Running a Recruitment Agency on HubSpot: Sourcing to Re-engagement

A recruitment agency can run everything on one HubSpot database: attracting candidates, selling to client companies, registration, consultations, submissions, selection, placement, and re-engaging past registrants. If you first decide how to hold candidates, client companies, job openings and applications, your career advisors (CA) and recruitment advisors (RA) can work from the same information.

This article was written by NowVillage, a HubSpot Diamond Partner that has supported more than 150 recruitment companies. It follows the flow of the work and explains where to use which features, and how. If you are still deciding which system to choose, read our comparison of recruitment agency systems and CRMs first.

*The figure of 150 companies is a cumulative total of our marketing and HubSpot support (as of October 2026).

Who this article is for

• Teams who want to know concretely whether HubSpot can run their recruitment operations
• Teams who adopted HubSpot but only use it to manage candidate sourcing
• Teams considering a move from spreadsheets or another system

The Full Picture of Running Recruitment Operations on HubSpot

In HubSpot, you manage eight stages, from sourcing to re-engagement, by linking a record for each candidate with a record for each application.

The features used and the information kept at each stage are as follows.

Stage	Main owner	HubSpot features used	Information to keep
1. Sourcing	Marketing	Forms, landing pages, ad and social media integrations	Registration source, pages viewed, ads engaged with
2. Registration	CS, CA	Contacts, automatic owner assignment	Desired conditions, work history, assigned CA
3. Consultation	CA	Meetings (scheduling), notes, tasks	Consultation date, consultation notes, desired timing for a job change
4. Matching	CA	Views and filters, Matching Extension, MAP Extension	Shortlisted job openings
5. Submission	CA	Creating deals (applications), PDF Extension	Submission date, submission documents
6. Selection	CA, RA	Deal pipeline, workflows	Selection stage, next action, reasons for withdrawal or rejection
7. Placement	CA, RA, back office	Deal closed-won stage, dashboards	Offer and start dates, placement fee, billing status
8. Re-engagement	Marketing, CA	Lists, email and LINE campaigns, workflows	Date of last contact, engagement history

Work on the client side (business development and job orders handled by RAs) is kept in the same HubSpot as a separate pipeline (see the “Winning Job Openings” section). This way, for any candidate you can trace on one screen which ad they came from, who held the consultation, which jobs they were submitted to, and where they stopped.

If you keep your current recruitment system

Another option is to keep matching and documents in your current dedicated system and use HubSpot only for sourcing and ongoing contact with candidates. For how to decide which approach fits, see our comparison of recruitment agency systems and CRMs. This article focuses on what it looks like to run your operations on HubSpot.

For companies using PORTERS in particular, NowVillage offers its own HubSpot and PORTERS API integration service. It is designed for companies that want to keep managing candidates and jobs in PORTERS while using HubSpot marketing automation for sourcing and nurturing.

Data Design: How to Separate Candidates, Client Companies, Job Openings and Applications

Hold candidates as contacts (the box for information about people), client companies as companies (the box for information about businesses), and job openings as a separate object (a dedicated box for job information). Manage applications and selection as deals that link a candidate to a job opening. If you do not decide this first, reporting and searching become hard later.

What you manage	How to hold it in HubSpot	Example properties
Candidate	Contact	Desired job type, desired location, desired salary, desired timing for a job change, assigned CA, stage from registration to consultation
Client company	Company	Industry, terms of business, assigned RA
Hiring manager at the client company	Contact (with a property that distinguishes them from candidates)	Job title, contact history
Job opening	A dedicated, separate custom object for jobs (or another standard object used in its place)	Job type, location, salary range, hiring status
Application and selection	Deal (in a selection pipeline, associated with the candidate’s contact and the job opening)	Submission date, selection stage, reasons for withdrawal or rejection

Hold job openings as a separate object

Job openings need their own dedicated object, not mixed into candidate or company records. One company often posts several jobs, and adding job properties to the company record cannot keep up.

With job openings kept separate, you can link several candidates to one job and report applications and placement rates per job directly. Searching candidates and jobs in both directions with Matching Extension also requires jobs to be a separate object.

Create one deal for each candidate and job pairing

If one candidate applies to three companies, there are three deals. Up to the consultation, “registration → consultation booked → consultation held” is tracked on the candidate record (next section). From submission onward, progress is tracked in the deal pipeline.

For example, set the stages as “submission → document screening → interview → offer → offer accepted → placement (start)”. If stage names are consistent all the way to placement, you can report the rate from consultation to placement (consultation-to-placement rate) and from submission to placement (submission-to-placement rate) directly. If you set required properties for each stage, such as submission date, interview date and reason for withdrawal, you also reduce missing entries.

Filters by owner, job or period can be saved as views, so each morning a CA only needs to open “applications that need action today”.

From Sourcing to Consultation: Keep the Registration Source and Turn It into Consultations

In HubSpot, when a candidate registers, the page and ad they came from are recorded automatically. That lets you trace which sourcing channels led to consultations and placements.

The registration source is recorded automatically, with no development

Analyzing sourcing channels in a dedicated system often means building separate landing pages for each media outlet or developing a way to store URL parameters.

When candidates register through a HubSpot form, the page and form they came from are recorded automatically. If you connect your Google, Meta and LinkedIn ad accounts, you can also see registrations per ad on the same screen.

