Configuring Application Fields

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to configure application fields in SmartRecruiters to capture additional candidate information throughout the hiring process.

Fields for Managing Candidate Applications

In SmartRecruiters, you can create application fields that allow you to capture additional information from candidates at various stages of the hiring process. This information can be used for recruiter notes, forms, offer letters, and new hire paperwork. These application fields in SmartRecruiters enable you to capture and manage this information effectively, ensuring a streamlined, comprehensive recruitment process.

Note

Application fields are separate from screening question answers.

Administrators can create custom application fields and select from various data types to collect the information they need for integrations, approval workflows, and other processes. In addition:

Application fields are automatically converted to merge fields, which can be added to offer letter templates.
Each field can be added to all your candidates or only those who apply to a specific job group. You'll define groups using a set of org field values.

Where Application Fields Appear

Once you select a standard field or create a custom field, you can configure its placement, visibility, and whether it is required. Application fields can appear in several key areas within SmartRecruiters:

Candidate Profile: The field will be added to the candidate's profile in the Application fields widget. Recruiters can use them to record information gathered during phone screenings or interviews.
Offer Tab: Candidate fields can be integrated into offer templates, allowing you to populate offer letters with relevant information, such as salary, orientation date, and other essential details.
- You can also choose whether an edit to this field requires reapproval through the offer approval process. For example, you might decide that any salary change needs reapproval, but a change to the start date might not.
New Hire Form: When hiring a candidate, you can use application fields to confirm information on the new hire form, ensuring accuracy and completeness.

Displays configuration options for the candidate application, including the field name, field type, placement, visibility, whether it is required, and selecting which org fields should be used.

Standard and Custom Application Fields

SmartRecruiters provides a set of default fields, such as first name and last name, that are automatically captured during the application process. You can add these default fields to other areas, such as forms or the new hire stage, if you need the candidate to reconfirm the information.

By default, the system includes standard application fields, including but not limited to the following:

First Name
Last Name
Applicant Email
Applicant Birthdate
Applicant School

You can also create custom application fields if the list of standard fields does not meet your organization’s requirements. For example, the organization may have multiple bonus amounts to capture and include in the offer.

Application Field Types

Applicants can provide information using predefined fields. The table lists application field types and descriptions.

Field Type	Description
Free Text – Basic	Users are presented with a large free-text box for this data type, with a limit of 20,000 characters.
Free Text – Email	When creating a free text field, if you select Email as the validation type, users must enter a valid email address (including the @ symbol and the domain).
Free Text – Custom pattern validation	A custom pattern field in data entry is your personalized space to define input formats customized to your data needs. Empowered with a pattern design console offering flexibility to implement specific data validation rules, it's like having a custom key that fits your unique needs, whether it's a specific format, combination, or sequence. This feature allows admins to tailor input according to predefined patterns, ensuring accuracy and adherence to the required format.
Date	A date picker is a small digital calendar that helps users and applicants choose and enter dates easily. Instead of typing dates manually, users and applicants can click dates in the calendar that pops up. This is especially helpful when dealing with users who are familiar with both mm/dd/yyyy and dd/mm/yyyy. Date validation limits can be set to define or constrain the boundaries of a date value, ensuring that entered values meet specific criteria within a business or system context. None: No criteria defined, users can input any date. Before date: With this validation type, the date is required to fall before a specified date, inclusive. After date: The date is required to fall after a specified date, inclusive. Between dates: The date is required to fall between two specified dates, inclusive.
Numerical	A numerical field in data entry allows users to enter only numeric values, including whole numbers or decimals, with a maximum of 2 decimal points. Numerical validation will enable admins to tailor input within predefined numerical limits, ensuring accuracy and adherence to the required numerical boundaries.
Percentage	A percentage field is a user-friendly way to input percentages. It appears as a box where you can enter a number followed by a percentage sign (%).
Currency	A currency field is used to input monetary values. It includes a dedicated selection box for users to choose from the global currencies supported by SmartRecruiters, and a box for entering only positive numbers with a maximum of 2 decimal points.
User Picker	The user picker field is a user-friendly way to select individuals from a list in a digital form or application. It includes a dropdown that provides search functionality, enabling users to easily find and select specific users.
Yes/No	A Yes/No field is a user-friendly way to answer simple questions with a clear and concise response. It presents users with two options: Yes and No.
Single Select	A Single Select field is a user-friendly way to choose one option from a list of possibilities. It's a menu where users can search and pick the most relevant choice with just a click. Administrators can specify a list of up to 1,000 custom values, each with a maximum of 1,000 characters; users can select only one item from this field.
Region	When the user starts typing, this field will display a list of regions in any country that match the criteria. The user will be able to choose one from the list.
Country	A list of countries from which the user will be able to select one.

