This article explains how to set up email communication for recruiting in Personio. A correct setup means that candidates receive your emails reliably and replies come back into Personio automatically.

There are different options available for setting up email communication for recruiting. 

• The default option is the Personio email service, which doesn’t require any setup. 
• The other option is to set up a connection using our Google integration, Microsoft integration, or SMTP. With this option, you can set your company’s own recruiting email address to appear as the email sender. 

You can configure different setup options for different legal entities. For example, your parent company might use the Personio email service, but a legal entity might use the Google integration.

Before you start

To set up email communication for recruiting, you need permissions for the Recruiting settings.

Note the following:

• For a connection to work, you need a fully licensed recruiting email address. Shared mailboxes aren't supported. Learn more in our troubleshooting article.
• To set up an SMTP connection, you need the support of your internal IT department.
• If you use Google or Microsoft as your email provider, then we strongly recommend you use the respective integration.

Understand the available options

There are different options available for setting up email communication in Recruiting. For an overview of your current configuration, go to Settings > Recruiting > Email setup. If you have multiple legal entities, you can apply the settings of the parent company or configure different setups for each one. 

Review the options shown in the table below to decide which setup is best for your organization.

Once you decide which option (or options) best suits your organization, follow the steps below. 

Step 1: Set up outbound email

If your account has multiple legal entities, the system asks whether you want to use the same outbound option for all entities. Alternatively, you can configure each one separately.

Set up our direct integration with Google or Microsoft

You can set up a direct integration with Google or Microsoft if your company uses one of them as an email provider.

To set up outbound email using our Google or Microsoft integration, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Recruiting section, click Email setup. 
3. For the relevant entity, click the button to edit. 
4. Click to connect your Google or Microsoft account and follow the on-screen instructions.
5. Once setup is complete, choose how the sender name appears to candidates. You can choose either the name of the employee sending the email or your company name.
6. Test your outbound setup. This step is optional, but Personio prompts you to run it so you can ensure the setup is working correctly.
7. Click Continue to move to the next step: Set up inbound email.

Personio validates your settings in real time. If something isn't right, for example, missing Google Workspace admin rights, you see an error message with details on what to fix.

Set up SMTP

Tip:
If you're currently using SMTP and your organization uses Google or Microsoft, consider switching to the direct integration. It's more reliable, easier to maintain, and doesn't require IT support for ongoing changes.

The SMTP settings vary depending on the SMTP server. This applies whether you're using Microsoft Exchange Server or other in-house hosted options. There are additional requirements for Microsoft Office 365, described further below.

To set up outbound email using SMTP, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Recruiting section, click Email setup. 
3. For the relevant entity, click the button to edit. 
4. Click Custom SMTP.

5. Under SMTP host, enter your email provider's hostname. The hostname is a unique identifier.
   Fill in the fields as described below.

   Field	Details
   Port	A port allows computers and servers to communicate with each other and with the internet. Using ports ensures that data packets are always assigned to the correct application. For example, emails are assigned to the port reserved for emails. The port to use depends on your SMTP server. Common ports are 587 (STARTTLS) or 465 (SMTPS), with less common options being 25 or 2525.
   Encryption	The encryption protocol to use between Personio’s servers and your mail host. This ensures that emails can be sent securely using SMTP. We support: SMTPS SMTP with STARTTLS SMTP with STARTTLS and Certification Verification SMTP with STARTTLS and Certification Verification is the secure option compatible with the largest number of email providers.
   Username	Personio uses the registered account to identify itself to your email provider's SMTP server. The account is usually a complete email address, for example, recruiting@yourcompany.com. The address entered must be the same as the user-defined email address. It must have permission to send emails via that address.
   Password	The password required is the same one you use to log in to the email associated with the username.

6. Enter an outbound email address. This is the sender email address that appears to candidates.
7. Choose how the sender name appears to candidates. You can choose either the name of the employee sending the email or your company name.
8. Test your outbound setup. This step is optional, but Personio prompts you to run it so you can ensure the setup is working correctly.
9. Click Continue to move to the next step: Set up inbound email.

Personio validates your settings in real time. If something isn't right, for example, incorrect SMTP values, you see an error message with details on what to fix.

Set up an SMTP connection with Microsoft Office 365

We strongly recommend using our direct integration with Microsoft. Alternatively, you can set up an SMTP connection. You need to fulfill the following requirements:

• Activate Authenticated SMTP in your Microsoft Office 365 account. For more information on activating Authenticated SMTP, refer to this Microsoft Exchange article.
• Have a licensed Microsoft Office 365 mailbox to send emails. For more information, read this Microsoft Exchange article.
• Use the following ports: Port 587 with TLS (recommended) or Port 25 with TLS. Check that your network doesn't block the ports.
• SMTP server: To link Microsoft Office 365 with Personio via SMTP, use Client submission (smtp.office365.com). This option supports most usage scenarios and is the easiest to set up.

Note:
Direct sending and SMTP Relay: Personio is an application that sends emails as a third-party provider. As such, the connection with this Microsoft Office version isn't supported.

Step 2: Set up inbound email

The Inbound section shows you the Personio-generated email address used to receive candidate emails. Emails sent to this address appear either in a candidate's profile or in Unassigned messages.

If you use the Personio email service for outbound email, no further inbound setup is needed.

If you use Google, Microsoft, or SMTP, you need to set up forwarding from your outbound email address to the Personio inbound address:

1. Copy your Personio inbound email address shown. It follows the format youraccount-jobs@m-personio.com.
2. In your company's email server, set up forwarding from your recruiting email address to the Personio address. Make sure the original email headers are preserved. Contact your IT department if you're unsure how to do this.
3. In Personio, test the email redirection to confirm that inbound messages arrive correctly.
4. Click Continue to move to the next step: Review.

When you set up forwarding successfully, emails are no longer sent through our in-built email service. If you experience delivery problems, Personio can’t investigate. Contact your IT department if you need support with setting up email forwarding.

Step 3: Review and save your setup

Once you've saved your configuration, the page shows a summary view of your current setup. For each legal entity (if applicable), you can see:

• The setup you’ve configured
• The outbound email (the email address used to send candidate emails)
• The sender display name
• The inbound email address (the email address used to receive candidate emails)
• Any active warnings with specific error descriptions, such as a connection issue or expired credentials

Activate your configuration. When you return to the Email setup overview page, you’ll see a marker to indicate that the setup is active. 

To make changes, go to the Email setup tab and click Edit to return to the setup flow. You can update your configuration at any time without needing to switch to a different service first.