Target Accounts and Account Lists

Target AccountsClosed A business entity/company and Account Lists help you organize companyClosed A Company is the organization where the contact works. This can also be called the Client. research for executive search assignments. When you are filling a senior role, you can identify which companiesClosed A Company is the organization where the contact works. This can also be called the Client. employ candidatesClosed A person looking for a job. A candidate can also be referred to as a Job Seeker, Applicant, or Provider. with the right experience, then group those companies together for efficient sourcing. This feature saves research time by letting you reuse company lists across multiple similar jobs and track your team's progress researching each target company.

Target Accounts are companies linked to a specific open job that you want to source candidates from. Account Lists are reusable groups of companies that you can apply to multiple jobs over time, such as all technology companies in a region or all competitors in an industry.

Common Scenarios for Using Target Accounts and Account Lists

You might need these features if you:

  • Need to identify which companies to target when sourcing candidates for a CFO role at a financial services firm
  • Want to track whether your team has started or completed research on each target company for a job
  • Have a list of top tech companies you repeatedly source from and want to save that list for future searches
  • Need to quickly add the same group of competitor companies to multiple related job openings
  • Want to preserve target company research from a completed search so you can reference it for similar future roles
  • Work on multiple executive searches in the same industry and want to share target company lists across your team
  • Need to report on which companies you are targeting most frequently for your recruiting efforts

How Target Accounts and Account Lists Work

These two features work together but serve different purposes. Target Accounts connect specific companies to individual jobs and track research progress. Account Lists are reusable groups of companies you can apply to multiple jobs.

Add Target Companies to Jobs

Target Accounts let you associate companies with a specific job opening, track where those companies came from (such as from an Account List or from your own research), and monitor whether research has been completed for each company.

A Target Account record links a company (Account) to a job. When you create a Target Account, you can specify whether the Account exists in your Bullhorn for Salesforce org or is an external company you are tracking.

You can also enter a source for each Target Account to document where the company came from (for example, from an existing Account List, from a web search, or from clientClosed A Company is the organization where the contact works. This can also be called the Client. recommendations).

Each Target Account has a Status field that you can use to track research progress. Out of the box, the available statuses are:

  • Research Not Started: You identified the company but have not begun researching candidates there
  • Research In Progress: Your team is actively researching or contacting candidates at this company
  • Research Completed: You finished researching this company for this job

Administrators can customize the Status picklist to match your firm's workflow.

You can create Target Account records in three ways:

  • From an Account record, click the Add Target Account button to link that company to a job
  • From Account List Views, select one or multiple companies and click Add Target Account to link them to a job
  • From a Job record, click the Add Target Account button to search for and add companies to that job

After creating Target Accounts, you can view them in two places:

  • On Account records in the Target Account Related List, which shows all jobs that are targeting this company
  • On Job records in the Target Account Related List, which shows all companies you are targeting for this position

Create and Reuse Account Lists

Account Lists are maintained groups of companies that are relevant to specific types of searches. For example, you might create an Account List of all pharmaceutical companies in the Northeast, or all Series B funded startups in fintech. When a similar job comes in, you can quickly add all companies from that list as Target Accounts.

You can create Account Lists in three ways:

From the Account List Tab:

  • Navigate to the Account List tab
  • Click the New button
  • Name your list and add companies manually

From Account List Views or Account Records:

From Job Records:

  • Open a Job record that has Target Accounts already associated
  • Click the Add Target Accounts to Account List button
  • This converts all Target Accounts for that job into a reusable Account List
  • Choose whether to add to an existing list or create a new one

Once you have Account Lists created, you can apply them to jobs:

  • Open a Job record
  • Click the Add Target Accounts from Account List button
  • Select an existing Account List
  • All companies in that list are added as Target Accounts for the job

Configuration Steps

Follow these steps to enable Target Accounts and Account Lists in your Bullhorn for Salesforce org. You must be a Salesforce administrator to complete these configuration tasks. Configuration is split into two sections: one for Target Accounts and one for Account Lists.

Configure Target Accounts

Step 1: Add the Add Target Account Button to Account List Views

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > List View Button Layout
  2. Click Edit next to the List View layout
  3. In the Custom Buttons section, add Add Target Account to the Selected Buttons column
  4. Save your changes

Step 2: Add Lightning Action to Account Layout

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > Page Layouts
  2. Edit the relevant Account page layout
  3. In the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section, add the Add Target Account Lightning ActionClosed When used in ATS or Search and Match UI, one of multiple actions available after user has selected a sub-set of Candidates
  4. Save your changes

Step 3: Add Lightning Action to Job Layout

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Job > Page Layouts
  2. Edit the relevant Job page layout
  3. In the Salesforce Mobile and Lightning Experience Actions section, add the Add Target Account Lightning Action
  4. Save your changes

Step 4: Add Target Account Related List to Page Layouts

  1. Add the Target Account Related List to Job page layouts:
    1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Job > Page Layouts
    2. Edit the layout and add the Target Account Related List
    3. Select which fields to display on the related list
    4. Important: Remove the standard New button from the Related List as it does not provide the extra logic added to the custom button
  2. Add the Target Account Related List to Account page layouts:
    1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > Page Layouts
    2. Edit the layout and add the Target Account Related List
    3. Select which fields to display on the related list
    4. Important: Remove the standard New button from the Related List

