Zoho Recruit | Candidate Portal Overview

Candidate Portal: An Overview


The Candidate Portal is a dedicated platform where candidates can apply for positions and track their application progress. Upon logging in, candidates can update their profile, check application status, and receive real-time status updates. This platform streamlines the recruitment process, ensuring a seamless experience for both candidates and recruiters.

Availability

Available forProfile PermissionsUser with admin profile 
EditionsStaffing Agency and Corporate HR
PlansEnterprise, Professional, Zoho One, and People plus

Portal Setup & Configuration

1. Enabling the Candidate Portal  

1. To enable the Candidate Portal, navigate to Setup > Portal Setup > Candidate portal


2. Turn ON the toggle button.


2. Candidate Portal Customization

Customization is key to delivering a seamless and engaging candidate experience. In this section, we will explore how you can tailor the Candidate Portal to align with your brand identity and enhance candidate interaction.

What You'll Learn:

  1. Header & Appearance Customization – Branding, fonts, colors.
  2. Form Settings – Configuring signup options, including standard and smart signup methods.
  3. Tab Management – Controlling the visibility and functionality of key sections like Profile, Applications, and Saved Jobs.
  4. Additional Settings – Assigning candidate owners, enabling email verification, and using tags for better organization.
To customize the portal,
Navigate to Setup > Portal Setup > Candidate Portal > Customize

The default layout of Candidate Portal will open, allowing you to select the desired part and use the available customization options.

2.1 Header Customization   

Modify the portal’s header to match your brand identity:
  1. Background Settings:
    1. Upload a background image
    2. Set a background colour
    3. Adjust transparency levels
  2. Branding Elements:
    1. Upload a Portal Logo
    2. Add a Portal Favicon

2.2 Appearance Customization

The appearance settings allow you to modify the visual aspects of the candidate portal.
  1. Choose a Font type
  2. Customize Heading text color
  3. Customize Body text color
  4. Define the Brand color to maintain consistency


2.3 Signup Settings  

Form Settings control candidate signup and portal access using multiple signup methods and federated login. Candidates can sign up in two ways:
  1. Standard Signup (Form) – Sign up with email, password, and required details.
  2. Smart Signup (OTP) – Candidates can sign up quickly using either email OTP or social login (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn).

2. 3.1 Standard Signup 

In Standard Signup, candidates register using a signup form that includes fields for email, password, and other personal details. This is a traditional method where candidates manually enter their information to create an account.
To customize the form:
  1. Click Customize Signup Form under Standard Sign up.
  2. Make the necessary changes, then click Save and Publish.

  3. You can also choose to get the candidate's Consent Preference while they sign up using this form.

    • Keep in mind that the candidate's consent preference will be saved only if their Data Processing Basis is set to Empty or Consent.

2.3.2  Smart Signup/Login 

The Smart Signup/Login feature provides candidates with multiple authentication options while maintaining security and ease of use. Candidates can sign up using:
  1. Email OTP verification
  2. Social media accounts (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn) 
Enable Smart Register/Login

When the admin enables Smart Signup/Login, candidates can sign up or log in from the same page. When a candidate enters their email for the first time, an OTP is sent to their inbox. Upon verification, their portal account is created. After that, candidates can log in using either an email OTP or their password.
  1. Go to Portal Setup in Zoho Recruit.
  2. Select Form Settings > Smart Register/Login and click Save & Publish.
2.3.3 Steps to Set Up Social Logins (Optional)   

Social Login lets candidates use their existing Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn accounts to Log in/sign up quickly without creating a new password.

Step 1: Enable Social Login in Candidate Portal 
  1. Navigate to Setup > Portal Setup > Candidate Portal > Smart Register/Login > Configure Smart Signup.
  2. Turn ON the social login options you want (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn).
  3. Enter the required Client ID and Client Secret (these are security keys provided by the social platform).
Step 2: Refer to Setup Guides for Federated Login

Federated login enables candidate authentication on a portal using their Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn accounts. This eliminates the need for candidates to create a separate account, as these services function as identity providers and verify their identity.
Use the platform-specific guides for Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook to obtain the Client ID and Client Secret credentials.
Note: 
Federated login options using Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook are not supported on the Candidate Portal hosted in the China Data Center (CN DC).
Step 3: Complete Configuration in Zoho Recruit   
  1. Return to Zoho Recruit > Authentication Settings.
  2. Enter the fetched Client ID & Client Secret. Save and apply the changes.

Once configured, candidates can log in effortlessly using Smart Signup by following these simple steps:
  1. Open the Candidate Portal, enter your email address, and click Next.
  2. Check your email, enter the OTP in the portal, and click Verify.

Portal Tab Management

Once you've enabled the Candidate Portal, you can configure 4 specific tabs through which candidates will be able to access various functions of your hiring process, namely;

Profile

This tab allows candidates to submit or update their details, which are automatically synced with their record in the Candidates module.



