This article explains different reasons why an email that was sent from your Recruiting section to a candidate might end up in the candidate's spam folder. It will also explain a way how to investigate the reason and provide possible solutions.
Reasons
There are four different reasons that could cause an email sender being marked as spam.
| Reason | Definition | Troubleshooting |
| DNS configuration problems |
There are some DNS configurations, like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, that contribute to an email sender's “quality”. If these configurations are not available, emails are more likely to be marked as spam. |
Use a spam test tool to get more details on the root cause. ▶︎ If you are using your own email address and an SMTP connection, ask your IT administrator to check your DNS settings. ▶︎ If you are using the company recruiting email address provided by Personio, the necessary configuration would already have been set up by Personio. |
| Email sender is listed in a public spammer list |
There are several public spammer lists available online. If your sender email is listed in one of those lists, your emails may end up in the candidate's spam folder. |
Use a spam test tool to get more details on the root cause. If your email is blacklisted, contact the spammer list and ask to be removed from the list. |
| Email content looks like spam | Email messages may look like spam to spam detectors. For example, if the email contains executable files as attachments. |
Use a spam test tool to get more details on the root cause. |
| Candidate marked similar emails as spam | If the candidate marked similar emails as spam in the past, the new emails end up in their spam folder. | The spam test tool cannot detect this. The candidate will need to mark the email as Not a spam to resolve the issue. |
Troubleshooting with a Spam Test Tool
To better understand why your emails end up in the candidate's spam folder, you can use a spam test tool such as Mail Tester. To test your spam score, follow these steps:
- Create a test application in Personio.
- Copy the test email address from the spam tester tool, and insert it in the test application's email address field.
- Use the same message that ended up in your candidate's spam folder, including attachments, and send it to the spam tester tool.
- Then go to the spam test tool and check your score.
The score should indicate in which areas the email is having issues. In case you are using the company recruiting email address provided by Personio, go to the Find Answers section in Personio via Help > Support and Updates > Find Answers and forward the results to our Support Team.