Applicant tracking
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Applicant tracking is actually provided by the posting service. It differs with each provider however broadly tracking is offered by two methods.
How does applicant tracking work?
Most posting services include a form of applicant tracking. This means that when someone applies for a job on your WordPress site there is a method for that application to be delivered back to the posting service. This allows the consultant who posted to job, to see that application alongside other applications for the same job on other platforms.
Most providers offer 2 methods for applicant tracking.
The applicant tracking email address
Most providers, though not all, use an applicant tracking email address. This is a unique email address generated by the posting service and saved in WordPress as meta data against the newly created job post.
Any emails to this address are applying for the job and will show up in the posting service candidate section.
Therefore if you have an application form on your site, it is important that a notification email for the form entry, is delivered to that tracking address when the form is completed. This email must include the candidates name and email address (entered into the application form) in the Reply-To header of the email. The CV uploaded to your form must be attached to this email and any information entered into the form, included in the body of the email.
This email is then parsed in the posting service so the application shows up alongside applications for the same job from other job boards.
Developer note
If you have chosen to use the WP Job Manager job board plugin to provide your sites job board functionality, you can also use their applications add-on. This provides an application form for you, output underneath each job on the single job page.
Additional, our connector plugin includes the necessary code to make sure that notification emails are sent to the tracking address correctly.
The applicant tracking URL
Most posting services also provide an applicant tracking URL. This is a URL to a hosted applicant form, hosting on the posting services site. Posting services provide limited customisation methods for this form, for example the ability to add your company logo.
This can be used as a link on the apply buttons to take candidates to this form.