Application Export

Hello and thank you for the request.

It should be mentioned that the function described here is only included in the Pro version of the plugin. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions.

The displayed error message of the Personio API reads:

errors.applicant-already-exists

I.e. the applicant already exists as such in Personio on this position. Personio restrict that an email address can apply only one time to a specific position.

Our Pro plugin can intercept such applications before they are saved and passed to the API. However, not if one of the following cases applies:

• if you uninstall and reinstall the plugin after applications have already arrived.
• if you have multiple WordPress installations with the Pro plugin and identical jobs running
• if you already has applications in Personio and allows applications via the website afterwards.

So please check if the applicant data are the ones already in Personio. If they are not the same, you could delete them in Personio and re-transfer them from the website – but only if they have not been processed somehow in Personio. You can also delete the applicant data in WordPress (Positions > Applications).

The possible error messages of the Personio API are documented here: https://developer.personio.de/reference/post_v1-recruiting-applications

Thank you for your answer.

You stated, that the plugin intercepts such applications before they are saved to WordPress. The problem is, that after passing an application to the API, the plugin removes the application from WordPress. After that, when a new application has been submitted, the plugin has no applications to check against if they already exist in Personio and will add a new application to WordPress. When trying to transfer this new application to Personio, the API throws the error stating the application already exists in Personio.

Is there a way to intercept even further?

The list of applications already received (e-mail + PersonioID only) is saved alongside the actual applicant data. Each new application received will be checked against this list. If the e-mail specified for the PersonioID used already exists, the application will be rejected. This data is only removed when the plugin is uninstalled (not when the plugin is deactivated).

You can test this yourself by saving an application for the same position with the same e-mail twice in a row. You can transfer or delete the first application to Personio. With the 2nd application, a note is issued that the application is already available (“An application with this information has already been submitted.”.

I have just tested the procedure again just as successfully in a newly installed test system.

If this procedure does not work for you, check whether you have installed the latest Pro version. The version is 2.3.10, although this behavior with the applicant data has not changed since a very long time. If you don’t have the latest version, update to it using the update function provided. If you don’t see an update and you are using an older version, please contact us via our website or the license email you received so we can send you the link.

And again the note:
Of course, the Personio API message can also occur if the application was saved to the position in Personio in a different way (not via this WordPress-website) OR was sent in a previous/different WordPress installation.