Configure Re-entry Settings in Bullhorn Automation

Re-entry settings control whether and how often a record can move through an automation more than once. Without the right re-entry setting, automations either fire too many times, sending duplicate emails or triggering repeated updates, or not enough, missing records that should be re-processed after a change.

Use this article to choose the right re-entry option for your automation type and workflow goal.

Common Reasons to Review Re-entry Settings

• You want a candidate to receive a new email each time they apply for a different job.

• You need to prevent a sales contact from receiving the same message more than once.

• A placement-based automation is only firing for one placement when a contact has several.

• You want a weekly check-in email to go out for every active placement, not just the first one.

• Records are unexpectedly skipping an automation they should be re-entering.

• You set re-entry to "every 0 days" and the automation is now running in a loop.

Where to Find Re-entry Settings

Re-entry Settings are configured per automation. To access them, open the automation and click Automation Settings. The Settings panel will appear as a slide-out drawer on the right side of the automation builder. Scroll to the Re-entry Settings section.

How Re-entry Works

A record can only re-enter an automation after it has fully exited. Records exit an automation in one of two ways: they reach an End step, or they no longer match the enrollment list criteria. A record that is still moving through the automation, including a record sitting in a Wait step, has not exited and cannot re-enter.

Re-entry is not triggered by a record staying on your enrollment list. The record must leave and qualify again before the re-entry interval is evaluated.

Candidate and Sales Contact Based Automations

For Candidate and Sales Contact based automations, re-entry has two options: do not allow it, or allow it with a frequency you set.

Setting	Re-entry Frequency	Can Re-enter?	Best For
Do Not Allow Re-Entry	N/A	No	One-time sends or data updates
Allow Re-Entry	Every 0 Days	Yes, anytime they qualify again	Triggering on every qualifying change to a record
Allow Re-Entry	Every X Days	Yes, after X days	Recurring sends on a set schedule

Do Not Allow Re-Entry

Candidates/Sales Contacts will only enter this automation once, regardless of how many times they meet the criteria in the future.

• Example: A Candidate meets the enrollment criteria and enters the automation. One month later, the automation is still active and the Candidate meets the criteria again. They will not re-enter.

• Use Case: One-time email sends or data updates where repeat processing would cause errors or duplicates.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if your workflow depends on re-processing a record after it changes, for example sending a follow-up whenever a candidate's status is updated.

Allow Re-Entry: Every X Days

Candidates/Sales Contacts will re-enter once per the number of days specified, for as long as they continue to meet the enrollment criteria.

• Example: Re-entry is set to every 30 days. A Candidate meets the criteria and enters the automation. 30 days later the automation is still active and the Candidate still meets the criteria. They re-enter.

• Use Case: Sending monthly emails with Dynamic Job Links.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if you only ever want a record to go through the automation once. Use "Do Not Allow Re-Entry" instead.

Allow Re-Entry: Every 0 Days (Not Recommended Except for Has Changed Criteria)

Candidates/Sales Contacts will re-enter the automation anytime they have a qualifying change, or if they still meet the list criteria with no time restriction between re-entries.

• Example: A recruiter wants to be notified every time a candidate updates their availability date. The automation list uses the Availability Date Has Changed criteria. With re-entry set to every 0 days, the notification fires each time the date is updated, not just the first time.

• Use Case: Triggering an automation every time a specific field or condition on a record changes. Typically used with Has Changed list criteria.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if the automation's own steps update a field that could re-trigger enrollment, or if records may continue to meet the list criteria after enrollment. Either situation creates a loop.

  Here is how the loop works: The automation enrolls a record and completes its steps. If the record still matches the list criteria when the automation runs again (every few minutes), it re-enrolls immediately. As long as the record continues to match, it will keep re-entering on every automation run with no delay and no exit point.

  For a record to stop re-enrolling, it must fall off the list completely, meaning it no longer meets the criteria at all. If nothing in the process causes the record to stop matching, the loop continues indefinitely.

  To prevent this, use a minimum re-entry of 1 day, or ensure your list criteria will naturally exclude the record after enrollment.

Job, Placement, and Submission Based Automations

For Job, Placement, and Submission based automations, re-entry is a two-part decision. First, choose which type of record controls re-entry. Then, choose how often that record can re-enter.

Step 1: Choose the Record Type

Record Type Option	What It Controls
Do Not Allow Re-Entry	No re-entry for any record. No frequency step.
Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions	Re-entry is tracked at the contact or candidate level. The contact re-enters once per qualifying associated record.
Jobs/Placements/Submissions and associated Contacts/Candidates	Re-entry is tracked at the job, placement, or submission level. The same record can cycle through repeatedly.

Step 2: Choose the Re-entry Frequency

This step appears after selecting either of the two re-entry options above. The frequency options available depend on which record type you selected.

Record Type Selected	Frequency Options
Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions	Anytime, or Every X Days
Jobs/Placements/Submissions and associated Contacts/Candidates	Every X Days (enter 0 for anytime)

Do Not Allow Re-Entry

Contacts or Candidates will only enter this automation once, regardless of the number of associated records that meet the enrollment criteria.

• Example: A Candidate has three Submissions that meet the criteria. Only one Submission will enter the automation, because the Candidate record is not allowed to re-enter.

• Use Case: Sending a one-off email to Candidates or Sales Contacts that have any associated record meeting the criteria.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if you want each unique submission, placement, or job to trigger a separate communication.

Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions: Anytime

The contact or candidate re-enters the automation once for each time an associated record meets the enrollment criteria, with no time restriction between entries.

