Merge Tags Explained
This article provides everything you need to know about merge tags in Bullhorn Automation, including how they work, where they can be used, and important considerations to ensure they populate correctly.
Merge tags allow you to personalize your communication by pulling data directly from your ATS or imported records into your emails, text messages, and internal notifications.
Using Merge Tags
For Bullhorn Automation to successfully populate a merge tag, the corresponding field within your ATS (or import) must contain data. If the field is empty, the merge tag will appear as a blank space in your communication.
Additionally, merge tags can only be used within automations that match the corresponding entity type. For example, a Submission merge tag cannot be used in a Candidate-based automation—doing so will result in an error.
Merge tags can be inserted into:
- Emails: Subject lines and body content
- Text Messages: Personalizing candidate and client outreach (where applicable)
- Internal Notifications: Keep your team informed with key data from your ATS
Merge tags can only be used when the Immediate Delivery option is selected in your automation settings. They cannot be included in daily or weekly notifications.
While merge tags are a powerful way to personalize communications, there are a few limitations to be aware of:
- The %JOBDESCRIPTION% merge tag is not supported. Instead, use %JOBSUMMARY%, which pulls information from the Job Summary field in the ATS.
- The %POSITION% merge tag will not populate in a Placement-based automation. Use %PLACEMENTJOBTITLE% instead to display the job title.
- To create a merge tag with a field, the field must be synced between Bullhorn and Bullhorn Automation.
Empty Merge Tags
If a merge tag appears empty in a test email or notification, check the associated ATS record to ensure the field contains data.
The exception is with Owner-based merge tags (such as %OWNEREMAIL%), They should never be blank, as every record should have an assigned owner. If an owner merge tag is empty, verify that a backup owner is assigned.
List of Merge Tags
The merge tags listed below can be found in the following automation entity types:
- Candidate
- Sales Contact
- Submission
- Placement
- Job
- Lead
Make sure to test your email/text/notification before turning on your automation to ensure the merge tags have the proper information listed from your ATS.
Candidate-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Candidate-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Candidate Address 1 | %STREET% |
| Candidate Address 2 | %STREET2% |
| Candidate Address Link | %ADDRESSLINK% |
| Candidate Appointment Date | %APPOINTMENTDATE% |
| Candidate Appointment Time | %APPOINTMENTTIME% |
| Candidate ATS ID | %ATSCANDIDATEID% |
| Candidate Category | %CATEGORY% |
| Candidate City | %CITY% |
| Candidate Company Name | %COMPANYNAME% |
| Candidate Country | %COUNTRY% |
| Candidate Date Available | %DATEAVAILABLE% |
| Candidate Email | %EMAIL% |
| Candidate First Name | %FIRSTNAME% |
| Candidate Herefish ID | %HEREFISHCANDIDATEID% |
| Candidate Last Name | %LASTNAME% |
| Candidate Phone Number | %PHONENUMBER% |
| Candidate Position | %POSITION% |
| Candidate Source | %SOURCE% |
| Candidate State | %STATE% |
| Candidate Zip Code | %ZIPCODE% |
| Candidate Owner Calendar Link | %OWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Candidate Owner Email | %OWNEREMAIL% |
| Candidate Owner First Name | %OWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Candidate Owner Full Name | %OWNER% |
| Candidate Owner Last Name | %OWNERLASTNAME% |
| Candidate Owner Phone Number | %OWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Candidate Owner Position Title | %OWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Candidate Status | %STATUS% |
| All custom fields associated with Candidates are supported as merge tags. | |
Sales Contact-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Sales Contact-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Sales Contact Address 1 | %STREET% |
| Sales Contact Address 2 | %STREET2% |
