Automated Candidate Engagement Sequences (Anti-Ghosting)

If you completed the re-engagement guide, your Sense account and Bullhorn integration are already live — skip to Step 2.

If you're starting fresh:

1. Go to sensehq.com and request a demo
2. During onboarding, connect Sense to Bullhorn via your Bullhorn API credentials (your Bullhorn admin supplies these)
3. Confirm the Bullhorn sync is pulling candidate records, job records, and placement history correctly
4. Verify candidate stage fields are syncing — this is what triggers your engagement sequences

What you should see: Sense dashboard showing candidate records and a "Stages" or "Triggers" section in the campaign builder.

Ghosting happens in the gaps between stages — the time between a phone screen and a submittal decision, between a submittal and interview feedback, between an offer and a start date. Your sequences need to fire at every gap.

Map out your Bullhorn stage flow and match it to Sense touchpoints:

In Sense, go to Settings → Stage Triggers and map each Bullhorn stage value to a Sense trigger. Your Sense implementation rep will guide this — it's a one-time configuration.

You'll build one message per stage transition. These messages are short, personal-sounding, and informational. Write them in first person as if you sent them manually.

Here are the 9 core templates to build in Sense. Go to Campaigns → Message Library → New Template for each:

Touchpoint 1: Post-screen "what happens next" (text, sends same day as screen)

Hi [First Name] — great talking with you today! I'm putting together your profile
to send to [Client/Company type]. I'll update you by [day, e.g., Thursday] once
I have feedback. Any questions in the meantime, just text or call me directly.
— [Your name]

Touchpoint 2: Submittal confirmation (text, sends when stage moves to Submitted)

Hi [First Name] — your profile has been submitted to the client. They typically
review within 2–3 business days. I'll reach out the moment I hear anything.
Thanks for your patience — you're in the running! — [Your name], [Agency]

Touchpoint 3: Interview confirmation (text + email, sends when interview is scheduled) Text:

Hi [First Name] — your interview with [Company/hiring manager] is confirmed for
[Date] at [Time]. I'll send details by email. Let me know if anything comes up.
— [Your name]

Email:

Subject: Interview details — [First Name]

Hi [First Name],

Your interview is confirmed:

Date: [Date]
Time: [Time]
Location/Format: [In-person address OR "Video call — link below"]
Who you're meeting: [Name, Title if known]

A few tips:
- Arrive/log in 5 minutes early
- Review the job description I sent — they'll likely ask about [specific requirement]
- Feel free to call me before or after if you want to talk through anything

I'm rooting for you. — [Your name]
[Direct phone]

Touchpoint 4: Interview reminder (text, sends 24 hours before interview)

Hi [First Name] — just a reminder, your interview at [Company] is tomorrow at
[Time]. Excited for you! Call me after and let me know how it goes.
— [Your name]

Touchpoint 5: Post-interview check-in (text, sends 2 hours after scheduled interview end time)

Hi [First Name] — hope the interview went well! What did you think? Give me a
call when you get a chance — I want to hear how it went before I follow up
with the client. — [Your name]

Touchpoint 6: Offer extended reminder (text, sends when stage moves to Offer Extended)

Hi [First Name] — [Your name] here. The official offer details are coming via
email. Once you've had a chance to review, let's connect by phone — I want to
make sure you have everything you need to make a decision. — [Your name]

Touchpoint 7: Pre-start logistics (text, sends 3 days before start date)

Hi [First Name] — you start at [Company] on [Date]! A quick reminder:
Report to [location] at [time]. Bring [required docs — ID, I-9 docs, etc.].
[Dress code note if relevant.] Call me if anything comes up. Excited for you!
— [Your name], [Agency]

Touchpoint 8: Day 1 good luck (text, sends morning of start date)

Good luck today, [First Name]! Your first day at [Company] — you've got this.
Text me tonight or tomorrow and let me know how it went. — [Your name]

Touchpoint 9: 30-day check-in (text, sends 30 days after start date)

Hi [First Name] — it's been about a month since you started at [Company].
How's it going? Any questions or issues? Let me know — I'm here if you need
anything. — [Your name]

Now you link the templates to the stage triggers.

1. In Sense, go to Campaigns → Create Campaign → Engagement Sequence
2. Name it: "Active Candidate Pipeline — Stage Touchpoints"
3. For each touchpoint, configure:

   • Trigger: Stage change in Bullhorn (e.g., "Stage moves to Submitted")
   • Delay: Immediate (0 hours) or short delay (e.g., 1 hour after screen ends)
   • Channel: Text, email, or both (see templates above)
   • Message: Select the corresponding template from your library
4. Set send time restrictions: Business hours only (8am–7pm recipient's local time — Sense handles this automatically if configured)
5. Set opt-out handling: If a candidate texts STOP, remove them from all sequences automatically (Sense does this by default)
6. Click Review and confirm the full sequence logic makes sense
7. Click Activate

What you should see: A visual sequence diagram showing each stage trigger and the corresponding message. When you activate a candidate's stage in Bullhorn, Sense will fire the appropriate touchpoint.

Before using this on real candidates, test it with a dummy record.

1. In Bullhorn, create a test candidate record (use your own email and phone number)
2. Move the test record through your stage pipeline manually (Screen → Submit → Interview Scheduled → etc.)
3. Verify that Sense fires the correct message at each stage transition
4. Check that personalization tokens ([First Name], [Company]) are populating correctly
5. Confirm you received the messages on your phone and email
6. Delete the test record from Bullhorn

What you should see: Text messages and emails arriving at your phone/inbox matching the sequence you built, with correct personalization.

Once live, your job changes from chasing candidates to responding to them.

1. Each morning, check the Sense inbox for replies from the previous day's touchpoints
2. Prioritize any candidate who replied with a question or concern — call them
3. If a candidate replies that they're withdrawing or no longer interested, mark them appropriately in Bullhorn (the stage change will stop future touchpoints automatically)
4. For candidates who go silent at a critical stage (no reply to post-interview check-in, no response to offer), move them to a manual follow-up flag — Sense handled the automated touch; now a real phone call is needed
5. Review your ghosting rate monthly: compare the percentage of candidates who ghost at each stage vs. before Sense