Automatically send a TalentSprout AI interview invite to every candidate who applies for a job in Zoho Recruit. This guide covers the full setup, from adding the interview link to your jobs through to sending the invite automatically.
This is the outbound side of the integration (sending invites). To sync completed interview results back into Zoho Recruit, see Connecting Zoho Recruit and Zoho Recruit Sync Settings.
Time to set up: about 15 minutes
Who this is for: Zoho Recruit administrators
Difficulty: Beginner friendly, no code required
How it works
You add your TalentSprout interview link to the job in Zoho Recruit.
A candidate applies for that job through your Zoho Recruit careers page.
Zoho Recruit automatically emails them a branded invite with the interview link.
The candidate completes the short AI video interview on their phone or laptop.
You review their score and full scorecard in your TalentSprout dashboard.
Once set up, this runs on its own for every applicant. No manual scheduling or sending required.
Before you start
Make sure you have:
Admin access to your Zoho Recruit account.
A TalentSprout account with at least one interview created.
Your TalentSprout interview link (the "smart link") copied from your TalentSprout dashboard. You will paste this into Zoho in Step 1.
Tip: Create one interview per role in TalentSprout, or a general interview you reuse across similar roles. Each interview has its own link.
Step 1: Add a TalentSprout Interview Link field to your Job Openings
This creates a place to store each job's unique interview link.
Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Job Openings.
Open the Job Opening Information layout.
From the New Fields panel on the left, drag a URL field into the layout.
Rename the field to TalentSprout Interview Link.
Click Save Layout.
Then, for each job you want to use TalentSprout for:
Open the job in the Job Openings module.
Paste that role's interview link from your TalentSprout dashboard into the TalentSprout Interview Link field.
Save.
Important: If this field is empty on a job, no invite will be sent for it. The workflow in Step 3 checks for this on purpose, so you stay in control of which roles use TalentSprout.
Step 2: Create the interview invite email template
This is the branded email candidates receive when they apply.
Go to Setup > Customization > Templates > Email Templates and click New Template.
For Record Type / Module, select Applications.
Name the template TalentSprout Interview Invite.
Choose your preferred From and Reply-To address.
Set the Subject line:
Action required: complete your interview for ${Job_Openings.Posting Title}
Set the Body:
Hi ${Applications.First Name},
Thank you for your interest in the ${Job_Openings.Posting Title} position.
To complete your application and be considered for this role, please complete the required AI video interview using the link below:
${Job_Openings.TalentSprout Interview Link}?email=${Applications.Email}&firstName=${Applications.First Name}&lastName=${Applications.Last Name}
The interview takes about 3 to 5 minutes and can be completed on your phone or laptop. Please make sure you are in a quiet place with your camera and microphone turned on.
Please complete it within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Best,
Recruitment Team
Click Save.
Use the merge field picker, do not type field names by hand. Zoho generates its own internal names for fields (especially custom ones like your interview link), so the exact text may differ from the examples above. Use the Insert Merge Field option in the template editor and select fields from the Applications module and the related Job Openings module. This guarantees the fields resolve correctly.
About the link: The ?email=...&firstName=...&lastName=... part pre-fills the candidate's details so they do not have to retype them. Keep it exactly as structured, just confirm each merge field is inserted from the picker.
Step 3: Create the workflow that sends the invite automatically
This is the automation that ties everything together.
Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules and click Create Rule.
For Module, select Applications.
Name the rule Send TalentSprout Interview Invite on Apply and click Next.
Set the trigger (when it runs)
Under When, choose On a record action and select On a candidate applying for a job. This fires when someone applies through your Zoho Recruit careers page. See Choosing the right trigger below if you also add candidates manually or through the API.
Set the condition (which applications qualify)
Choose Applications matching certain conditions.
Add a condition on the related Job Opening field: select TalentSprout Interview Link and set it to is not empty. This is the safety check. It ensures invites only go out for jobs that actually have an interview link, so roles without TalentSprout are never affected.
Set the action (what happens)
Under Instant Actions, choose Notify > Via Email, then click New Alert.
Name the alert TalentSprout Interview Invite Alert.
For Email Template, select TalentSprout Interview Invite (the template from Step 2).
For Recipients, select Application: Email so it sends to the candidate.
Click Save and Associate.
Save the workflow. Make sure it shows as Active.
Step 4: Test it
Go to your Zoho Recruit careers page and apply for a test job that has a TalentSprout Interview Link set.
Within a minute or two, the email address you applied with should receive the TalentSprout Interview Invite.
Open the email and confirm the interview link works and the candidate's name and email are pre-filled.
Reminder: The most common reason a test fails is an empty interview link. Double-check the job has its TalentSprout Interview Link field filled in (Step 1).
Choosing the right trigger
The setup above uses On a candidate applying for a job, which only fires for applications submitted through your Zoho Recruit careers page. If candidates reach Zoho another way, add a second workflow with a different trigger:
How candidates are added | Trigger to use |
Apply through the Zoho Recruit careers page | On a candidate applying for a job (this guide) |
Added manually or imported via API | Create |
Send the invite at a specific stage instead of on apply | Change Status (set the from/to stage) |
Note on other apply methods: Applications coming from external job boards (for example, "Apply with Indeed") or bulk imports may not fire the careers-page trigger. Use the Create trigger to cover those, or the Change Status trigger if you prefer to send invites manually when you move a candidate to a chosen stage.
Reviewing results
Completed interviews, scores, and full scorecards are available in your TalentSprout dashboard. Log in to review each candidate's evaluation, watch the interview playback, and see your ranked shortlist. To have results flow back into Zoho Recruit candidate profiles, set up the sync as described in Connecting Zoho Recruit and Zoho Recruit Sync Settings.
Troubleshooting
No email arrived after applying
Confirm the job has a value in the TalentSprout Interview Link field.
Confirm the workflow is Active.
Confirm the candidate applied through the careers page (other methods need the Create trigger).
The link in the email is broken or the name is not pre-filled
Re-open the email template and re-insert each merge field using the Insert Merge Field picker rather than typed text.
Confirm the interview link in the job field is the full smart link from your TalentSprout dashboard.
Invites are going out for the wrong roles
Check the workflow condition is set to TalentSprout Interview Link is not empty.
Remove the interview link from any job that should not use TalentSprout.