| Sales Contact Address Link | %ADDRESSLINK% |
| Sales Contact Appointment Date | %APPOINTMENTDATE% |
| Sales Contact Appointment Time | %APPOINTMENTTIME% |
| Sales Contact ATS ID | %ATSCANDIDATEID% |
| Sales Contact Category | %CATEGORY% |
| Sales Contact City | %CITY% |
| Sales Contact Company Name | %COMPANYNAME% |
| Sales Contact Country | %COUNTRY% |
| Sales Contact Email | %EMAIL% |
| Sales Contact First Name | %FIRSTNAME% |
| Sales Contact Herefish ID | %HEREFISHCANDIDATEID% |
| Sales Contact Last Name | %LASTNAME% |
| Sales Contact Owner Calendar Link | %OWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Sales Contact Owner Email | %OWNEREMAIL% |
| Sales Contact Owner First Name | %OWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Sales Contact Owner Full Name | %OWNER% |
| Sales Contact Owner Last Name | %OWNERLASTNAME% |
| Sales Contact Owner Phone Number | %OWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Sales Contact Owner Position Title | %OWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Sales Contact Parent Company Name | %PARENTCOMPANYNAME% |
| Sales Contact Phone Number | %PHONENUMBER% |
| Sales Contact Position | %POSITION% |
| Sales Contact Source | %SOURCE% |
| Sales Contact State | %STATE% |
| Sales Contact Status | %STATUS% |
| Sales Contact Zip Code | %ZIPCODE% |
| All custom fields associated with Sales Contacts are supported as merge tags. | |
Submission-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Submission-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Associated Sales Contact Address Link | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTADDRESSLINK% |
| Associated Sales Contact Address1 | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTSTREET% |
| Associated Sales Contact Address2 | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTSTREET2% |
| Associated Sales Contact City | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTCITY% |
| Associated Sales Contact First Name | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTFIRSTNAME% |
| Associated Sales Contact Last Name | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTLASTNAME% |
| Associated Sales Contact State | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTSTATE% |
| Associated Sales Contact Zip Code | %ASSOCIATEDSALESCONTACTZIPCODE% |
| Submission ATS ID | %SUBMISSIONATSID% |
| Submission Bill Rate | %SUBMISSIONBILLRATE% |
| Submission Company | %SUBMISSIONCOMPANYNAME% |
| Submission Interview Date | %SUBMISSIONINTERVIEWDATE% |
| Submission Interview Time | %SUBMISSIONINTERVIEWTIME% |
| Submission Owner Calendar Link | %SUBMISSIONOWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Submission Owner Email | %SUBMISSIONOWNEREMAIL% |
| Submission Owner First Name | %SUBMISSIONOWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Submission Owner Full Name | %SUBMISSIONOWNER% |
| Submission Owner Last Name | %SUBMISSIONOWNERLASTNAME% |
| Submission Owner Phone Number | %SUBMISSIONOWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Submission Owner Position Title | %SUBMISSIONOWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Submission Pay Rate | %SUBMISSIONPAYRATE% |
| All custom fields associated with Submissionss are supported as merge tags. | |
Placement-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Placement-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Placement ATS ID | %PLACEMENTATSID% |
| Placement Company | %PLACEMENTCOMPANYNAME% |
| Placement Employment Type | %PLACEMENTEMPLOYMENTTYPE% |
| Placement End Date | %PLACEMENTENDDATE% |
| Placement Job Title | %PLACEMENTJOBTITLE% |
| Placement Pay Rate | %PLACEMENTPAYRATE% |
| Placement Salary | %PLACEMENTSALARY% |
| Placement Start Date | %PLACEMENTSTARTDATE% |
| Placement Owner Calendar Link | %PLACEMENTOWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Placement Owner Email | %PLACEMENTOWNEREMAIL% |
| Placement Owner First Name | %PLACEMENTOWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Placement Owner Full Name | %PLACEMENTOWNER% |
| Placement Owner Last Name | %PLACEMENTOWNERLASTNAME% |
