What the Salesforce Integration Does
- Invite Candidates Directly from Salesforce: Automatically send interview invitations to new candidates when they are added to a job in Salesforce.
- Automated Scheduling: Candidates receive a link to schedule their interview at a time that works for them, eliminating back-and-forth emails.
- Real-Time Syncing of Results: Once a candidate completes their interview, the results, including the score, feedback, and a full report, are automatically synced back to the appropriate record in Salesforce.
Prerequisites
Before you can use the integration, you’ll need to set it up in both Alex and Salesforce.Enabling the Salesforce Integration in Alex
To connect your Salesforce account, you will need to provide the following credentials in the Alex integration settings:- Authentication Flow: Choose between “Client Credentials” or “Username/Password” based on your Salesforce setup.
- Client ID & Client Secret: Obtained from your Connected App in Salesforce.
- Salesforce Instance URL: The unique URL for your Salesforce organization.
- Username, Password, & Security Token: Required if you choose the Username/Password authentication flow. These should belong to a dedicated API user.
- Object API Names:
- Candidate Object
- Job Object
- Job Submission Object
- Field API Names:
- ID fields for each of the objects above.
- Fields for the candidate’s first name, last name, email, and phone number.
Salesforce Setup Requirements
To ensure the integration works correctly, you need to configure a few items in your Salesforce account:- Connected App: Create a Connected App in Salesforce to generate the Client ID and Client Secret required for authentication.
- API User: It is recommended to use a dedicated API user account. This user’s credentials (username, password, security token) will be used to connect Alex to Salesforce.
- Permissions: The designated API user must have the necessary permissions to read and write data for the following standard or custom objects:
- Job
- Job Submission (or Application)
- Candidate
Configuring Interviews
To link an interview in Alex with a job in Salesforce, you establish a one-to-one connection using an external ID.Connecting a Salesforce Job to an Alex Interview
- In Alex, navigate to the settings of the interview you want to connect.
- Locate the External ID field.
- Enter the appropriate Job ID from Salesforce into this field. This creates a direct link between the Alex interview and the Salesforce Job record.
Finding the Correct Job ID in Salesforce
The ID required for the External ID field is not the standard 18-digit Salesforce Record ID found in the URL. Instead, it is the value from the specific field you designated as the Job Object ID Field in the integration settings. To find this value:- Navigate to the Job record in Salesforce.
- Locate the field that corresponds to the Job Object ID Field you configured (e.g.,
Job_ID__c). - Copy the value from this field and paste it into the External ID field in Alex.
Inviting Candidates
Once an interview is connected to a Salesforce Job, you can trigger invitations automatically.Triggering an Alex Interview Invitation
To invite a candidate to an interview, create a new Job Submission (or Application) record in Salesforce. This action links a Candidate record to the specific Job record that is already connected to your Alex interview. Once this new submission is created, the system automatically sends an interview invitation to the candidate.Automatically Generating Jobs
You can configure the integration to automatically create new interviews in Alex whenever a new job is created in Salesforce. This is useful for keeping your hiring roles aligned across both platforms.Enabling Automatic Job Generation
Automatic job generation is now managed through Job Workflows. To turn on this feature, navigate to Workflows, select the Job view, and enable your designated Job Workflow to activate automatic job import.Configuring the Job Object
For automatic job generation to work, you must specify which fields on your Salesforce Job object correspond to the job title and job description. This is configured directly within your Job Workflow:- Click on the New Job from ATS trigger node.
- Select the appropriate Salesforce fields for the Title Source and Description Source.
- Map any additional ATS fields you want to use as context for the job.
On Interview Completion
After a candidate completes an interview, you can configure how the results are written back to Salesforce. These settings live in Workflows, on the block that starts with the Interview Completed trigger. (A job’s own Workflow tab shows candidate progress; it is not where write-back is configured.)Configuring Write-Back Settings
You can choose to sync various pieces of information back to Salesforce, including:- Interview Report PDF: Upload a PDF of the full interview report to the Job Submission record.
- Interview Summary: Add a note to a specified field containing the interview score, feedback, and question summary.
- Overall Score: Populate a specific field with the candidate’s final interview score.
- Field Mappings: Update various fields on the Job, Candidate, or Job Submission records with specific data points from the interview.
Salesforce Configuration Tips
The integration relies on precise API names for objects and fields to function correctly. Using incorrect names can cause syncing errors.Ensuring Accurate API Names
You can find the correct API names for any standard or custom object and its fields within Salesforce’s Object Manager.- From Salesforce, navigate to Setup.
- Open the Object Manager.
- Use the search to find the object you need (e.g.,
Job__c,Candidate__c). - Click on the object’s name to view its details.
- The API Name for the object is listed in its details.
- To find field names, go to the Fields & Relationships section. The API Name for each field is listed in the “Field Name” column.