Job Applicant

Job Applicant stores candidate records in Smooth HR recruitment. In ERPNext HRMS (and Smooth HR), the document name is the applicant email (email_id) — autoname sets self.name = self.email_id. This makes email the unique key for portals, messaging, and deduplication.

Help URL: https://smoothhiring.com/help/hrms/recruitment/job-applicant

Table of contents

1. Overview
2. Naming by email
3. Desk paths
4. Creating applicants
5. Status workflow
6. Email and careers portal
7. Linking interviews and offers
8. Common mistakes
9. Troubleshooting

Overview

Smooth HR runs on Frappe v16. Module sidebars (People, Recruitment, Expenses, Performance, Tenure, NextAI) appear after login. DocType lists use /app/{slug}; workspace homes use /desk/{module}.

Naming by email

When you save a Job Applicant, Smooth HR validates email_id and uses it as the document ID. Example: jane.doe@example.com is both email and record name.

Implications:

• Cannot create two applicants with the same email.
• Search applicants by email in Awesome Bar.
• Email append-to may create applicants from inbound mail if configured.

If applicant_name is empty, the system may guess from the local part of the email.

Desk paths

Creating applicants

From Job Opening

Candidates apply on the public careers page linked to Job Opening — Smooth HR creates Job Applicant automatically.

Manual entry

1. Recruitment → Job Applicant → Add.
2. Enter unique email_id, applicant_name, link Job Opening.
3. Set Source for reporting.
4. Save.

Status workflow

stateDiagram-v2
  Open --> Replied
  Open --> Hold
  Replied --> Hold
  Hold --> Open
  Open --> Accepted
  Open --> Rejected
  Replied --> Accepted
  Replied --> Rejected

Job Offer acceptance sets applicant to Accepted; rejection sets Rejected.

Email and careers portal

Job Applicant uses email_id as sender field for communications. Ensure HR Settings hiring sender is configured for outbound mail.

Linking interviews and offers

• Create Interview from applicant or link Job Applicant field.
• One active Job Offer per applicant (validation on offer save).
• Accepted offer → Create Employee.

Common mistakes

Troubleshooting

Sourcing and compliance

Track Job Applicant Source for channel ROI. Import historical applicants via Data Import using email as name column.

For GDPR, define retention: reject old applicants and anonymize if policy requires.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change applicant email?

Document name is email — create new record if email was wrong.

How does phone search work?

Search fields include phone_number on list filter.

Related guides

• Recruitment overview
• Interview
• Job Offer
• Job Opening

Additional operational detail

Smooth HR v16 organizes HR into module workspaces accessible from the desktop app switcher. Each module sidebar mirrors production fixtures in the HRMS app: People at /desk/people, Recruitment at /desk/recruitment, Expenses at /desk/expenses, Performance at /desk/performance, Tenure at /desk/tenure, and NextAI at /desk/nextai. DocType routes follow /app/{slug} where slug is the lowercased DocType with spaces replaced by hyphens.

HR Managers configure masters and approvals; HR Users run daily transactions; Employees interact through self-service when User records link to Employee and roles permit; System Managers own site configuration including NextAI API credentials. Before go-live, validate Role Permissions Manager entries for each DocType mentioned in this guide.

When migrating from spreadsheets, import Company and Department before Employee, then recruitment and expense histories. Use Data Import templates and fix validation errors row-by-row rather than bulk-deleting partial loads. Clear desk cache after fixture updates so sidebars reflect the latest Smooth HR layout.

For payroll-adjacent HR data, keep Employee company and department aligned with cost centers. For recruitment, remember Job Applicant documents use email as the primary key. For expenses, settle Employee Advance balances on Expense Claim submission. For performance, run Appraisal Cycle to batch-create Appraisal records. For tenure, complete Employee Separation projects before deactivating employees. For NextAI, store Gemini or OpenAI keys only in NextAI Settings and review usage logs before retention cleanup runs.

Additional operational detail

Smooth HR v16 organizes HR into module workspaces accessible from the desktop app switcher. Each module sidebar mirrors production fixtures in the HRMS app: People at /desk/people, Recruitment at /desk/recruitment, Expenses at /desk/expenses, Performance at /desk/performance, Tenure at /desk/tenure, and NextAI at /desk/nextai. DocType routes follow /app/{slug} where slug is the lowercased DocType with spaces replaced by hyphens.

HR Managers configure masters and approvals; HR Users run daily transactions; Employees interact through self-service when User records link to Employee and roles permit; System Managers own site configuration including NextAI API credentials. Before go-live, validate Role Permissions Manager entries for each DocType mentioned in this guide.

When migrating from spreadsheets, import Company and Department before Employee, then recruitment and expense histories. Use Data Import templates and fix validation errors row-by-row rather than bulk-deleting partial loads. Clear desk cache after fixture updates so sidebars reflect the latest Smooth HR layout.

For payroll-adjacent HR data, keep Employee company and department aligned with cost centers. For recruitment, remember Job Applicant documents use email as the primary key. For expenses, settle Employee Advance balances on Expense Claim submission. For performance, run Appraisal Cycle to batch-create Appraisal records. For tenure, complete Employee Separation projects before deactivating employees. For NextAI, store Gemini or OpenAI keys only in NextAI Settings and review usage logs before retention cleanup runs.

Last updated: May 2026

Additional operational detail

Smooth HR v16 organizes HR into module workspaces accessible from the desktop app switcher. Each module sidebar mirrors production fixtures in the HRMS app: People at /desk/people, Recruitment at /desk/recruitment, Expenses at /desk/expenses, Performance at /desk/performance, Tenure at /desk/tenure, and NextAI at /desk/nextai. DocType routes follow /app/{slug} where slug is the lowercased DocType with spaces replaced by hyphens.

HR Managers configure masters and approvals; HR Users run daily transactions; Employees interact through self-service when User records link to Employee and roles permit; System Managers own site configuration including NextAI API credentials. Before go-live, validate Role Permissions Manager entries for each DocType mentioned in this guide.

When migrating from spreadsheets, import Company and Department before Employee, then recruitment and expense histories. Use Data Import templates and fix validation errors row-by-row rather than bulk-deleting partial loads. Clear desk cache after fixture updates so sidebars reflect the latest Smooth HR layout.

For payroll-adjacent HR data, keep Employee company and department aligned with cost centers. For recruitment, remember Job Applicant documents use email as the primary key. For expenses, settle Employee Advance balances on Expense Claim submission. For performance, run Appraisal Cycle to batch-create Appraisal records. For tenure, complete Employee Separation projects before deactivating employees. For NextAI, store Gemini or OpenAI keys only in NextAI Settings and review usage logs before retention cleanup runs.