Overview

A number of iCIMS’ Talent Cloud products allow users to compose emails, including: 

• iCIMS Connect (Legacy CRM) 
• iCIMS Applicant Tracking (ATS)
• iCIMS Offer Management 
• iCIMS Onboarding 

Users with appropriate permissions can compose emails to anyone with a valid email address on a profile. A copy of the email is displayed in the appropriate mailbox found on the Email tab of the recipient’s profile, in addition to the email they will receive in their external email provider’s inbox.

This article covers the following topics:

• Compose Email Options
• Composing an Email
• Sending Mass Emails
• Using Images in Emails

Important Notes:

• Emails may only be sent to individuals with a profile in the iCIMS system (e.g., contacts, candidates, employees, etc.) because each time an email is sent, it is saved to the sender and recipient profiles. If an intended recipient does not have a profile in the system, users can create a profile for them by selecting Create Contact within the To, CC, or BCC dropdown lists, and then inputting the desired recipient's First Name, Last Name, and a valid email address.
• The To, CC, and BCC dropdown lists can only be populated with valid email addresses. Any email addresses that have previously bounced within the system are not available in the dropdown list and cannot be selected.
• The system warns the user when placing the same recipient in multiple recipient fields (i.e., To, CC, and BCC). If the selected person's email address already exists among the recipients of the current email being drafted, an alert displays warning the user of the duplicate recipient. 
• The iCIMS system does not currently accept accented characters in email addresses (e.g., josé@email.com). Any email addresses with an accented character are flagged as invalid, and users are unable to email those addresses.
• Once an email has been sent, the message cannot be recalled.

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Compose Email Options

An email composed in the system, with variables (i.e., automatically populated fields) highlighted in green. 

• Save as Document: Select this option at the top right of the Compose Email window to save a copy of the current email as an attachment to each recipient’s profile. (Note: This option is not available when utilizing the Share Profile feature or when accessing email via the Communicate menu, although users can download the email while in the Email Preview window.)
• From: View the sender for the message in the From dropdown list. (Users with access to send messages from other email addresses, such as a corporate do-not-reply address, can select another email address in the From dropdown list.)
• To: Enter or select a recipient in the To dropdown list. (The To: field is pre-populated when sending an email from search results or a candidate's profile.)
• CC/BCC: Click this link (to the right of the To dropdown list) to carbon copy (CC) and blind carbon copy (BCC) recipients.
• Template Category: Select an email template category to narrow down the list of email templates that display in the Template dropdown.
• Template: Select an existing email template.
• Save Current Email as Email Template: Click this icon (available to the right of the Template dropdown list) to launch the Save Mail Template popup. Provide a template title, description, and category, and determine sharing options as applicable. Email templates can also be created and managed in the Email Template Library (Library > Email Template). For more information about email templates, review the Creating and Managing Email Templates Knowledge Base article.
• Subject: Provide a subject line in the Subject field.
• Toolbar: Manage File Library attachments and formatting options, add links and images, or spellcheck the message using the toolbar.
• Add Variable: Click the Add Variable button to include variables in the email subject or message. For more information about email variables, review the Using Email Variables Knowledge Base article.
• Text Area: Compose the body of the email message in the text area. 
• Drag and Drop Area: Drag and drop files or click here to upload files to the email.
• Send: Click the Send button to send the email.
• Cancel: Click the Cancel button to cancel the email and close the Compose Email window.

Composing an Email

Emails can be composed directly from profiles in the system, by selecting Communicate > Compose Email from the menu bar, through searches, and through auto-launch actions and wizards. Note that the range of variables available in each case varies. For more information about email variables, review the Using Email Variables Knowledge Base article.

One of the most common places to send emails from is the Job profile People tab, which allows the user to leverage Recruit Workflow variables, as well as Sender and Recipient variables in their email. The steps below outline how to email one or more candidates from the People tab.

1. Navigate to the applicable Job profile.
2. Click the People tab, then click the By Status grouping option.
3.  Expand the bins and statuses to locate and select the checkbox beside the applicable candidate(s).
   • Tip: Users can select the checkbox beside entire bins or statuses to select multiple candidates at once, or select multiple candidates manually. 
4. Click the More Actions menu, available at the bottom right of the People tab. Then, select Email. The Compose Email window displays. 

• Note: Anyone with invalid email addresses or whose email addresses have been marked as bounced are removed from the email. For more information, review the Resetting a Candidate's Email Status Knowledge Base article.

5. Select a template from the Template field or enter the body of the email.

• Note: If selecting a template, the Template Category dropdown narrows down the available templates. In the Template field, type to search or click the dropdown menu to select a template.

6. Click Preview to review the email with resolved variables. Then, click Send to send the email.

• Tips:
  • Message variables are highlighted in green and populate with the appropriate data when the email is sent. Unavailable variables (which do not populate with data) are displayed with a strikethrough. As a best practice, do not send out emails with unavailable variables.
  • Sensitive variables, such as the Password Reset URL, do not display in preview mode.
  • An alert displays within the email preview screen if any variables cannot resolve correctly. For more information about email variables, review the Using Email Variables Knowledge Base article.

