BambooHR integration
- Overview
- Prerequisites
- Getting started
- How syncing works
- How it differs from other integrations
- Limitations
- FAQ
- Support
Overview
Connect BambooHR so the people you save, move, pass on, or hire in Jack & Jill show up in your BambooHR job openings. Jill also reads back what happens in BambooHR, so a hire or a decline there shows up in your pipeline.
What it does
- Adds candidates to a BambooHR job opening when an action you turned on fires. They arrive with the source Jack & Jill, so you can filter and report on them.
- Moves candidates to the BambooHR status that fits as they progress.
- Reads changes back, so a hire, a decline, or a status change in BambooHR shows up in Jill.
- Matches existing people by email, so someone already on that job opening is reused.
Prerequisites
- A BambooHR account with applicant tracking turned on
- A BambooHR user who can see, add, and change applicants. The API key works with that user’s permissions.
- A Jack & Jill account with at least one active role
Getting started
1. Create an API key in BambooHR
In BambooHR, click your name, choose API Keys, and add a new key. Copy it and keep it private. Anyone who has it can do what that user can do.
BambooHR keys carry no settings of their own. What the key can do depends on the user who creates it. Adding a candidate needs a user who is allowed to add applicants. A user who can only read applicants passes the connection test, then fails the first time Jack & Jill tries to add someone. A dedicated integration user with its own access level is a safe choice.
2. Connect it in Jack & Jill
Open Integrations → BambooHR and follow the wizard. Enter the API key and your subdomain. The subdomain is the text before .bamboohr.com in your BambooHR login address.
Jack & Jill tests the connection by reading your job openings. That proves it can read. It cannot prove the key is allowed to add or move candidates until it does so for the first time. If the test says the user cannot use applicant tracking, create the key from a user with access to ATS settings.
3. Choose which actions sync
During setup you choose which pipeline actions change something in BambooHR.
| Event | What it does in BambooHR |
|---|---|
| Shortlist | Adds the candidate to the job opening, in the status BambooHR gives every new applicant |
| Pass on a lead | Moves the application to a declined status. Needs Shortlist turned on |
| Request intro | Moves the candidate to a review status, when you have one |
| Complete intro | Moves the candidate to an interview status, when you have one |
| Hire | Moves the candidate to a Hired status |
BambooHR keeps one list of statuses for your whole company, not one per job opening. Jack & Jill picks a status by reading its name. It looks for names such as Not a Fit or Rejected for a decline, Phone Screen or Reviewed for a first review, Interview, Offer, and Hired. Name your statuses plainly and they match. If no status fits an action, that action does nothing and the candidate stays where they are.
Some statuses sound close to a hire or a decline but mean something else, and Jack & Jill reads them correctly:
- Hired Elsewhere counts as a decline, not a hire.
- Not Qualified and Over Qualified count as declines.
Jill declines a candidate only while they are still in the New status and only if Jill added them. Once someone on your team moves them on, BambooHR owns them and Jill stops.
4. Link a role to a job opening
Open a role’s Configure Role → Integrations → BambooHR section and pick the matching job opening. Open and draft job openings appear in the list. Once a role is linked, actions on that role sync to that job opening.
How syncing works
When an action you turned on fires, Jack & Jill:
- Looks for the person on the linked job opening by email
- Adds them if they are not there, with their name, email, phone number when known, and LinkedIn profile
- Moves their application when a later action calls for it
BambooHR decides which status a new candidate starts in, which is New. Jack & Jill moves them in a separate step, so a move can follow shortly after the add.
Every 15 minutes, Jack & Jill reads the applications on your linked job openings. BambooHR cannot say what changed since the last read, so Jack & Jill reads every application on the job opening each time. A move you make in BambooHR shows in Jill after that read, not instantly. Large accounts work too: Jack & Jill follows BambooHR’s pages until it has them all.
By default Jill reads back the candidates it added, the ones with the source Jack & Jill. Your other applicants stay untouched.
How it differs from other integrations
BambooHR works like the Ashby integration in what it does: it adds candidates, moves them, matches by email, and reads changes back. It differs in how, because BambooHR offers less to build on.
| BambooHR | Ashby | |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing about changes | Jill reads your applications every 15 minutes | Ashby tells Jill when something changes |
| New candidate’s starting stage | BambooHR’s default status, then a move | Set when the candidate is created |
| Source | Always Jack & Jill | A source you choose |
| Resume | Not sent | Sent with the candidate |
| Stages | One company-wide list of statuses, read by name | Stages for each job |
| Declining | A move to a declined status, with no reason | An archive with a reason |
Limitations
- Resumes. Jack & Jill does not send a resume to BambooHR yet.
- Job openings that ask for more than a name. If a job opening requires more, such as a resume, a phone number, or an address, BambooHR refuses the candidate and they are not added. Link a job opening that asks for less, or contact us.
- Statuses it cannot place. A custom status whose name gives no clue, such as Talent Pool, is still shown and still synced back. Jack & Jill never moves a candidate into it.
- Notes and tags. Jack & Jill does not write notes or tags to BambooHR.
- Speed of read-back. Changes you make in BambooHR can take up to 15 minutes to show in Jill.
- A link back. Candidates do not yet link to their page in BambooHR.
- Choosing a source. The source is always Jack & Jill.
FAQ
Will this create duplicate candidates? Jack & Jill looks the person up by email on the linked job opening first. If they are already there, it reuses them. If you add the same email to that job opening yourself in BambooHR, BambooHR creates a second application, and Jack & Jill cannot prevent that.
How do I find the candidates Jack & Jill added? Their source is Jack & Jill, so you can filter and report on it in BambooHR.
Why does a candidate’s last name show as a dash? BambooHR needs a first and a last name. When Jack & Jill has only one name for someone, it sends a dash as the last name.
What happens if I disconnect and reconnect? Your BambooHR data stays as it is. Reconnecting starts syncing again from that point.
Can I change which events sync after setup? Yes. Open Integrations → BambooHR and toggle them.
What if I add a new role after setup? Link it to a BambooHR job opening. Candidates on that role sync after the link exists.
BambooHR says “Not authorized” when Jack & Jill adds a candidate. What do I do? The user who created the API key is not allowed to add applicants. Create the key from a user who can, or ask your BambooHR administrator or BambooHR support to allow it.
The connection test says the user cannot use applicant tracking. What do I do? Create the API key from a BambooHR user with access to ATS settings, then test again. BambooHR also blocks access for a while after repeated attempts with an unknown key, so wait a few minutes if a fresh key is refused.
For more questions, see the FAQs page.
Support
Email support@jackandjill.ai.