Step 5: Configure Selection Limit

  1. Go to Setup > Custom Settings > Executive Search
  2. Locate the Selected Accounts Limit field
  3. Enter the maximum number of accounts users can select at once from list views (default is 80)
  4. Save your changes

Step 6: Assign Permission Set to Users

  1. Go to Setup > Permission Sets
  2. Find and open the Target Account UserClosed In Salesforce terminology, this is anybody that has login access to an instance. In Bullhorn Recruitment Cloud instances, usually the staff of recruiting companies permission set
  3. Click Manage Assignments
  4. Add all users who need to create and manage Target Accounts
  5. Save your changes

Step 7: Configure Generic Lookup

  1. Ensure Generic Lookup is configured for your org
  2. This component is required for the Account search functionality in Target Accounts
  3. Contact Bullhorn Support if you need assistance configuring Generic Lookup

Configure Account Lists

Step 1: Create a Tab for Account List

  1. Go to Setup > Tabs
  2. In the Custom Object Tabs section, click New
  3. Select Account List as the object
  4. Choose a tab style and configure visibility settings
  5. Save your changes

Step 2: Add the Add To Account List Button

  1. Add button to Account List Views:
    1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > List View Button Layout
    2. Click Edit next to the List View layout
    3. In the Custom Buttons section, add Add To Account List to the Selected Buttons column
    4. Save your changes
  2. Add button to Account record detail page:
    1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Account > Page Layouts
    2. Edit the relevant Account page layout
    3. Add the Add To Account List button or action
    4. Save your changes

Step 3: Add Account List Buttons to Job Records

  1. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Job > Page Layouts
  2. Edit the relevant Job page layout
  3. Add the following buttons to the layout:
    • Add Target Accounts from Account List
    • Add Target Accounts to Account List
  4. Save your changes

Step 4: Assign Permission Set to Users

  1. Go to Setup > Permission Sets
  2. Find and open the Account List User permission set
  3. Click Manage Assignments
  4. Add all users who need to create and manage Account Lists
  5. Save your changes

Troubleshooting

If the Add Target Account button does not appear on Account or Job records

Verify that you added the Lightning Action to the correct page layouts (Setup > Object Manager > Account or Job > Page Layouts). Also check that you assigned the Target Account User permission set to your user account. Log out and log back in to refresh permissions.

If you cannot select multiple accounts from a list view

Check the Selected Accounts Limit value in Setup > Custom Settings > Executive Search. If you are trying to select more accounts than the limit allows, reduce your selection or increase the limit. The default limit is 80 accounts.

If Target Accounts are not showing on Job or Account records

Confirm that you added the Target Account Related List to the relevant page layouts. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Job (or Account) > Page Layouts and verify the related list is present. Remember to remove the standard New button from the related list.

If Generic Lookup is not working for Target Account search

Contact Bullhorn Support to verify Generic Lookup is properly configured for your org. Target Account functionality depends on Generic Lookup for searching and selecting companies.

If you cannot find the Account List tab

Verify that you created a custom object tab for Account List (Setup > Tabs). Also check your profile or permission set settings to ensure the tab is visible to your user profile. You may need to add it to your selected tabs in the App Launcher.

If the Add To Account List button does not appear

Check that you added the button to both Account List Views and Account page layouts (Setup > Object Manager > Account). Verify that you assigned the Account List User permission set to your user account.

If you cannot add Target Accounts from an Account List to a Job

Confirm that the Add Target Accounts from Account List button is on your Job page layout. Also verify that the Account List you are trying to use contains active accounts and is not empty.

If Status values do not match your workflow

Customize the Status picklist on the Target Account object. Go to Setup > Object Manager > Target Account > Fields and Relationships > Status, then edit the picklist values to match your firm's research stages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Target Account and an Account List?

A Target Account is a company linked to a specific job that you are actively sourcing from. An Account List is a saved group of companies that you can reuse across multiple jobs. Think of Account Lists as templates that you apply to jobs by converting them into Target Accounts.

Can I track research progress on Account Lists?

No. Research status is tracked on Target Account records, not on Account Lists. Account Lists are just groups of companies. Once you add an Account List to a job (converting it to Target Accounts), you can then track research status for each company on that job.

Can multiple jobs target the same company?

Yes. The same company can be a Target Account for multiple jobs. Each Target Account record is specific to one job, so research status is tracked separately for each job-company combination.

How do I share Account Lists with my team?

Account Lists follow standard Salesforce sharing rules. Check with your Salesforce administrator about your org's sharing settings for the Account List object. You may need to adjust sharing rules or manually share specific lists with team members.

Can I delete a Target Account without deleting the company (Account) record?

Yes. Deleting a Target Account record only removes the link between that company and the job. The underlying company (Account) record remains in your database and can be used as a Target Account for other jobs.

Why should I remove the standard New button from Target Account related lists?

The standard New button does not include the custom logic for selecting accounts, tracking sources, or handling company searches properly. Always use the Add Target Account custom button instead to ensure all features work correctly.