Invite a candidate to a vacancy
The candidate invitation feature allows recruiters, account admins to invite an individual candidate directly to a vacancy from within the Harver platform. When you send an invitation, the candidate receives a personalised email with a unique access link to begin their assessment.
This article covers how to configure a vacancy for invitations and how to invite a candidate once the vacancy is set up.
Before you begin
Your account must have the candidate invitation feature enabled. If you do not see the options described in this article, contact your account administrator.
The vacancy must be configured with the Direct Invitation registration type. See Configure a vacancy for candidate invitations below.
Only Open vacancies configured for Direct Invitation are available when inviting a candidate.
Configure a vacancy for candidate invitations
Configure a vacancy for candidate invitations
Account admins can set up vacancies to support candidate invitations. This configuration must be completed before recruiters can use the invite option.
Open Hiring Studio and navigate to the vacancy you want to configure, or create a new vacancy.
-
Locate the Candidate Registration section on the vacancy configuration page.
⚠️ Important This section is only visible when the invitation feature is enabled for your account. If you do not see it, contact your Harver account manager.
Select Direct Invitation as the candidate registration type. The authentication strategy is automatically set to ATS First. The authentication strategy section will no longer be displayed once Direct Invitation is selected.
Save the vacancy. A confirmation message appears to acknowledge the change. The update is recorded in the vacancy history, including who made the change and when.
💡 Tip To revert to self-registration at any time, return to the Candidate Registration section and select Self-registration link or ATS. The authentication strategy section will reappear and default to Harver First.
What changes when a vacancy is set to Direct Invitation
Candidates can only access the assessment via a personalised invitation link. The vacancy's self-registration link will not work.
The vacancy will appear in the invitation list for recruiters, provided it is open and the recruiter has access to it.
If you duplicate a vacancy configured for Direct Invitation, the new vacancy inherits the Direct Invitation registration type.
Archiving the vacancy removes it from the recruiter's invitation list immediately.
Invite a candidate
Once a vacancy is configured for invitations, recruiters, account admins, and super users can invite candidates from the Candidate Overview page.
Go to the Candidate Overview page. The Invite candidate option is available regardless of any active filters on the page.
Select Invite candidate. A popup window opens to configure the invitation.
-
Select a vacancy. The list displays only Open vacancies configured for Direct Invitation that you have access to. Vacancies are listed alphabetically. Use the search field to filter by vacancy name.
⚠️ Important You must select a vacancy to proceed. The form cannot be submitted without one.
-
Enter the candidate's details. First name, last name, and a valid email address are required.
Language — Determines the language of the invitation email and the assessment instructions.
The vacancy's default language is pre-selected.
If the vacancy has multiple languages, the candidate can update their preference when they begin the assessment.
Location — Determines which recruiters can see the candidate, based on their location access permissions.
If the vacancy uses a multi-location picker module, the location selected here is pre-filled for the candidate, but they can change their selection during the assessment.
-
Submit the invitation. The candidate receives an invitation email based on the vacancy's registration email template in the selected language.
If the registration fails, an error message explains the reason. You can correct the details and retry.
⚠️ Important If the registration email template is disabled for the selected language, you will not be able to send the invitation. Contact your account administrator to enable the template for that language in the vacancy's communication set.
Registration email template
The invitation email sent to candidates is based on the registration email template configured in the vacancy's communication set. This template controls the content and language of the email the candidate receives.
If the template for the communication set's default language is disabled, the email cannot be sent. Contact your account administrator to review and enable the relevant template in the communication set.
💡 Tip Account admins can customise the registration email template in the communication set settings.
What the candidate receives
The candidate receives a personalised email based on the vacancy's registration email template. The email contains a unique access link. This link is tied to the candidate's invitation link and expires after 1 day but candidadtes can still request a one type password to start as usual even after the link expired.
Once the candidate uses the link, they appear in the candidate list with a status of In Progress, Not logged in yet.
Viewing invitation details on the Candidate Detail Page
The Candidate Detail Page displays the following information for invited candidates:
Invited by — the name of the recruiter or admin who sent the invitation
Invited on — the date and time the invitation was sent
This information reflects the original invitation only and is not affected by any subsequent status changes for the candidate.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use invitations for integrated vacancies?
No. The Direct Invitation registration type is not compatible with ATS-integrated vacancies. Invitations are intended for vacancies managed directly within Harver.
Why can I not find my vacancy when inviting a candidate?
There are three common reasons a vacancy does not appear in the invitation list:
The vacancy is closed. Only Open vacancies are available for invitation.
The vacancy is not configured for Direct Invitation. An account admin must set the registration type to Direct Invitation in Hiring Studio.
You do not have access to the locations linked to the vacancy. Contact your account administrator to review your location permissions.
If no vacancies are available at all, a message is displayed in the invitation form. Contact your account administrator to ensure a vacancy is configured correctly.
Can I customise the email invited candidates receive?
Yes. The invitation email uses the registration email template from the vacancy's communication set. Account admins can edit this template in the communication set settings to adjust the content and styling of the email candidates receive.
Can I send reminders to candidates I have already invited?
An automated reminder is sent to the candidate two days after the original invitation, if they have not yet started their assessment. You can also re-invite a candidate to the same vacancy at any time. Re-inviting sends the candidate a new access link, which they can use to begin or continue their assessment.
Why do I not see the candidate I just invited in the candidate list?
There are two possible reasons:
Processing delay. It may take a short time after submitting an invitation for the candidate to appear in the list.
Existing registration. If you have previously invited the same candidate, they are already in the list under their original registration date, which may place them further down in the Overview Page.
What reapply rules apply when inviting a candidate?
The reapply rules configured on the selected vacancy apply when processing an invitation. If a candidate is not eligible based on those rules, the invitation cannot be sent.
Only candidates whose reapply period has elapsed since their last application can be invited.
A candidate who was rejected recently and whose reapply period has not elapsed cannot be invited.
A candidate who is currently In Progress for the selected vacancy can be re-invited. You will be informed of this before you proceed.
If a candidate is currently In Progress for the selected vacancy, you will be informed before you proceed.
Can I invite candidates by SMS?
No. At this time, invitations are sent by email only.