> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alex.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configuring Communication Channels

Streamline your hiring process by customizing how you communicate with candidates. Connecting your own email accounts, using a branded domain, and creating templates helps ensure your messages are personal, professional, and consistently delivered.

## Connect Your Email Account

Connecting your personal email account allows you to send interview-related emails directly from your own Gmail or Outlook address. This makes communication feel more personal and can improve how candidates respond.

### Link a Gmail or Outlook account

1. Navigate to your **Profile** settings.
2. Locate the **Connected Email Accounts** section.
3. Choose to connect either your Gmail or Outlook account.
4. Follow the authentication steps to securely link your account.

Once connected, emails sent to candidates will come from your linked email address instead of the default system email.

***

## Use a Custom Branded Email Domain

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/apriora/pqofBTRN_UCOcwN0/images/settings-domains-tab.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=pqofBTRN_UCOcwN0&q=85&s=428ecfc0dcdf1555b673046bb76a1e69" alt="Domains settings" width="1440" height="900" data-path="images/settings-domains-tab.png" />

Configuring a custom email domain allows all interview-related emails, like invitations and notifications, to be sent from your company's branded domain (e.g., `recruiting@yourcompany.com`). This reinforces your brand and can help emails avoid spam filters, improving deliverability.

### Configure your email domain

1. Go to the **Domains** settings page.
2. Follow the instructions to configure and verify a custom domain for sending emails.

***

## Customize Email Templates

Creating standardized email templates for different stages of the interview process ensures consistent and professional communication with every candidate. It saves you time by automating invitations, reminders, and follow-up messages.

### Build the invitation and reminder sequence

Candidate outreach is configured per workflow, inside an **Initiate Outreach** group in your application workflow. The group holds the sequence Alex works through:

* **Invitation**: the first message a candidate receives, inviting them to an interview. It can describe the interview and include a link to schedule or take it directly. Add it with **Add invitation**.

* **Reminders**: follow-up messages for candidates who haven't scheduled or completed their interview yet. Add each one with **Add reminder** and give it a delay — in minutes, hours, or days — measured from the previous step. You can add as many as you need, and remove a reminder by deleting its step.

Each step is email, SMS, or a phone call, so a sequence can mix channels — for example an invitation email followed by an SMS reminder.

To reuse standard wording across jobs, save it as a template under **Templates → Messaging** and select it on the step.

#### How to Customize Templates

For each template, you can edit the subject line and body to match your company's voice and tone.

* **Use Variables**: Personalize emails automatically by inserting variables. Click **Add Variable** to choose from a list of available placeholders.

| Variable                   | Description                                                        |
| :------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `{{candidate_first_name}}` | The first name of the candidate.                                   |
| `{{candidate_last_name}}`  | The last name of the candidate.                                    |
| `{{position_title}}`       | The title of the position they are interviewing for.               |
| `{{company_name}}`         | Your company's name.                                               |
| `{{schedule_link}}`        | A unique link for the candidate to schedule their interview.       |
| `{{interview_link}}`       | A unique link for the candidate to take the interview immediately. |
| `{{opt_out_link}}`         | A unique link for the candidate to opt out of the interview.       |

* **Format Text**: Use the toolbar to apply **bold** or *italic* formatting to your text.
* **Add Links and Buttons**: Insert custom hyperlinks or call-to-action buttons into the email body to direct candidates to important resources.