Retention rules
Set how long candidates' data is kept after a rejection, a withdrawal or a hire, how long talent pool consent lasts and who is told first. The scheduler erases what is due.
How-to guide2 min read
Admins set the rules under Settings › Privacy, below the privacy notice, and choose Save changes. Careers Orbit starts with these:
| When | Kept for | Email first |
|---|---|---|
| After a rejection | 6 months | No |
| After a withdrawal | 6 months | No |
| After a hire | 6 months | No |
| Talent pool consent | 12 months | Yes |
| People added by hand who never confirm | 30 days | No |
The periods are in months: 1 to 120, or 1 to 36 for talent pool consent. Email how early is 14 days unless you change it (1 to 60), and Unconfirmed is in days (7 to 180).
These are common starting points, not legal advice. Check them with your lawyer or data protection officer before you rely on them.
How the date is worked out
Each candidate's date comes from everything they have with you, so one rule never erases data another still needs:
- Nobody with an open application is erased.
- Each closed application counts from the day it was decided: rejected, withdrawn or hired.
- Talent pool consent counts until it ends.
- The latest of these is the date. The candidate's profile shows it under Privacy, with the reason.
After a hire, the time is for handing over to HR. Careers Orbit sends careers.application.hired to connected systems as the hire happens, so an HR system can take the details over.
Emailing candidates first
Turn on Email them first for a rule, and candidates get an email the number of days set under Email how early, for every rule where it's on. For the talent pool it asks whether they want to stay; for the others it says when their data goes and links to their account to download a copy. Erasure then waits until the full notice period has passed.
What the scheduler does
Saving new rules replans every candidate within a few minutes. Every minute, the scheduler replans candidates when your rules change, sends the notices that are due and erases candidates whose time is up, a few at a time. It skips anyone on legal hold. Each notice and erasure is in the audit trail as Careers Orbit.
The Privacy page shows how many candidates will be erased in the next 30 days, how many are on legal hold and how many data requests are open or overdue.
Erasure by the scheduler is for good, not to the bin: applications, files, emails, notes and ratings go. Reports keep an anonymous count of their applications.
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