Guide
Candidate emails
Configure rejection templates and applicant communications.
HRHandle sends three kinds of automated emails to candidates. The wording is fully editable per organization, so the message feels like it's from you, not from HRHandle.
The three email types
| Type | Sent when | Editable |
|---|---|---|
| Application Received | A candidate submits the public apply form. | Yes — single template per org. |
| Interview Invitation | An interview is scheduled with the "Send email" option checked. | Yes — single template per org. |
| Rejection | An application is moved to the Rejected stage and "Send rejection email" is on. | Yes — one template per rejection reason, so different reasons can use different wording. |
All three live under Settings → Email Templates.
Edit a general template
Open Settings → Email Templates and pick Application Received or Interview Invitation. The editor has the subject and message body on the left, a live preview on the right.
The greeting (Dear <Candidate Name>), heading, and footer are added automatically — you only edit the variable middle paragraph.
Use variables to personalise
Anywhere in the subject or body you can drop in {{variables}}. They are substituted at send time.
| Variable | What gets inserted |
|---|---|
{{candidate_name}} | Full name of the recipient |
{{role}} | The vacancy title |
{{company}} | Your organization name |
So An update from {{company}} — {{role}} becomes An update from Acme Corporation — Senior Software Engineer in the actual email.
Rejection: one template per reason
The Rejection tab is different — instead of a single template, you maintain one template per rejection reason. This lets you send a slightly different message depending on why the candidate was rejected (experience level vs. salary vs. position filled, etc.).
Rejection reasons themselves are managed in a separate page: Settings → Rejection Reasons.
When a recruiter rejects a candidate from the pipeline, the dialog shows the list of reasons; picking one auto-selects the matching template. They can still edit the email before sending.
Sending behaviour
- Application Received is sent automatically by the public apply form. There is no per-candidate switch.
- Interview Invitation has an explicit "Send email" toggle on the schedule form. If you turn it off, the interview is still saved but no email goes out.
- Rejection has an explicit "Send rejection email" toggle in the rejection dialog. If you turn it off, the application is still marked as rejected but no email is sent.
All emails go out via Resend on the hrhandle.com domain — replies come back to the email address tied to your organization's owner.
Reset to default
Each editable template has a Reset to default button. It restores the shipping wording without losing your other templates, in case you edit something and want to start over.