Receive applications by email

Every job has its own email address, created with the job. When a candidate emails their CV to it, or you forward a CV to it from your own inbox, the email becomes an application for that job, with the CV stored and AI screening started, just as if the candidate had used the apply page. There is nothing to set up.

Find the address

Open the job from Jobs. The Email-in card is on the job's page once the job is published, and always under Channels. The address starts with apply+, followed by a code that identifies the job.

1. 1

   Step 1: The address

   Select Copy and put the address wherever candidates should send CVs: a job ad, your website, an email signature. Save it in your own mail contacts too, so you can forward CVs to it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Channel active

   Switch it off to stop accepting applications at this address. Email threads with candidates who already applied are not affected.

What happens to an email

When an email arrives at the job's address:

• The sender becomes the candidate. The application is created under the sender's name and email address, unless the sender is on your team (see the next section), and the email itself is kept on the candidate's email thread. See Email threads with candidates.
• The first CV-like attachment becomes the CV. That is the first PDF, DOC or DOCX file up to 10 MB. It is screened like any other application. See How AI screening works.
• No attachment, no screening. An email without a usable CV still creates an application, marked as not screened because no CV was attached. If the same person then sends a CV, it is added to their application and screening starts.
• One application per candidate per job. Further emails from the same candidate are added to that person's thread instead of creating a new application.

New applications appear in the candidates list and on the pipeline board like any other. Each one counts toward your monthly usage once it is scored. See Usage and projected charges.

Forward a CV from your own inbox

When someone on your team forwards an email to the job's address, the application is filed under the candidate, not under them. An email counts as a forward when it contains the forwarded message, or its subject starts with Fwd:, FW: or your mail app's equivalent. A team member who emails their own CV, without forwarding, applies like anyone else. The forward must also pass the standard check that proves it really comes from the team member's mailbox (SPF), as mail sent from Gmail, Outlook or a company mail server normally does. If it doesn't, nothing is filed and the team member gets an email back asking them to forward it again from their usual mail app or to use the apply link.

The candidate is found in this order:

1. The forwarded message. The original sender in the forwarded part of the email, as Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail write it, becomes the candidate, with their name. Senders who are on your team or use your company's email domain, for example a colleague who forwarded it to you, are skipped, and so are automated senders such as job-board notifications and no-reply addresses.
2. The CV. If the forwarded part names no one else, the candidate's own email address in the attached CV is used. Addresses in a references section are skipped. The CV's address also wins when the forwarded sender is someone else, such as an agency, and their address is not in the CV. In this case AI screening fills in the name from the CV.
3. Nothing found. If neither has a candidate email address, or the CV mentions neither the forwarded sender's address nor their name (an agency CV with the contact details removed, for example), no application is created. You get an email back saying so, with what to do instead: forward the candidate's original email, send them the job's apply link, or add the CV with Import candidates on the job's page.

Recent activity on the dashboard shows that you forwarded the CV. A forward for a candidate who already applied to the job is added to their application, the same as a second email from them. If you forward to a job that is not open, or whose address is switched off, you get an email back saying why. These replies are limited to a few per hour for each job.

Things to know

• Open jobs only. Emails to a job that is paused, closed or still a draft are ignored, and so are emails to an address you switched off.
• The address is not verified like the apply page. Candidates who apply by email do not confirm their address with a code, and they do not get a link to a status page.
• Tracked email addresses. For boards that send applications by email, the Distribution checklist offers a version of the address with the board's name added, so those applicants are counted under that board. See Job boards, social media and tracked links.

Who can switch it off

Owners, Admins and Recruiters can switch the address on or off. Everyone who can see the job sees its address.