Create a workflow to automate parts of the hiring process

Updated at August 20th, 2026

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Table of Contents

Workflows Builder layout Create a workflow Add actions to a status Automatic actions based on available action types Configure the start point and triggers Disable a status Save and publish the workflow Locked down and limited workflow statuses Statuses with limited action options

Workflows can be created to move the candidate along in the hiring process without manual intervention. While most workflows will be initially set up during implementation, you may need to create additional workflows or adjust existing workflows over time. This article walks you through the process of creating a new workflow.

Workflows Builder layout

On the left-hand side of the builder, the navigation menu lists all pre-populated statuses from the journey you selected. The menu can be expanded or collapsed to give you more space on the canvas. The menu also displays the workflow's Status, Audience, Journey, and Language.
On the right-hand of the builder, you will find the following navigation tools:
- Hand Tool – In the upper-right corner of the canvas, this tool is automatically selected, allowing you to click and drag the canvas to move around the workflow.
- Zoom – In the upper-right corner of the canvas, this tool lets you zoom in or out of the canvas. You can zoom incrementally or snap to a specific view, such as zooming to 100% or a Zoom to Fit to view the entire configuration for that status.
- Search – In the bottom right corner of the canvas, this tool allows you to find specific actions by searching for an action type, name, or text within the action's configuration.

Create a workflow

Users with full access to Workflows can complete the below steps.

In the top left corner, select All Apps, and then select Settings.
From the Settings page, select Workflows under the Automation section.
From the left-hand navigation, select your target audience:
- Candidate Workflows
- User Workflows
In the upper-right corner, select + Create New.
A modal will then open. Enter in the following details:
- Workflow Name – Enter a unique name for your Workflow.
- Audience – Select the audience type you are targeting. If you're creating a candidate Workflow, the audience will be locked as Candidate. For the User Workflow, you can select from a dropdown of Employee Roles or Hiring Team Roles.
- Journey – Select the journey you want to associate with this Workflow. This will pre-fill the workflow with the stages and statuses of the associated journey.
Select Create.

Important Note on Workflow Communication Audiences:

When you are creating a new user workflow, you can select Hiring Team Roles and User Roles in the Audience section when they are enabled. Within these roles, there are:

Hardcoded audiences (such as Interview Attendees, Location Contact, Location Point of Contact, Interview Editor) listed under the Employee Roles section will always receive workflow communications if selected.
User roles (such as Interview Owner, Hiring Manager, Recruiter, etc.) will only receive workflow communications if they are selected under the Employee Type on Job (ATS) section. Selecting a user role under Employee Roles will not send workflow communications to those users.

If you want a user role to receive workflow communications, ensure you select it under Employee Type on Job (ATS).

If Multilingual is enabled for the account, you can select the languages to use in the workflow by selecting the language selector in the left-hand navigation. There is an additional cost for Multilingual, so additional languages should not be enabled unless noted in the client’s solution architecture.

You will then be taken to the Workflows Builder. From here, you can take the following actions:

Add actions to a status

The first action for every status is pre-populated as the Start Point. This action indicates that the workflow begins when a candidate’s status changes to the corresponding status name.

From the left-hand navigation, select the status you want to configure.
Select the + button. You can add an action in sequence or insert one between two existing actions. Action types include the following:

Default options

Below is a comprehensive list of the default options available to select as an action type:

Send Communication – Send a communication to the workflow audience recipient. By clicking the # Use a Template button, you can select a messaging template created specifically for workflows and sent based on preconfigured languages.
- Important Notes:
  - If the communication includes any basic URLs, those URLs will have “http://” added to the beginning of the URL so that the system recognizes it as a full URL and it will display correctly when the communication is sent.
  - Requisition-Based Permissions: Any Interviewers added to a requisition after Scheduling takes place will be updated on the job and receive the corresponding workflow communications.
  - Candidate Added to CEM via API: The system will validate the candidate’s phone number before the opt-in communication preferences message is sent. If the phone number is invalid, the system will not send the message.
    - Character Limit: The character limit for workflow communications is:
      - Email = no character limit
      - SMS = 640 characters
        
        If you previously had a message that exceeded this limit, then the message will still display. However, the next time a user goes to save the page, a warning will pop-up, prompting the user to update the message so that it is within the character limit. Clicking the x icon will leave the message as is.
        
