Schedule Automations Around a Date Field in Bullhorn Automation

Date-based automations let you schedule emails, texts, and tasks relative to a specific date field on a record, such as Placement Start Date, Interview Date, or Candidate Birthday.

Use date-based automations when the timing of your outreach depends on when something happens, not just whether a record meets certain criteria.

When a date field changes on an active record, Bullhorn Automation automatically repositions the record to the correct wait step, keeping your schedule accurate without manual intervention.

Common Reasons You Might Need This Article

• You want to send a message before, on, or after a key date such as a start date or interview date.

• A date field changed on an active record and you want to confirm the automation will adjust automatically.

• You turned on a date-based automation but fewer records entered than expected.

• You are unsure whether to use a date-based automation or a standard automation for your campaign.

Create a Date Based Automation

1. To create a date based automation, create a blank automation as normal and select the entity that contains the date field you want to center the automation around.
   • Example: If building a Placement Start Date automation, you should select a Placement based automation.
2. Select the Center on date field option. You'll be shown a list of date fields associated to that entity that you can center your automation on.
   • Note: In order to build automations around a field, the field must be synced with Bullhorn Automation.
     

In date based automations you have a few wait step options to choose from: "Before", "On" or "After", at set times:

Understand How Date-Based Automations Process Records

Date-based automations evaluate two things when deciding whether and where a record should enter:

• Whether the record matches your list criteria.

• What the current date value is in the date field you selected.

The date field determines which wait step the record enters at, and Bullhorn Automation repositions the record automatically if that date changes.
Your list criteria will determine which records should be used for this automation, and the date field you choose to center this automation around will determine if and when the records should enter the automation, along with which step they should enter at.

Why a Record Does Not Enter the Automation

A record must satisfy two conditions to enter a date-based automation: it must match your list criteria, and its date field value must align with at least one wait step. A record that meets your list criteria but has a date in the past, or a date too far in the future for any configured wait step, will not enter.

For example, if your first wait step is set to "On Start Date at 9am" and a Placement's Start Date has already passed, that record will not enter the automation.

To see why specific records are being held back, click the information icon (i) on the enrollment step. Bullhorn Automation displays a note for each record that could not enter, including the reason based on its date field value.

How Records Enter at the Right Wait Step

Records may not always enter at the first step in your date based automation. The automation allows the records in your list to enter at the wait step that best meets their corresponding date, at the time the record is added to your list.

Example Scenario:

Today's date is November 11th and Placement A has a Start Date of October 31st and meets your list criteria.

Your automation has the following wait steps:

• 1 week before Start Date: Send Email
• On Start Date: Send Email
• 1 week after Start Date: Send Email
• 11 days after Start Date: Send Email

When turning the automation on, Placement A will move straight to the 11 days after Start Date step, as that's the most relevant wait step for that Placement's Start Date.

FAQ

I am trying to set a sending window to control when texts/emails are sent from my Date Based automation. Why can’t I see a sending window in my automation settings?

With date based automations, the timing is actually set within the wait steps. There you can schedule to send a message "Before", "On", or "After" the event date at your chosen time.

My list has 100 records on it, but only 5 have started the automation. Why did my other record(s) not enter?

A few things to look at are:

• Has the event date (Start Date, End Date, Interview Date, etc.) already passed? If so, that could be why they are not entering the automation. You can click on the i icon in the enrollment step to see if it has a note stating why records have not entered.
• Is the date too far into the future? For example, if your automation is centered around Placement Start Date and the first step in your automation is a wait step of "1 day before Start Date", a Placement with a Start Date that is next year wouldn’t enter the automation just yet.
• Does the record have a value in the date field? If the record does not have a date value in the corresponding field in your ATS, Bullhorn Automation will not have the required trigger for a date based automation.

What are date based automations best used for?

Date based automations are best used for when you want automated actions to take place based on date fields in your ATS. For example, you may wish to send a "Good Luck" email on a Placement's Start Date.

Should I use an End Automation step in my date based automation?

We typically recommend not using an End Automation step in a date based Automation (unless in certain circumstances). This is so that, if a date field is changed in Bullhorn ATS, the record can move ahead or backwards to the relevant step based on this change. This is the only scenario where a record can "move" and "skip steps" in an automation.

What if a Candidate has multiple Placements? How will the date based automation know which one to send through?

The automation would allow the Placements in your List to enter and complete the Automation steps, for the Placement that has the correlating date, according to your Wait Steps. If a Placement in your List has a date that did not correlate with your Wait Steps, it should not complete the Automated actions.

I updated a date field on a record, but the record's position in the automation has not changed. Why?

There are a few reasons this can happen.

• If the change was made on the same day, Bullhorn Automation may not have processed it yet. Bullhorn Automation checks date-based automation triggers at midnight each day, so same-day changes may not take effect until the next processing cycle.

• If you have an existing date-based automation that was active before the automatic repositioning behavior was introduced, the automation needs to be paused and restarted to apply the updated logic. Navigate to the automation in Bullhorn Automation, pause it, and turn it back on.

• If the automation includes an End Automation step and the record has already passed it, the record will not reposition unless re-entry settings are enabled.

I just created a standard automation, but now I want it to be a date based automation. How can I make that change?

You will need to recreate the automation from scratch, and select the Center on a date field option instead. After you recreate the automation, if you need to recreate a notification, email, or text, you can select From Existing and choose the email you created in your standard automation.
All other steps will need to be recreated from scratch.

Can I set up Staggered Start for my date based automation?

Date based automations don't allow Staggered Start This feature allows you to stagger the start of your campaigns over several days. Instead of sending all your emails at once, they will be evenly distributed over the selected number of days., as this could cause records not to enter the automation or skip steps with sensitive information/communications. For example, if you are using a Fixed Date trigger of March 1st, and a record isn’t able to enter until March 5th because of Staggered Start, they would skip the March 1st triggered automation steps.

I am working on an email that I want to be sent out today at 5pm. Would using the fixed date option be the best way of doing this?

No, if the email is going out today, then you shouldn't create a fixed date automation. The best route is to use a standard automation and use the Sending Window in the automation settings to control when the email will be sent.

What happens if a Placement enters a Start Date automation and the Start Date changes?

Bullhorn Automation automatically repositions the Placement to the most appropriate wait step based on the new Start Date.

Placements will only move backward in an automation if they have not already reached the End step, unless re-entry settings are enabled.

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