Sending Mass Emails

Mass emails can be sent directly from profiles in the system (e.g. from the People tab of a Job profile), the Compose Email Tool (Library > Compose Email), and through auto-launch actions and wizards. One of the most common ways that mass emails are sent is from a list of search results. The steps below describe composing an email from a Person search. However, the steps are similar to composing emails from Recruiting, Sourcing, and Onboarding Workflow searches.

Note: Mass emails are limited to 5,000 recipients. Selecting more than 5,000 recipients and choosing the Email action results in an error. If more than 5,000 recipients are needed, add a group-by to the search results (such as Bin or Status in a Recruiting Workflow search) and use the individual groupings to send multiple mass emails. Alternatively, for customers with Connect, email campaigns can be leveraged to send emails to a larger number of recipients at one time.

1. Conduct a Candidate search (Search > Person > Candidate) with the applicable filters and outputs. (For more information on searching, review the Creating a Person Search Knowledge Base article.)
2. Select the checkbox beside two+ candidates from the search results, then click the Email button. The Compose Email window displays. 

• Note: People with invalid email addresses or whose email addresses have been marked as bounced are removed from the email. For more information, review the Resetting a Candidate's Email Status Knowledge Base article.

3. Select a template from the Template field or enter the body of the email

• Note: If selecting a template, the Template Category dropdown narrows down the available templates. In the Template field, type to search or click the dropdown menu to select a template.

4. Click Preview to review the email with resolved variables. Then, click Send to send the email. 

• Tips:
  • Email variables are highlighted in green and populate with the appropriate data when the email is sent. Unavailable variables (which do not populate with data) are displayed with a strikethrough. As a best practice, do not send out emails with unavailable variables.
    • Note that message variables do not populate on the candidate's Email tab; this does not indicate that the candidate has received an email with an unavailable or unresolved variable. 
  • Sensitive variables, such as the Password Reset URL, do not display in preview mode.
  • An alert displays within the message preview screen if any variables cannot resolve correctly. For more information about email variables, review the Using Email Variables Knowledge Base article.

Additional Information about Mass Emailing

• To increase the delivery rate of emails, review the recommendations outlined in the Best Practices for Ensuring Email Delivery Knowledge Base article.
• Warning: The system sends a single unique copy of the email to each of the listed To recipients. For example, if 100 recipients are selected, the system sends 100 different copies of the same email to 100 different people. For this reason, iCIMS strongly recommends against CCing or BCCing anyone on a mass mail, as they receive a copy per each individual recipient.
• Users with appropriate permissions receive a mailing summary via email that includes the results of an email blast, including the number of successfully sent messages and any bounced email addresses.
• An opt-out link variable is automatically added to all email campaigns and mass emails (i.e., emails with more than one recipient) sent from the system. This variable can also be manually added to emails by selecting the Email Opt-Out URL recipient variable (Click Add Variables and locate the Recipient Variables section, then select Recipient > General > Email Opt-Out URL).
• In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, all mass emails (i.e., emails sent to two or more recipients) and automatic system notifications (e.g., completed job application emails) have address footers in the bodies of emails. While the footer displays in emails to recipients, it is not visible to senders while composing emails or in the Email tab of Person profiles. If the company’s default address is not defined, iCIMS' corporate address automatically displays. 
• The number of recipients allowed on an email is decreased significantly if the email includes attachments (in order to ensure optimal performance for all users). For this reason, it is best practice not to include attachments in mass emails.

Using Images in Emails

Logos, headers and footers, photos, and linked buttons can be added to emails and email templates to create engaging, branded content for candidates and other contacts. The steps below describe adding images to emails and turning images into linked buttons.  

Adding Images to Emails

Users have two options when adding an image to an email: using an image that's been previously uploaded to the system's File Library (as described in the Adding Files to the File Library Knowledge Base article), or using an image that is hosted externally. (Note that to use an externally-hosted image, its URL is needed to complete the steps below.)

1. Follow the steps in the Composing an Email section of this article to navigate to the Compose Email window.
2. From the toolbar, click the down arrow beside the Add From File Library (paperclip) icon, then select Insert Image (File Library). The Use Library Image popup displays.
3. Check off each image to add to the email, then click Add Image(s).  The image(s) now appear as part of the email and can be formatted as applicable.  

Using an externally hosted image:

1. Follow the steps in the Composing an Email section of this article to navigate to the Compose Email window.
2. From the toolbar, click the Insert/edit Image icon. The Insert/Edit Image popup displays.
3. In the Source field, insert the hosted image URL. Complete the Image Description and Dimensions fields, if desired, then click OK. The image now appears as part of the email.

Using Images as Linked Buttons

The images added to an email can be used as linked buttons. Linked images are applicable for social media icons, event registration links, and Apply Now buttons. Follow the steps below to turn an image within the email into a link.

1. Add the desired image using one of the methods listed in the Adding Images to Emails section of this article.
2. Click the image within the email so that it is highlighted, then click the Link Options icon in the toolbar and select Link. 
3. In the URL field, add the URL for the website. Adjust the other link settings as desired, then click OK. The image is now a linked button.

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Additional Resources: Working with Email

The iCIMS Knowledge Base includes additional resources on working with email and email templates. Click here to access related resources.