Grant Access to Applicant Tracking

The article provides guidance on granting users access to the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in BambooHR. It outlines the various access options available, including default access for Account Owners and Full Admins, and the creation of custom access levels for recruiters and collaborators. Users can manage job openings, send offer letters, and access company files, among other functionalities. The article emphasizes the importance of configuring these access levels to enhance the hiring process. Additionally, it offers tips on notifying hiring leads and collaborators about candidate activity. A video tutorial is available for further clarification, acknowledging changes in the user interface. Overall, the content aims to streamline the hiring process through effective user access management.

  • Jul 7, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Grant Access to Applicant Tracking
Article Text
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How do I grant users access to Applicant Tracking?

Purpose: To show you how to grant users access to Applicant Tracking and explain what access options are available for different users.

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"We set you free to do great work" is a BambooHR mantra you have probably heard before. Our native Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a great example of how that goal extends beyond HR admins to the rest of the employees in your organization.

The BambooHR ATS is a fantastic tool for recruiters to optimize the hiring process and bring the best people to your organization. However, if they do not have access to it, they cannot use it. Luckily, with a little setup, you can give your recruiters full access to run the ATS so that you do not have to worry about it. Here's how:

By default, the Account Owner and Full Admin user(s) will have full access to the Applicant Tracking feature.

New Custom Access Level

Create a custom access level for your recruiters or any other users who need access to Hiring in BambooHR. Name the group as "Recruiters," or something similar. Add a brief description to help users understand the purpose of the access level and who belongs to it.

Employees

First, you may want to give your recruiters access to add new employees if needed. This access includes the ability to edit all information on the new employee form, but only when adding a new employee. Once a user creates a profile, the user can no longer view and edit the data unless they have further access.

Hiring

  1. Manage Job Openings, Talent Pools, and Candidates: Access to view and edit all job openings, talent pools, and candidates.
  2. Send and Manage Offer Letters*: Access to create offer letter templates and send offer letters to candidates. This will include the ability to send a new offer letter if one has already been signed.

*Note: Access to Send and Manage Offer Letters must couple with Manage Job Openings and Candidates in the Hiring section under What this Access Level Can Do. For example, if you give an access level user access to Manage Job Openings and Candidates and Send and Manage Offer Letters, the user can send offer letters to candidates. You can grant the user access to Manage Job Openings and Candidates without access to Send and Manage Offer Letters.

If you would like a user to create offer letter templates, you will need to grant them access to the Hiring tab under Settings. See below for more details. 

Security

Check this box if you want your recruiters to grant new hires self-service access to your BambooHR account. This setting will not give them the ability to assign, or to edit Custom and Manager Access Levels.

Company Files

It may be helpful for your recruiters to have access to company files in your account. We recommend giving them access to the following:

  1. Upload Files: If you want to store copies of job descriptions in the Files section of BambooHR, this access will allow your recruiters to upload new job descriptions.
  2. Request E-Signatures and Setup Templates:  This access allows your recruiters to send signature templates as part of the New Hire Packet once hiring a new employee. E-signatures only send to existing employees, not candidates.
  3. Access to Company File Folders: If you have already created folders to house (for example) all new hire paperwork or job descriptions, checking the box next to the folder name allows you to share the contents with your recruiters. Use the drop-down menu next to the folder name to change a user's access. Choosing Edit access will allow them to upload, change, and delete files within the selected folder, while View Only access lets them view the files but not edit them in the folder.

Settings

Under Settings, we recommend enabling access to at least one of the following options:

  1. Company Field Settings: This access option is not mandatory, but it might be helpful if you would like your recruiters to manage the locations, departments, etc., in your account.
  2. Hiring: This access option allows recruiters to create email templates to use in the ATS and customize candidate statuses. If you grant them access under Settings > Hiring, they can also manage offer letter templates.

What this Access Level Can See

Screenshot of the New Custom Access Level editor. The tab What this Access Level Can See is active. The option See About other Employees is highlighted, with the Onboarding section selected. Icons for Save & Finish, Previous Step, and Cancel appear at the bottom.

If you need your recruiters to send a New Hire Packet to a new employee, you will need to make sure you grant them Edit access to the Onboarding tab under See About other Employees.

As for what these users can see on Home, we recommend giving them access to the same widgets your self-service users can see, with special access to Announcements. Giving recruiters Edit access to company announcements will allow them to send recruiting-related announcements (such as referral contests or internal job postings) to all employees or subsets of your employees.

Hiring leads

The hiring lead for a job posting is primarily responsible for hiring a candidate for that position, usually the hiring manager. However, the hiring lead can be an employee who has a level of access to the BambooHR account, and hiring leads do not need to have full access to the ATS. 

Screenshot of the Hiring dashboard in BambooHR. The main panel lists job openings such as Customer Success Advocate and Sales Manager. The Hiring Lead column displays employee names (redacted to “employee”). The Status column shows values like Draft and Open.

When creating a new job opening, you will select the hiring lead. The hiring lead will have access to view and edit all candidate information related only to that specific job opening. They will also be able to manually add new candidates to the job opening. 

The hiring lead will receive an email notification each time a new application is received and any time a collaborator comments on a candidate's profile. A notification will also appear in the What's Happening widget on Home each time a new application is received. You can turn off email alerts using the envelope icon next to the hiring lead's name. If you turn off email notifications, they will still see a notification on Home.

You cannot remove the hiring lead as a collaborator on the job opening, but you can change them by editing the job opening. 

When you decide to hire a candidate, the ATS automatically assigns the hiring lead as their manager, but you can adjust it if necessary before saving the form. 

Collaborators

You can add any employee who has access to your BambooHR account (including non-employee users) as a collaborator on a specific job opening. Just like a hiring lead, employees do not need to have full access to the ATS to be added as collaborators. Making an employee a collaborator grants that employee access to view and edit all candidate information for that specific job opening. 

Screenshot of a Collaborate on this Job Opening window. Under Who can view candidates?, two employees are listed with checkmarks next to their names. A field for Add People is visible with one entry. A checkbox at the bottom allows notifying people via email. Buttons for Cancel and Share appear in the lower-right corner.

You can share job openings with individual users in the system by using the collaborator feature. Collaborating allows users to view all candidates and information related to a specific job opening. To add collaborators to a job opening, click the collaborate icon at the top of the page. Select what information you would like your collaborators to view, add specific people, and click Share.

Once you have granted access to Hiring for your recruiters, and other users, do not forget to share the standard reports related to Hiring.

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