Email Settings in Bullhorn Automation

The Email Settings panel in Bullhorn Automation controls who your emails come from, what appears in the subject line, and what files are attached. You configure these settings within the Send Email step of any automation workflow.

With the available settings, you can:

  • Create a subject line with merge tags to dynamically insert data from your ATS.
  • Set the sender and recipients, including owners, managers, or custom email addresses.
  • Attach files such as job descriptions, PDFs, or compliance documents.
  • Copy Person: This is a check-box that when selected will show CC and BCC fields.
    • This will send a unique email for each candidate that matches your list criteria to the person on the CC and/or BCC field.
    • If you do not see this option create a support ticket to have it enabled.

    To find out how to stay compliant for state regulations that require agencies to retain records of email communications to Candidates see our article Capturing Email Copies for Audit Purposes.

You can configure these settings when adding an email to the Send Email step within an automation workflow.

  1. Add the Send Email step to an automation workflow.
  2. Select the template that will be used in the step.
  3. Click Settings on the top right.

Send Email step in an automation workflow with the Settings button highlighted in the top right.

Configuring the Email Subject Line

Email Settings panel showing the Subject field with a merge tag dropdown open.

In this section, you can customize the subject line of your email to display exactly what you want recipients to see. By using dynamically populated merge tags, you can personalize your emails with relevant, targeted content—helping to increase engagement and open rates.

For example, you can:

  • Automatically notify each candidate about vacancies specific to their industry.
  • Inform a sales contact about newly available candidates with the specialist skills they recruit for.

For more complex groupings that aren’t directly linked by a field, you can also take advantage of Smart Tokens to further tailor your messaging.

Keep in mind that the available merge tags in the drop-down menu are specific to the automation’s entity type. This means you won’t see Placement merge tags in a Candidate-based automation, and vice versa.

Configuring the Email Sender

The From field controls who the email appears to be sent from. The available options depend on the automation’s entity type:

  • Candidate Owner — available for candidate-based automations.
  • Placement/Job/Candidate Owner — available for placement and candidate-based automations.
  • Candidate Owner Reports To — available for all automations.
  • Job Assigned Users — available for submission-based automations. Sends the email or screener from the recruiter assigned to the job, so outreach reaches candidates from the person actually working the role. If the assigned recruiter is unavailable or the field is empty, the automation falls back to the candidate owner as the sender.

Job Assigned Users requires the assignments field to be synced in your ATS settings. If you do not see this option, confirm the field is enabled in your ATS configuration.

Using a Custom Email Address

If you'd prefer to use a custom email address instead of an owner-associated sender, you can specify:

  • The sender's name
  • The sender’s email address

You can enter multiple email addresses by typing each address and pressing the Tab key to add additional entries.

Adding Attachments to Automation Emails

The Attachments section in Bullhorn Automation email settings allows you to include images, PDFs, and other documents in your emails. When you select the Attachments option, the File Manager will open, providing an easy way to upload, organize, and insert files into your messages.

With the File Manager, you can:

  • Upload and organize files for easy access.
  • Insert images and documents directly into emails.
  • Attach resources such as job descriptions, company brochures, or compliance documents.

To learn more about using the File Manager to manage attachments and enhance your emails, visit Adding Images, PDFs, or Documents to a Bullhorn Automation Email.

Troubleshooting Email Settings

The sender option I need isn't available.

The available sender options depend on the automation's entity type. Job Assigned Users only appears in submission-based automations. If an option is still missing after confirming the entity type, check that the related field is synced in your ATS settings.

Emails are sending from the wrong person.

If you selected Job Assigned Users but emails are sending from the candidate owner, the assignments field may be empty on the job record, or the assigned recruiter may be unavailable. The automation falls back to the candidate owner when Job Assigned Users cannot be resolved.