This article explains how to send messages to candidates from Personio's Recruiting section. You can invite them to an interview, send emails to request further information, or send a rejection message in bulk to all remaining applicants once a position has been successfully filled. 

Send an Interview Invitation to a Candidate

Once you have created the interview, you will see in the overview of the interview tab the newly scheduled interview and all its details. Learn more about Scheduling Interviews without Calendar Integration, or how to Schedule Interviews Using the Integrated Calendar. 

There are two different ways to send the details of an interview to a candidate from within Personio. Either through an Email template that uses placeholders to automatically insert interview details into the message, or by copying the details and pasting them in a message.

Send the Interview Details via an Email Template

Note Email templates are only available if you have the Productivity Plus package.

To send an interview invitation using an email template, follow these steps:

1. Click Email invite to candidate.
2. A message modal will appear. If you want to copy someone else into the message, click Add Cc/Bcc.
3. Then Select an email template from the drop-down-menu.
   Tip If set up correctly, the template already contains placeholders for the candidate name, the position, the interview date, the interview time, and the videoconferencing link which will automatically be filled in with the interview details. Learn how to Create Email Templates.

4. If you have configured an email signature in your profile, it will be displayed at the bottom of the message body. Learn more about Setting Up an Email Signature.

5. You can add an attachment to the message if needed. To do so, drag and drop files, upload a new document, or use a document that has previously been sent.
6. Then click Send email.

The invitation will automatically create an event in the candidate's calendar, and the message body will be shown in the event. 

Note Depending on the settings of the candidate's email provider, the candidate's response to the invitation (accepted or declined) will be sent to Personio and will be reflected in the interview overview.

Send a Copy of the Interview Details

The second option is to Copy the interview details and send them to the candidate. To do so, follow these steps:

1. In the interview overview, click Copy details . 
2. Then click Email invite to candidate.
3. A message modal will appear. If you want to copy someone else into the message, click Add Cc/Bcc.
4. Insert a subject line and create an email body. Where suitable, in your email, paste the previously copied interview details. 

5. If you have configured an email signature in your profile, it will be displayed at the bottom of the message body. Learn more about Setting Up an Email Signature.

6. You can add an attachment to the message if needed. To do so, drag and drop files, upload a new document, or use a document that has previously been sent.
7. Then click Send email.

The invitation will automatically create an event in the candidate's calendar, and the message body will be shown in the event. 

Note Depending on the settings of the candidate's email provider, the candidate's response to the invitation (accepted or declined) will be sent to Personio and will be reflected in the interview overview.

Send a Message to a Candidate

To send a general message to a candidate, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Recruiting > Applications, and click on the relevant candidate. The candidate profile will be displayed.
2. Click on the Messages tab and select New Message.
3. If you want to copy someone else into the message, click Add Cc/Bcc.
4. Fill in the subject line and the email body.
   Tip If you have Personio Productivity Plus and have set up Email templates, you can select an Email template.

5. If you have configured an email signature in your profile, it will be displayed at the bottom of the message body. Learn more about Setting Up an Email Signature.

6. You can add an attachment to the message if needed. To do so, drag and drop files, upload a new document, or use a document that has previously been sent. Documents can have a max. file size of 10Mb.
   Tip You can define which employees are permitted to view or edit candidate documents that you send or receive.
7. Then click Send email or click on the Clock to schedule a date and time for sending the email.

Tip Next to the profile picture, you will see the email address from which the message to the candidate will be sent. You can select if the Sender name should be the Employee or the Company under Settings > RECRUITING >  Recruiting > General > Recruiting email settings. To send messages from Personio using your company's or subcompany's recruiting email address as the sender address, you need to set up a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

Message Status

Once a message has been sent, it will appear in the Messages tab with a certain status. The different status options are the following:

Send Bulk Emails

Bulk emails can be used to send the same message to several candidates (for example, to thank them for their application), or to send a rejection message to all remaining applicants once the position has been filled. 

Send a Bulk Message

To send emails to multiple candidates at the same time, follow these steps:

1. Go to Recruiting > Applications and select the candidates you want to contact by ticking the checkbox in front of their name.
2. Click the Actions button and select Send email from the list of options.
3. Select an email template or insert a Subject and create a message from scratch.
4. Optionally attach documents via drag and drop, upload a new document, or use a document that has previously been sent. Documents have a max. file size of 10Mb.
5. Click Send email or click on check the box Send email later to schedule a date and time for sending the email.

Send a Bulk Rejection Email

To send rejection emails in bulk, follow these steps:

1. Go to Recruiting > Applications and select the candidates you want to reject by ticking the checkbox in front of their name.
2. Click the Actions button and select Disqualify from the list of options.
3. In the modal, select Reject candidate.
4. Select a suitable disqualification reason from the drop-down menu.
5. Optionally, add a Note for further clarification.
6. Optionally, activate the checkbox anonymize candidate's personal data.
7. Select Reject with email, to send a rejection email automatically to the candidates from within Personio using an email template.
8. Click Send email or click on the Clock icon to schedule a date and time for sending the email.

For more information on disqualification reasons, read our article Disqualification during the Application Process.