This article troubleshoots issues with email template formatting. We will explore common issues and provide possible solutions.

If you have not done so already, refer to our article on how to create email templates.

 

Before you start

To create and manage email templates, you need access rights to the Recruiting company settings. 

For troubleshooting, we recommend creating a temporary test application in Personio. Go to Recruiting > Applications and click Create application. Make sure to use an email address you can access. You can then send test emails via the Messages and Interviews tabs of this application.

 

Clear the formatting in your email template

Issue:

• The placeholder font appears different from the rest of the email.
• You copied and pasted the email content from another document, for example, a Word document. Now, the formatting of the email is incorrect.

Possible solution:

We recommend you use the clear format option within the editor. Try these steps:

1. In Settings, go to Recruiting > Email templates.
2. Open the email template.
3. Select all text (command + A on a Mac) or highlight the incorrectly formatted text.
4. In the editor panel at the top of the email body, click the clear format icon.
5. Apply your changes.

Customize the formatting of the email using HTML

Issue:

You want to customize the formatting of the email or signature.

Possible solution:

In the editor panel at the top of the email body, click More text and then Code view. Here, you can edit the email content’s HTML code. Learn more about how to customize the code.

 

Try typing the placeholder text manually

Issue:

The placeholder didn’t work. It appears in code format.

Possible solution:

1. In Settings, go to Recruiting > Email templates.
2. Open the email template.
3. Try typing the message manually into the email template.

This helps to avoid typos and errors. You can also try clearing the formatting in the editor, as described above.

 

Add placeholders in the email template settings

Issue:

You want to email a candidate from the Messages tab of the candidate profile. You select an email template and try to add new or extra placeholders, but it doesn’t work.

Possible solution:

You can only add placeholders in the email template settings.

1. In Settings, go to Recruiting > Email templates.
2. Open the email template.
3. Add the necessary placeholders.

 

Ensure placeholder language is correct

Issue:

The placeholder text appears in a different language to the rest of the email. This is a common issue with interview placeholders. It happens because the placeholder language is taken from the job’s default language.

Example:
You create a job with English as the default language. You send an interview invitation using a German template. The template contains the placeholder for the interview weekday. The email that is sent to the candidate is in German, but the weekday appears in English.

Possible solution:

Before sending an interview invitation to a candidate, change any incorrect placeholders to the correct language. You need to do this manually.

 

Ensure signatures aren’t duplicated

Issue:

Two sets of signatures appear in the body of the email.

Possible solution:

This happens if you set a personalized signature and also add a signature to an email template. Ensure that:

• No signature is selected for the autoresponder. This is an automated email response that is sent to candidates when they apply. Go to Recruiting > Categories, and select the relevant recruiting category. Under Autoresponder, ensure no employee is selected. You need to perform this check for all relevant recruiting categories.
• You delete your personal signature when composing emails using templates.

 

Contact customer support

If the steps in this article didn't solve your problem, contact our Customer Support team and let them know you have already tried these steps.