ATS v1: Account Based Employment History

Account Based Employment History lets you link candidateClosed A person looking for a job. A candidate can also be referred to as a Job Seeker, Applicant, or Provider. employment records directly to companyClosed A Company is the organization where the contact works. This can also be called the Client. (Account) records in your Bullhorn for Salesforce database. This connection improves search accuracy when you need to find candidatesClosed A person looking for a job. A candidate can also be referred to as a Job Seeker, Applicant, or Provider. who worked at specific companiesClosed A Company is the organization where the contact works. This can also be called the Client., and it helps maintain clean, structured employment data instead of relying on free-text entries that can vary in spelling or formatting.

This feature is essential for executive search because career experience at specific companies is often a key qualification for senior roles. Without linked employment records, you cannot reliably search for candidates based on where they worked.

Common Scenarios for Using Account Based Employment History

You might need this feature if you:

  • Search for candidates who worked at a specific company or competitor (for example, find all candidates who worked at Microsoft)
  • Need to track a candidate's current employer separately from their full employment history
  • Import resumes or CVs and want company names automatically linked to your existing Account records
  • Work with companies that have changed names, merged, or use multiple brand names and need to group them under one Account
  • Want to verify that employment data entered by recruiters is accurate before using it for candidate searches
  • Have candidates who previously worked at companies that no longer exist and need to mark those records as verified anyway

How Account Based Employment History Works

This feature adds several capabilities to standard Bullhorn for Salesforce employment tracking. You can link employment records to AccountsClosed A business entity/company, handle company name variations with aliases, automatically identify current jobs, and manually verify employment data when needed.

Link Employment Records to Company Accounts

When you parse a resume or manually create an employment history record, the system can now link the employer to an existing Account record in your database instead of storing just the company name as text.

Bullhorn for Salesforce includes resume parsing that extracts employment history from uploaded CVs. When an Employment History record is created by parsing, the Source picklist automatically populates with Parser.

Previously, the employer name was captured in the Employer Name text field, but no database relationship was created with any existing Account record.

Now you can enable a setting that links the company name to the newly added Account lookup field on Employment History records. During parsing, if the system finds a company name that matches an existing Account record in your org, it creates the link automatically.

If there is no match, the employer name is still captured in the Employer Name text field. Users can then manually create a new Account (Company) record if needed.

You can also create Employment History records manually without using resume parsing. If you cannot find a matching Account in the Account lookup field, you can create a new Account record directly.

To avoid creating duplicate Account records, you can use Account aliases (explained in the next section) to capture company name variations.

Handle Company Name Variations with Account Aliases

Account Aliases help you avoid duplicate company records when the same company is known by multiple names. For example, if a company changed its name, has subsidiaries, or uses different brand names, you can group all variations under one primary Account record.

An Account Alias is an alternative name for a company that differs only in name from an existing Account. Creating a new Account record for an alias would effectively create a duplicate.

Common examples include:

  • Companies that changed names (for example, Google Inc. became Alphabet Inc.)
  • Companies with subdivisions or product lines using variations of the same name
  • Companies with different local branch names but considered the same company during recruiting

A new custom object called Account Alias captures these alternative names. Users can add alias records from the Account Alias Related List on Account records.

Once aliases are in the system, when you enter a company name in the Account lookup field on an Employment History record, the search returns the main Account along with a list of aliases. This way, users know the correct entry is the original Account name, not one of the aliases.

The Account Alias record includes three fields out of the box:

  • Account Alias Name: The alternative company name
  • Account: Link to the primary Account record
  • Alias Type: Categorizes the type of alias (default value is AKA Name). You can customize this picklist to add values like Previously or Local Branch

The Account lookup on Employment History records currently returns exact matches only. The system does not perform fuzzy or partial matching.

Automatically Track Current Employment

The system automatically identifies which employment record represents a candidate's current job, making it easy to filter or report on where candidates work now versus their past experience.

The Current checkbox on Employment History records is updated by backend logic and should be read-only for users. Its function is to mark the Employment History record related to the candidate's current position.

The system uses this logic to identify the current job:

  • Exclude any record where the End Date is in the past
  • If the End Date is in the future, mark as Current
  • If the End Date is blank, mark as Current only if there is a Start Date
  • If End Date is a string like present, mark as Current only if there is a Start Date

You can schedule a batch job to check if any Employment History record no longer meets the criteria and should have the Current checkbox deselected.

You can also configure a setting to turn off the background calculations for the Current checkbox while creating or updating Employment History records manually or during resume parsing.

Important: The system does not retroactively check or update existing Employment History records. The logic only triggers when an Employment Record is created or updated.

Manually Verify Employment Data

Use the Verified checkbox to confirm that employment data has been reviewed and is accurate, especially when you cannot link to an Account record or when you want to mark historical data as confirmed.

The Verified checkbox is unchecked by default, including when an Employment History record is created by resume parsing. Users can check it manually to validate that the data has been reviewed and is correct, particularly that the correct Account was selected.

This is useful when a candidate previously worked at a company that has ceased trading and no Account record exists in your system. You can mark the record as Verified to indicate the data is accurate even without an Account link.

Configuration Steps

Follow these steps to enable Account Based Employment History in your Bullhorn for Salesforce org. You must be a Salesforce administrator to complete these configuration tasks.

Step 1: Override the New and Edit Buttons

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Employment History > Buttons, Links, and Actions
  2. Override the standard New and Edit buttons:
    1. Click the Edit link under the small downward arrow on the right of the New button
    2. In the Override Properties page, go to Lightning Experience Override and select the Lightning Component radio button
    3. Enter the following component name: EmpHistoryCreateEditAction
    4. Save your changes
    5. Repeat for the Edit button

After overriding the New/Edit pages, inline editing on the standard record detail page is no longer available for saved records. Users must click the Edit button to make changes to existing records.

