This article provides a summary of candidate attributes in Personio. Candidate attributes are the pieces of data Personio stores in a candidate's profile. They include both system attributes and any custom attributes you create. Candidate attributes are separate from employee attributes, although they follow a similar logic.

You can view candidate attributes in two places:

• The Profile tab of the candidate profile: Any attributes that contain values appear under Candidate information.
• The application list: You can view attributes in columns and use both system and custom attributes as filters.

You can manage candidate attribute settings via Settings > Recruiting > Attributes.

Understand the difference between system and custom attributes

There are two types of candidate attributes: system attributes and custom attributes.

System candidate attributes

System candidate attributes are predefined in Personio. When you hire a candidate, Personio transfers these attributes to their employee profile:

• First name
• Last name
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Email
• Workplace
• Department
• Position
• Legal entity

There are additional system attributes, listed below. Personio doesn’t transfer these attributes to a successful candidate's employee profile. They're only relevant to the recruiting process.

• Available from
• Recruiting channel
• Expected salary
• Location
• Current employer
• Current title
• Years of experience
• Public profile

Personio automatically translates system attributes to other languages. You don’t need to enter a translation manually.

Custom candidate attributes

You can create custom candidate attributes to collect specific information. For example, you might create an attribute for "full driving license" or "English proficiency level".

Learn how to create a custom candidate attribute. 

Understand where candidate attribute data comes from

Candidate attribute data can come from the following sources:

• The candidate’s application form. For example, name and email address.
• The job opening's metadata. For example, department.
• Information that Personio parses from the candidate’s CV. For example, current title or years of experience.
• Information that you manually enter in the candidate profile.

Manage candidate attributes in the settings

You can manage and edit your candidate attributes via Settings > Recruiting > Attributes. Note that if you change the attribute type for an existing attribute (for example, from Text to List of options), Personio doesn't automatically update the values on the candidate profile. You need to edit them directly in the candidate profile.

Any changes also affect the candidate application form available through the career page (if activated).

Mark an attribute as HR information

For each attribute, you can mark it as HR information by selecting the toggle. This can help you control the level of access other employees have to sensitive candidate information. For other employees to view or edit a candidate’s HR information, they need the appropriate recruiting role permissions.

When you hire a candidate, Personio automatically transfers any relevant system attributes to the matching attributes in the employee profile.