| Placement Owner Phone Number | %PLACEMENTOWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Placement Owner Position Title | %PLACEMENTOWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Placement Status | %PLACEMENTSTATUS% |
| All custom fields associated with Placements are supported as merge tags. | |
Job-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Job-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Job Address Link | %JOBADDRESSLINK% |
| Job Address1 | %JOBADDRESS1% |
| Job Address2 | %JOBADDRESS2% |
| Job ATS ID | %JOBATSID% |
| Job Category | %JOBCATEGORY% |
| Job City | %JOBCITY% |
| Job City | %JOBCITY% |
| Job Company ATS ID | %JOBCOMPANYATSID% |
| Job Country | %JOBCOUNTRY% |
| Job Employment Type | %JOBEMPLOYMENTTYPE% |
| Job Is Public | %JOBISPUBLIC% |
| Job Number of Openings | %JOBNUMBEROFOPENINGS% |
| Job Number of Placements | %JOBNUMBEROFPLACEMENTS% |
| Job Number of Submissions | %JOBNUMBEROFSUBMISSIONS% |
| Job Owner Calendar Link | %JOBOWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Job Owner Email | %JOBOWNEREMAIL% |
| Job Owner First Name | %JOBOWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Job Owner Full Name | %JOBOWNER% |
| Job Owner Last Name | %JOBOWNERLASTNAME% |
| Job Owner Phone Number | %JOBOWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Job Owner Position Title | %JOBOWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Job Start Date | %JOBSTARTDATE% |
| Job State | %JOBSTATE% |
| Job Status | %JOBSTATUS% |
| Job Summary | %JOBSUMMARY% |
| Job Title | %JOBTITLE% |
| Job Zip Code | %JOBZIP% |
| All custom fields associated with Jobs are supported as merge tags. | |
Lead-based
The merge tags listed below can be found in Lead-based automations:
| Merge Tag Name | Tag ID |
|---|---|
| Lead Additional Skills | %SKILLSET% |
| Lead Address | %ADDRESS1% |
| Lead City | %CITY% |
| Lead Comments | %COMMENTS% |
| Lead Company URL | %COMPANYURL% |
| Lead Country Code | %COUNTRYCODE% |
| Lead Country Name | %COUNTRYNAME% |
| Lead Date Added | %DATEADDED% |
| Lead Date Last Modified | %DATELASTMODIFIED% |
| Lead Email | %EMAIL% |
| Lead Fax | %FAX% |
| Lead First Name | %FIRSTNAME% |
| Lead Industries | %INDUSTRIES% |
| Lead Is Anonymized | %ISANONYMIZED% |
| Lead Is Deleted | %ISDELETED% |
| Lead Last Name | %LASTNAME% |
| Lead Last Note | %DATELASTCOMMENT% |
| Lead Lead ID | %LEADID% |
| Lead Lead Source | %LEADSOURCE% |
| Lead New Company | %COMPANYNAME% |
| Lead Occupation | %OCCUPATION% |
| Lead Opted In - SMS Messages | %SMSOPTIN% |
| Lead Opted Out | %MASSMAILOPTOUT% |
| Lead Owner Calendar Link | %OWNERCALENDARLINK% |
| Lead Owner Email | %OWNEREMAIL% |
| Lead Owner First Name | %OWNERFIRSTNAME% |
| Lead Owner Full Name | %OWNERFULLNAME% |
| Lead Owner Last Name | %OWNERLASTNAME% |
| Lead Owner Phone Number | %OWNERPHONENUMBER% |
| Lead Owner Position Title | %OWNERPOSITIONTITLE% |
| Lead Phone | %PHONE% |
| Lead Priority | %PRIORITY% |
| Lead Role | %ROLE% |
| Lead Salary | %SALARY% |
| Lead Secondary Address | %SECONDARYADDRESS1% |
| Lead Secondary City | %SECONDARYCITY% |
| Lead Secondary Country Code | %SECONDARYCOUNTRYCODE% |
| Lead Secondary Contry Name | %SECONDARYCOUNTRYNAME% |
| Lead Secondary State | %SECONDARYSTATE% |
| Lead Secondary Zip | %SECONDARYZIP% |
| Lead Skills | %SKILLS% |
| Lead Specialites | %SPECIALTIES% |
| Lead State | %STATE% |
| Lead Status | %STATUS% |
| Lead Type | %TYPE% |
| Lead User Date Added | %USERDATEADDED% |
| Lead Zip | %ZIP% |
| All custom fields associated with Leads are supported as merge tags. | |
Commonly Used Merge Tags
- %OWNEREMAIL% = the recruiter’s email address
- %OWNERCALENDARLINK% = the recruiter’s calendar booking link (found within Settings > Bullhorn > Select the user > Add Your Calendar BookingClosed Link field.
- %CANDIDATE_REFERRED_BY__C% = the name in the Referred By field.
- %EventClosed% / %ActionClosed% = the most recent Bullhorn Automation activity for a contact.
- This can only be used in internal notifications.
- %JOBNUMOPENINGS% / %JOBPLACEMENTCOUNT% / %JOBSUBMISSIONCOUNT%
- These merge tags are only available for Job-based automations.