Step 2: Add Fields to the Field Set

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Employment History > Field Sets > CreateEditForm
  2. Add the following new fields to the field set:
    • Account
    • Verified
  3. Save your changes

The Current checkbox is a read-only field that is not visible on the Employment History Edit page. It is calculated automatically by the system.

Step 3: Enable Resume Parsing to Link Accounts

  1. Go to Setup > Custom Settings > Executive Search
  2. Click Manage
  3. Enable the checkbox: Prefill Employment History Account
  4. Save your changes

This setting allows the resume parser to automatically link company names to existing Account records during CV parsing.

Step 4: Add Account Alias to Page Layouts

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > Page Layouts
  2. Edit the relevant Account page layout
  3. Add the Account Alias Related List to the layout
  4. Save your changes
  5. If the Alias Type field is not on the Account Alias page layout:
    1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account Alias > Page Layouts
    2. Edit the page layout and add the Alias Type field
    3. Save your changes

Step 5: Configure Current Employment Checkbox Settings (Optional)

If you want to turn off automatic calculations for the Current checkbox:

  1. Go to Setup > Custom Settings > Talent Rover Properties
  2. Enable the checkbox: Do Not Update Current Empl History
  3. Save your changes

Step 6: Schedule the Current Employment Batch Job (Optional)

To automatically remove the Current flag from employment records that no longer meet the criteria:

  1. Go to Setup > Apex Classes
  2. Click Schedule Apex
  3. Enter the following details:
    • Job Name: EmploymentHistoryUpdateCurrentBatch
    • Apex Class: Search for and select EmploymentHistoryUpdateCurrentBatch
    • Frequency: Weekly
    • Days: Select all days
    • Start Date: Defaults to current date
    • End Date: Select a future date (you will need to reschedule before this date expires)
    • Preferred Start Time: Choose a time when system usage is low (for example, 6:00 AM or 9:00 PM)
  4. Click Save

Step 7: Configure Generic Lookup

  1. Ensure Generic Lookup is configured for your org
  2. This component is required to activate smart search for the Account lookup field
  3. It allows the system to retrieve account names and aliases when users search
  4. Contact Bullhorn Support if you need assistance configuring Generic Lookup

Generic Lookup can use either SOQL or SOSL query language. In both cases, the search returns exact matches only.

Troubleshooting

If resume parsing does not link to Account records

Verify that the Prefill Employment History Account setting is enabled in Setup > Custom Settings > Executive Search. If the setting is enabled but links are still not created, check that the company name in the resume exactly matches an Account name in your system.

If you cannot find the Account or Verified fields on Employment History

Check that these fields were added to the CreateEditForm field set (Setup > Object Manager > Employment History > Field Sets > CreateEditForm). If fields are in the field set but still not visible, verify that you overrode the New and Edit buttons with the EmpHistoryCreateEditAction component.

If the Current checkbox is not updating automatically

Verify that the Do Not Update Current Empl History checkbox is disabled in Setup > Custom Settings > Talent Rover Properties. If it is enabled, the automatic calculation is turned off. Also note that the Current checkbox only updates when an Employment History record is created or edited, not retroactively for existing records.

If inline editing stopped working on Employment History records

This is expected behavior after overriding the New and Edit buttons. Users must now click the Edit button to modify records. Inline editing is no longer available once you implement the custom component for Employment History.

If Account aliases are not appearing in search results

Confirm that Generic Lookup is properly configured for your org. Account alias search depends on Generic Lookup functionality. Contact Bullhorn Support if Generic Lookup is not set up.

If users can edit the Current checkbox manually

The Current checkbox should be read-only on page layouts. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Employment History > Page Layouts and ensure the Current field is set to read-only for all user profiles.

If parsing creates duplicate Account records

Use Account Aliases to capture company name variations before parsing resumes. If duplicates already exist, merge the duplicate Accounts and create aliases for the variations to prevent future duplicates.

If the batch job for updating Current employment fails

Check the scheduled job status in Setup > Scheduled Jobs. Verify that the EmploymentHistoryUpdateCurrentBatch class is available and that the job has not reached its end date. If the job continues to fail, contact Bullhorn Support with the error message.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I link employment history to Accounts for candidates already in my database?

Yes. Edit existing Employment History records and use the Account lookup field to link them to Account records. The system does not retroactively link old records automatically, so you will need to update them manually or during your next data cleanup project.

What happens if I delete an Account that is linked to employment records?

Salesforce behavior depends on your Account deletion settings. Typically, the Employment History records remain but the Account link is removed. The original employer name stored in the Employer Name text field is preserved. Check with your Salesforce administrator before deleting Accounts with related records.

How do I know if a company name has aliases set up?

When you search in the Account lookup field on an Employment History record, the search results show the main Account name along with a list of any aliases. You can also view aliases directly on the Account record in the Account Alias Related List.

Can recruiters create new Accounts while adding employment history?

Yes. If the Account lookup does not return a match, users can create a new Account (Company) record directly from the Employment History form. Make sure recruiters are trained to search for aliases first to avoid creating duplicates.

Why is the Verified checkbox important?

The Verified checkbox lets you mark employment data as accurate even when you cannot link to an Account record, such as when a candidate worked for a company that no longer exists. Some features, like Off Limits policies, only apply to employment records marked as Verified and Current.

Does the Current checkbox affect candidate searches?

Yes. You can filter and report on candidates based on their current employer using the Current checkbox. This helps you quickly find candidates who currently work at target companies without having to manually check dates.