Notes
Note:
  1. The Profile tab cannot be disabled. You can only control which fields are displayed and marked as mandatory.
  2. You can choose to get candidates' consent preferences via the Profile form as shown below. Go to the Advanced Options section on the left-panel to find this option.

    1. The consent preference section is shown only when the Data Processing Basis is set to Empty or Consent. It will not appear if any other processing basis is selected.

Applications

Enable this tab to allow candidates to track job applications, view statuses, receive interview updates, and take actions like withdrawing or uploading documents.


Saved Jobs

Enable this tab to let candidates bookmark jobs, track opportunities, and apply later.


Job Alerts 

This tab allows candidates to configure personalized alerts which will notify them via email when a job matching their criteria is published to the Career Site. Learn More Job Alerts


Compliance

This tab lets candidates submit and manage Data Subject Requests as per GDPR laws. Keep in mind that you will need to have GDPR enabled from Setup > Compliance to activate this tab for the Candidate Portal.


Once you enable this tab, candidates can submit the following Data Subject Requests;
  1. Request to access data
    Redirects candidates to the Profile tab, where they can view their details.
  2. Request to rectify data
    Takes candidates to the Profile update form, where they can update their details.
  3. Request to export data
    Downloads the candidates profile information as a ZIP file.
  4. Request to stop processing data
    Initiates a request to stop processing the candidate's data for recruitment. Recruiters will be notified via the Notifications section (inside Recruit) and will need to address the request.
  5. Request to delete data
    Initiates a request to remove the candidate's data from your database. Similar to the previous case, Recruiters will need to address the request and delete/blocklist the candidate.

5. Additional Settings  

Manage additional portal functionalities:

  • Assign a Candidate Owner: Automatically assign an owner to each candidate profile

  • Tags: Use tags to categorize and manage candidates efficiently

  • Email Verification Message: Upon signing up using the registration form, candidates will see the following message in a pop-up informing them that a verification email has been sent to their registered email address.

After making the necessary changes, click Preview to see how the portal will appear to candidates. Once satisfied, click Save & Publish
to apply the change.

3. Configuring Email Templates

You can customize email templates to ensure personalized communication. These templates can include:

  • Account Confirmation – Sent when a candidate registers through the signup form (standard signup). The candidate will receive this email to confirm their account.

  • Password Reset via OTP – Sent when a candidate requests to reset their password using a one-time password (OTP).

  • Invitation Email – Sent when a user invites a candidate. The candidate will receive this email with the invitation details.

To customize the email templates,

  1. Navigate to Setup > Portal Setup > Candidate Portal

  2. Under Email Notifications, locate the default email templates.

  3. Click on any template to open it.

  4. Customize the template as needed and Save your changes

Invite Candidate to the Portal

Once the candidate is added in the candidate module, you will need to invite the candidate to join your portal. Click the Invite button in the top-right corner. The candidate that you invited will receive an invitation email with a link to set their password. After setting the password, their account will be confirmed, granting them access to the Candidate Portal. See Also Mass Invite Candidates

Enable/Disable Candidate Login to the Candidate Portal

You can control whether a candidate is allowed to log in to the Candidate Portal. This is managed through the Enable/Disable Candidate Login option available within each candidate record. 

How to Disable Candidate Login

To disable a candidate’s access to the Candidate Portal:
  1. Open the candidate record.
  2. Click the More Options (⋮) icon.
  3. Select Disable Candidate Login.

How to Enable Candidate Login

To enable a candidate’s access to the Candidate Portal:
  1. Open the candidate record.
  2. Click the More Options (⋮) icon.
  3. Select Enable Candidate Login.

Candidate Experience

1. Account Setup

1.1 Resetting Email & Password

  1. Candidates can reset their login credentials if needed:
  2. Log in to the Candidate Portal and click on the profile photo.
  3. Here, you can Reset Email & Password.

1.2. Updating Profile Information

Candidates can update their personal and professional details:
  1. Log in to the Candidate Portal, then click Profile.
  2. Edit the relevant fields, such as contact details, skills, experience, and uploaded documents , then click Save.
2. Candidate Portal Features

2.1 Applying to Jobs

  1. Log in to the Candidate Portal, then click Jobs.
  2. Click View openings. Select any respective job opening that you are interested in
  3. Click Apply Now and submit the required documents.
  4. Confirm your application.

2.2 Tracking Job Applications

  1. Navigate to Applications in the Candidate Portal
  2. View the status of candidates submitted applications
  3. Candidates can view the answered assessment within the respective application
Note: Please note that the application status will be enabled only upon request and will not be available by default.

2.3 Viewing Saved Jobs

Candidates can save interesting job positions to review later by using the Save Job feature.
Steps to save a job:
  1. Log in to the Candidate Portal, then click Jobs.
  2. Click View Openings. Select any respective job opening that you are interested in
  3. Click Save Job
    You can now find all your saved jobs in the Saved Jobs section.