Create Custom Application Fields

Steps

Navigate to Settings.
Select Application Fields in the Configuration section.
Select Add application field.
Select Create Custom field.
Enter a name in the Field name field.
1. Enter a descriptive name for the field.
Select where the field should appear.
1. Choose between Candidate Profile, Offer Form/Approval Form, New Hire Form. You can select multiple options.
2. If creating an Offer Form field, select whether Re-trigger the Offer Approval workflow is required if this field changes (e.g., bonus percentage changing on an offer may require re-approval).
Define who has access to view the field (all users or users with full access).
1. Select all to allow anyone with access to the job to see the field and its values.
2. Select users with full access to restrict visibility to users with full access to the job, such as a Hiring Manager, Recruiter, or Executive on the job's hiring team.
Define if this field should become dependent on org fields.
1. Selecting org fields limits field visibility to specific countries or departments.
Click Save.
Note
Custom application field labels cannot start with a numeric character. They must begin with a letter A-Z; otherwise, this will negatively affect the functioning of merge fields.
By effectively utilizing candidate fields, you can streamline your recruitment process, capture essential information, and ensure a consistent and comprehensive candidate experience.

Custom Patterns for Free Text Fields

This feature allows admins to tailor input according to predefined patterns to a free text field type, ensuring accuracy and a candidate’s adherence to the required format.

Empowered with a pattern design console offering flexibility to implement specific data validation rules, it's like having a custom key that fits your unique needs, whether it's a specific format, combination, or sequence.

Each custom pattern consists of Segments, and each segment has multiple validation rules that define its length and content, like assembling building blocks to create a specific textual structure. The arrangement and composition of these segments follow predefined rules, resulting in a structured, meaningful format.

For example, if creating a free text field with a custom pattern to ensure that a candidate inserts a phone number following a specific pattern, segments would be configured as follows:

Showing an example of a Validation Pattern consisting of Segments; each segment has multiple validation rules that define the length and content of that segment. The example is for Phone Number, with Segment 1 as Country prefix, Segment 2 as City code, and Segment 3 as local dial number.

Segment Length Type

When creating custom patterns for a custom field, you will need to define the length for each segment configured. Segment length type refers to how the length of a segment is defined or constrained, ensuring that entered values meet specific length criteria within a business or system context.

Exactly: In this segment length type, the length of the segment must precisely match a specified value.
- Example: If a system requires a four-digit PIN, the segment length type would be Exactly 4.
Between: With this segment length type, the length of the segment is required to fall within a specified range, inclusive.
- Example: If a postal code must be between 5 and 9 characters long, the segment length type would be Between 5 and 9.
Less than: This segment length type indicates that the length of the segment must be shorter than a specified value.
- Example: If a username is required to be less than 20 characters, the segment length type would be Less than 20.
More than: In this case, the length of the segment must exceed a specified value.
- Example: If a job reference code must be more than 10 characters long, the segment length type would be More than 10.

Segment Options

Segment options define how different segments relate to each other within a pattern. These segment options help define the flexibility of data formats or input requirements. They ensure that variations or optional components can be accommodated within a specified data pattern.

The following segment options are available to configure:

Add alternative: It is possible to define alternative segments, which means that multiple segments are provided as alternatives or options. Any of these alternate segments is required or should be present.
- Example: If a phone number can be either in Germany or Poland, the data format allows either a first segment of +48 or +49.
Mark segment as optional: Selecting this option means that a particular segment is not mandatory and may be omitted without affecting the overall pattern validity.
- Example: If a specific ID prefix can be provided or not, the segment must be marked as optional.

Video

Watch the video below for more details about creating candidate fields.

This video is for demonstration purposes. Any references made in this video to previous or later videos in this course (including titles, numbers, links, or sequence) may differ from the current course structure. Additionally, some functionalities shown may have evolved over time due to ongoing enhancements or business decisions.

Summary

Application fields in SmartRecruiters allow you to capture additional information from candidates at various stages of the hiring process.
Administrators can create custom application fields and select from various data types to collect the information they need.
Application fields can appear in the candidate profile, offer tab, and new hire form.
SmartRecruiters provides a set of default fields, and you can create custom application fields if the standard fields do not meet your organization’s requirements.
Custom patterns for free text fields allow administrators to tailor input according to predefined patterns, ensuring accuracy and adherence to the required format.

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