Zapier Recipe: PlacementFlow to Bullhorn

This recipe files PlacementFlow activity in Bullhorn: a shortlisted candidate becomes a Bullhorn note (or a new Bullhorn candidate), a submission becomes a note, and an erasure becomes a task for a person to delete the Bullhorn record.

How the connection works. You use Bullhorn's own Zapier connector, under your own Bullhorn contract and your own Bullhorn login. PlacementFlow never calls Bullhorn: the Zap does, as you. Check with Bullhorn which Bullhorn edition and which Zapier plan your connector needs before you start; that depends on your Bullhorn contract. Action names below can differ slightly between versions of the Bullhorn connector.

What you need

• A PlacementFlow API key created with the Automation (Zapier/Make) preset (Settings → Integrations → API Keys)
• A Zapier account
• Access to the invite-only PlacementFlow Zapier app: ask PlacementFlow support for the invite link
• Bullhorn's Zapier connector, connected to your Bullhorn account

Zap 1: Candidate Shortlisted → Bullhorn note

1. Trigger: PlacementFlow, Candidate Shortlisted. Connect your PlacementFlow account with the API key.
2. Filter: continue only if
   • test is false, and
   • candidate__representation_consent does not exactly match withdrawn.
3. Search: Bullhorn, Find Candidate, by email, using candidate__email. Tick the option to create a Bullhorn candidate if none is found, mapping candidate__first_name, candidate__last_name, candidate__email, candidate__phone and candidate__linkedin_url. (If you would rather not create Bullhorn candidates automatically, leave that off and let the Zap stop when there is no match.)
4. Action: Bullhorn, Create Note on the candidate from step 3. A useful note body:
   • Score: score (0 to 100, absent when no score was produced)
   • Summary: summary
   • Must-know flags: must_know_flags (answers that need a recruiter's look; nothing was rejected automatically)
   • Link: candidate__pf_url
5. Action: PlacementFlow, Set candidate external ID. Candidate: the trigger's candidate_id. Source: bullhorn. External ID: the Bullhorn candidate id from step 3.

Zap 2: Submission Sent → Bullhorn note

1. Trigger: PlacementFlow, Submission Sent. It fires once per client, when the first submission email actually leaves your mailbox.
2. Filter: test is false, and candidate__representation_consent does not exactly match withdrawn.
3. Search: Bullhorn, Find Candidate. Once the external ID is written back (Zap 1, step 5), candidate__external_id holds the Bullhorn id, so you can look the candidate up by id; otherwise search by candidate__email.
4. Action: Bullhorn, Create Note: submitted to client__name, contact recipient_contact__name (recipient_contact__email), on sent_at, with candidate__pf_url.

Zap 3: Candidate Erased → Bullhorn task

PlacementFlow never deletes anything in Bullhorn for you. When a candidate is erased in PlacementFlow, create a task so a person deletes or anonymises the Bullhorn record.

1. Trigger: PlacementFlow, Candidate Erased. It carries only candidate_id, external_source, external_id, erased_at and reason.
2. Filter: test is false, and external_source exactly matches bullhorn.
3. Action: Bullhorn, Create Task, assigned to whoever handles data requests: "Delete or anonymise Bullhorn candidate external_id: erased in PlacementFlow on erased_at (reason: reason)."

Candidates erased before you wrote their Bullhorn id back arrive with an empty external_id. Route those to a person (for example a task or an email with the candidate_id), because the event deliberately carries no name or email to search by.

What the external-ID write-back gives you

• Later events about the same candidate carry candidate__external_source = bullhorn and candidate__external_id = the Bullhorn id, so Zaps can update the right record without searching by email.
• candidate.erased carries the Bullhorn id, so the deletion task points at the right record.
• Writing it back sends no webhook, so Zap 1 cannot trigger itself.
• If another PlacementFlow candidate already holds that Bullhorn id, the action fails with a message naming that candidate. That usually means a duplicate in one of the two systems.

Your duties

A Bullhorn record created or updated from PlacementFlow is a copy of personal data your agency is responsible for. The consent filter keeps candidates who withdrew consent out of Bullhorn; the erasure Zap makes sure an erasure in PlacementFlow reaches Bullhorn. More in Connect Your CRM.

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