined the invite
• See Details: Review the complete meeting information
• Cancel Meeting: If necessary, you can still cancel the meeting

To modify the event, please perform these steps:

1. Click the Actions menu next to the meeting's name and select the Edit button.

2. Modify the event's date and time.

3. The system will automatically send an updated invitation to all participants (Candidate and Associates) to ensure everyone is notified of the change.

Important: The ability to send messages to candidates depends on whether you're assigned as their recruiter. If you are, you can access the Send Message feature in two ways:

1. From the Candidate's Stage: Locate the candidate's current stage within the recruitment process. You'll find the Send Email button within that stage
2. From the Candidate Profile: Go to the candidate's profile page and navigate to the Messages tab →Send Email. 

• Sent via Integration is ON: You can send messages through your connected email service.


• Sent via Integration is OFF: You can't send messages through integration at this time. This could be due to the integration being
  disabled for your organization or you not being logged in with the correct email. Please check with your administrator or login with the appropriate email address.

Click here to learn more about connecting Spark.work with third-party email services

Steps to Send a Message:

• Sent via Integration: The switch is enabled by default, meaning the message will be sent through connected integration.
• From: This field displays the sender name and email address associated with the integrated email service.
• To: The field displays the recipient's (candidate) name and email address of your message
• Click More Options to fill additional fields.
• CC: Include additional email recipients who should receive a copy of the message
• BCC: Similar to CC, include email addresses of people who will receive the message without being shown to other recipients
• Type the valid email address of the external recipient in the CC or BCC field. Add External Email will appear below the field. Click it to confirm adding the external email address
  
• Scheduled: When activated, allows you to schedule the message to be sent at a specific date and time
• Attachments: Attach relevant files to your message
• Email Template: Choose a pre-defined email template for standardized messaging
• Signature: Your organization's email signature might be automatically added to the message
• select a specific signature from a dropdown menu
• Subject: The subject will be automatically added after the template is selected
• Message: Compose the main text content of your message
• HTML Editor: Use formatting tools to polish the message body for improved readability
• You can also enable the Google Editor for an alternative editing experience.

Additional fields available with Integration OFF:

• Sender Name: This field allows you to manually specify the name that will appear as the sender of the message
• Sender Email: This field allows you to manually specify the email address that will be used to send the message
• By default, it will be sent from [email protected] if no email address is entered

• Cancel: Discard any changes made to the message and close the window
• Save as Draft: Save the message for future editing and sending
• Send: Send the message to the intended recipient

When you reach the Job Offer stage you are able to: 

• Select the status of the Job Offer stage
• Pending
• Approved
• Rejected
• Log the conversation with the candidate by clicking the + Add Record button
• Send Email within the Job Offer stage
• You can also send surveys or tests to the candidate directly from this stage using the Send Survey and Send Test options.

Finally, once all the records are gathered and emails are sent, you are very close to completing the hiring process. You will need to

• Click the Reject or Hire button

• Reject: 
• Select the rejection type from the dropdown list provided by the system (Rejected by Company, Withdrawn, Declined Offer).
• Specify the rejection reason, which needs to be created in advance from Settings → Customizations → Key Properties section 
•  To send an automatic rejection notification, switch on the Rejection Notification toggle. Then, select a template from the dropdown list.

Notes: 

• If a template was predefined in the Job Opening's Position Details, it will be prefilled in the dropdown list. You can choose to use this prefilled template or select a different one.
• If you select "Withdrawn" or "Declined Offer" as the rejection type, the Rejection Notification will be automatically turned off, and you won't be able to send a rejection email in these cases.

• Hire: 
• You can hire a candidate by filling in the necessary fields. Alternatively, enable the toggle switch to create a full employee profile directly from the candidate's existing profile.
• Rehired Candidate: Enable this option if the employee has previously worked for the company. This helps track and manage former employees rejoining the workforce, with data visible in Job Analytics reports( Reports → Custom → Talent Acquisition).
• Also, do not forget to specify the Hire Date
• Click Save to complete the employee profile setup or to hire the candidate.