        When you have entered an input greater than 160 characters for SMS, then the character counter will turn orange and a warning message will display under the text.
    - Tokens Supported: The following tokens are supported in workflow communications:
      - Custom and Standard Candidate Attribute Tokens
      - Custom and Standard Job Attribute Tokens
      - Event Tokens
Move to Status – Move the candidate to a different Candidate Journey status.
Tracking Pixel – Add a traveling pixel to the audience action.
Add Condition – Add a condition to the workflow. Please see the documentation on conditional workflows for more information.
Set Attribute Value – Set a specific value for the defined Candidate Attribute.
Add a Delay Action – Add a pause between two actions. This action type must be followed by another action in the workflow.
User Legacy Integration – Should only be configured by an Integrations Consultant.

Feature specific options

Below is a comprehensive list of options that require specific features to select as an action type:

Send Realistic Job Preview (must have Realistic Job Preview Integration enabled) – Sends a Realistic Job Preview to the workflow audience.
Request Surveys (must have Surveys enabled) – Send a predefined survey to the workflow audience. Please see the documentation on surveys for more information.
- Notes:
  - The same survey cannot be sent to the same candidate more than once in a workflow. Separate surveys are needed for each round if feedback is required at multiple stages.
  - The character limit for an SMS message is 640 characters.
Use Integration – Use a predefined integration to act upon the workflow audience.
Send Talent Community Opt-in – Send the candidate an opt-in to join the organization’s Talent Community(s). This is only available when you have the Talent Community feature enabled for your account.
- Note: The character limit for an SMS message is 640 characters.

Automatic actions based on available action types

To streamline the Workflow configuration, certain actions are automatically pre-populated based on the Stage Type of the selected journey status.

Stage Type	Action that will be automatically added
Send Application	Send Form
Send Assessment	Send Assessment
Send Form	Send Form
Send Offer	Send Offer
Send Rating	Request Rating
Send Conversation	Send Conversation

Configure the start point and triggers

To configure a delayed trigger for your workflow, follow the steps below.

On the Start Point action, disable the Immediately after trigger toggle.
Fill out the following information:
- Time: Enter a number and select a unit (minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months).
- Before/After: Specify whether the action should occur Before or After the selected event.
- Event: Select the event that will cause the trigger to happen. The options include:
- Trigger: The defined trigger for this Workflow.
- Hired Date: The date set as the candidate’s hired date, typically sourced from an external system.
- Offer Start Date: The actual employment start date of the candidate, based on the Paradox Offer. If this field is empty, the system will use the Hired Date value.

Disable a status

If a status trigger should not have any workflow actions associated with it, the status should be disabled. This allows the status to remain accessible for future use while visually indicating that no actions are currently running via the workflow.

During the v2.5.4 migration, any statuses that lacked a configured task and subsequent actions were automatically disabled to align with this new logic.

Please note: This does not stop other system-level actions from running. For example, the Invite to Interview function will still trigger an interview request, as this is part of the system's core scheduling logic and does not depend on a separate workflow action.

To do this, select the eye icon in the upper-right corner of the status header. This will disable the status from any subsequent workflows-based actions.

Save and publish the workflow

The Workflow has an explicit two-step Save and Publish process to ensure accuracy.

Save: After making changes, select the Save button.
- NOTE: You can save your work at any time, even if you haven't finished the configuration. This lets you save your progress as you go without needing to complete the entire task or status setup.
Publish: When you are ready for your changes to go live, select Publish.
- The system will first check for any configuration errors.
- After all errors are resolved, the system will check for any statuses that don't have actions configured.

Upon publishing, if a status has no actions, the system will show you a confirmation screen listing those statuses. This gives you a chance to confirm that they should be disabled.

This will not affect any built-in system logic that is built into related features. For example, scheduling will still work as it always has. This option only disables the statuses from workflow-based actions.

Locked down and limited workflow statuses

This section outlines the workflow statuses that cannot be selected as task triggers, as well as those with limited action options.

With the workflows redesign released in September 2025, you can use any status within a journey for a task trigger and subsequent actions. No statuses are off-limits anymore, and they can be configured in a workflow.

Please note that While all statuses are now available for configuration, you should use some sparingly and with careful consideration.

For example, Conversation In-progress is a transitive status that indicates a candidate is in the middle of a conversation. You wouldn't want to configure an action that interrupts them, like sending an automated message or changing their status, as it could disrupt the flow of the conversation.

Statuses with limited action options

Below are the statuses that have limited action options:

Scheduling → Invite to Interview
- Action Options: Use Integration
Scheduling → Interview In-Progress
- Action Options: Cannot Move to Status

conversational ats integrated ats