• Example: Candidate A has Submission A meet the criteria today. It enters the automation. Tomorrow, Submission B meets the criteria. It also enters the automation, because a new qualifying submission triggered the entry.

• Use Case: Sending a unique acknowledgment email to Candidates each time they apply for a role, once per application.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if a contact has a large number of associated records and you do not want them to receive a communication for every single one. Use Every X Days to add a frequency cap.

Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions: Every X Days

The contact or candidate re-enters the automation once for each time an associated record meets the criteria, but no more often than the number of days specified.

• Example: Re-entry is set to every 30 days. A Sales Contact has five Placements that meet the criteria. The Sales Contact and one Placement enter today. The next Placement will enter in 30 days if it still meets the criteria.

• Use Case: Sending an NPS Net Promoter Score. A metric used to measure customer satisfaction, loyalty, and enthusiasm. survey to Sales Contacts for each Placement, but no more than once every 30 days.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if you need every qualifying record to trigger a communication immediately, regardless of how recently the last one did.

Jobs/Placements/Submissions and associated Contacts/Candidates: Every 0 Days

The associated contact or candidate enters the automation anytime a job, placement, or submission has a qualifying change, with no time restriction between re-entries. The same record can re-enter multiple times.

• Example: Placement A meets the criteria and enters the automation. Later that day a field on Placement A is updated and it meets the criteria again. It re-enters immediately.

• Use Case: Triggering an automation every time a qualifying change occurs on a specific record. Typically used with Has Changed list criteria.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if the automation's own steps update a field that could re-trigger enrollment. This will cause the automation to loop.

Jobs/Placements/Submissions and associated Contacts/Candidates: Every X Days

The associated contact or candidate enters the automation once for each time a job, placement, or submission meets the criteria. That same record can also re-enter after the number of days specified has passed, allowing it to cycle through repeatedly on the schedule you set.

• Example: Re-entry is set to every 7 days. Placement A and Placement B meet the criteria and enter the automation. Seven days later, if both still meet the criteria, they re-enter.

• Use Case: Sending a weekly check-in email to Candidates tied to active Placements.

• When NOT to use: Avoid this setting if you only want each record to trigger a communication once. Use Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions: Anytime instead.

Troubleshooting

If the automation is sending duplicate messages or running in a loop

This is most commonly caused by re-entry set to every 0 days. When set to 0, a record re-enters the automation anytime it has a qualifying change in the ATS, including changes the automation itself makes, such as adding a note or updating a field. This creates a continuous loop.

Every 0 days is intended for use with Has Changed list criteria, where the goal is to trigger the automation on every qualifying change to a record, even multiple times in the same day. If that is not your intent, this setting is almost certainly misconfigured.

To resolve:

1. Pause the affected automation immediately.

2. Change the re-entry frequency to a minimum of 1 day, or change the setting to Do Not Allow Re-Entry if the automation should only run once per record.

3. Review whether the automation's own steps, such as Update Field or Add Note, are modifying a field that triggers re-enrollment.

If a record is not re-entering when it should

• First confirm the re-entry setting matches your intent. Do Not Allow Re-Entry permanently blocks a record from returning, even if it meets the criteria again.

• If the setting looks correct, confirm the record has fully exited the automation. Records must reach an End step or fall off the enrollment list before they are eligible to re-enter. A record sitting in a Wait step has not exited and will not re-enter until it completes its current pass through the automation.

• Also confirm whether the re-entry interval has been satisfied. The interval is measured from the last time the record exited the automation, not from when it entered.

If only one associated record is entering the automation when several should

This typically means the record type is set to Do Not Allow Re-Entry. Switch to the Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions option and select Anytime so each qualifying associated record triggers a separate entry.

FAQs

What is the default re-entry setting for a new automation?

For Job, Submission, and Placement based automations, the default record type selection is Contacts/Candidates and not Jobs/Placements/Submissions, with Anytime selected as the frequency. For Candidate and Sales Contact based automations, there is no pre-selected default and you choose at setup.

Can I change the re-entry setting on a live automation, and what happens to records already in it?

Yes. Records currently mid-step are not affected and continue through the remaining steps normally. Records that have already reached the End step may re-enter after the change, but only if they still match your list criteria and the re-entry interval has been satisfied since they last exited.

What is the difference between Anytime and Every 0 Days?

They mean the same thing. The record can re-enter with no time restriction. The UI presents them differently depending on which record type option you select, but the behavior is identical.

What is the difference between tracking re-entry at the contact level vs. the job/placement/submission level?

When re-entry is tracked at the contact level, the contact re-enters once per qualifying associated record, for example once per submission. When re-entry is tracked at the job, placement, or submission level, that same record can cycle through the automation repeatedly on the schedule you set.

Does a record re-enter just by staying on the enrollment list?

No. Re-entry requires the record to fully exit the automation first. Records exit when they reach an End step or when they no longer match the enrollment list criteria. A record that remains on the list and is still moving through the automation does not re-enter until it completes its current pass.

Does turning an automation off and back on reset re-entry history?

No. Turning an automation off behaves like a pause. Re-entry history is fully preserved, and the interval continues to be calculated from when the record last exited. Records that were mid-step when the automation was turned off resume from where they stopped when you turn it back on.

Does re-entry work the same way for Placement and Submission based automations as it does for Job based automations?

Yes. The re-entry options and logic are identical across Job, Placement, and Submission based automations. The only difference is the record type label shown in the settings.