Track registration to consultation in three stages, and compare channels by cost per consultation

At NowVillage, we split registration to consultation into three stages: “registration → consultation booked → consultation held (attended)”. In HubSpot, these stages are held as a status on the candidate record, and the date each stage is reached is saved.

The consultation rate is “booking rate × show-up rate”. In recruitment, about 30% of bookings are cancelled, so the show-up rate settles at around 70%. Our consultation rate targets are 50% for scouting, 35% for ads, and 25% for Indeed.

In the end, a sourcing channel is judged by its cost per placement. But placements take time, so in the short term we compare channels by cost per consultation. We do not compare them by cost per registration, because some channels deliver cheap registrations but few people who go on to a consultation.

Because HubSpot gives you the counts for all three stages per channel, you can compare channels by consultation rate and cost per consultation, not just by registrations. For the thinking behind this, see The Complete Guide to Recruitment Marketing.

Bring email, LINE and social media conversations into the candidate record

Emails sent and received, call notes and tasks are all kept on the candidate record in time order. What CS heard on the phone can be read by the CA as is before the consultation.

For LINE, adding an integration app connects it to HubSpot records, so you can manage broadcasts and one-to-one conversations too. For details, see candidate nurturing with LINE for recruitment agencies. You can also post to X and Instagram from HubSpot and check which accounts brought in candidates.

Automate consultation scheduling and the handoff to the CA

Send a scheduling link to registered candidates, and they can pick an open slot and the meeting is booked. If you automate CA assignment and task creation with workflows, you can shorten the time from registration to first contact.

Winning Job Openings: Run Sales to Client Companies in the Same HubSpot

Recruitment is a business of gathering both candidates and job openings. Selling to client companies is B2B sales, which is HubSpot’s strength, so you can manage everything from business development to receiving job openings in the same HubSpot. Because jobs sit in the same database as candidates, the jobs you receive can go straight into matching.

Keep a list of target companies and a record of every touchpoint

Register target companies as companies and their hiring managers as contacts, and record touchpoints from calls, emails, business dinners and events. You can see who approached which company, when and how, which helps with handoffs between owners and prevents duplicate outreach.

With HubSpot’s AI features, you can also spot companies that are ramping up hiring and alert the assigned RA, or update records when a company’s information changes.

On the go, you can use the HubSpot mobile app to enter notes or scan business cards to add new records.

Build interest with emails, content and seminars for companies

Create touchpoints through emails with useful hiring information, content downloads, and seminars for hiring managers. A company opened an email, downloaded a document, or signed up for a seminar. If you alert the assigned RA to these signals, the RA can contact companies in order of rising interest.

For how to attract client companies, see The Complete Guide to Recruitment Marketing: B2B Edition.

Track deals in a “needs assessment → job description received → job published” pipeline

Keep deals with client companies in a pipeline separate from candidate selection. For example, set stages such as “appointment booked → needs assessment → job description received → job published”. When you receive a job description, create a record in the job object and link it to that company.

What NowVillage aims for is this: every time an RA wins a new job opening, matching candidates hear about it by LINE, email or phone within one business day. If you build a flow that finds matching candidates as soon as the job record is created and gives the assigned CA a task to contact them, you get closer to that state.

Additional jobs from existing clients, and re-engaging companies you have not worked with for a while

Besides developing new companies, getting the next job opening from current clients is important work. Filter companies by the date of their last job order or the number of hires, and give the assigned RA a task to check in. Then you will not forget to reach out to companies you have not worked with for a while.

For regional sales, narrow down visits with MAP Extension

When visiting companies in a specific area, MAP Extension shows target companies on a map and narrows them down to a set radius from where you are or from a company you plan to visit. You can also check travel time by mode of transport, which makes it easier to plan a day of visits.

From Consultation to Matching and Submission: Cut Manual Work with Extension Apps

With HubSpot’s standard search alone, finding jobs that fit a candidate and creating submission records takes effort. NowVillage combines extension apps so this work is done inside HubSpot.

Matching Extension: search in both directions and create application deals in bulk

You can search from either direction: jobs that fit a candidate from the candidate record, or candidates that fit a job from the job record. You can filter by keywords, picklists and numbers, and if you set conditions in advance, searches can run automatically.

Once you pick from the shortlist, you can create deals (applications) linking candidates and jobs in bulk with one click. These deals go straight into the selection pipeline described in the earlier section. You can also copy a summary of the shortlist and send it to candidates by email or LINE.

At Blackbelt Inc., we placed a screen in HubSpot for searching candidates and jobs against each other, and made it possible to copy a job’s main properties with one button. As a result, manual entry and transcription errors during matching have gone down.

MAP Extension: narrow jobs and candidates by ease of commute

Show candidate addresses and job locations on a map and narrow them down to a set radius. You can check distance and travel time for four modes of transport: car, train, walking and bicycle. You can propose jobs while checking preferences such as “commute within one hour” on the map.

PDF Extension: create submission documents and job descriptions from templates

Merge information from candidate and job records into templates to create documents such as career sheets, recommendation letters, job descriptions and contracts in PDF, Excel or Word format. Formatting resumes (career sheets) consistently can be done inside HubSpot, and the files you create can be attached to the candidate or job record.

For detailed features and terms of use of the three apps, see the product pages for Matching Extension, MAP Extension and PDF Extension.

Use AI to reduce the work of entering received resumes

Using HubSpot’s AI, you can also build a way to pull the content of received resumes into candidate records and reduce data entry. The AI features available depend on your plan and other factors, so we decide together during design how much to automate.

From Selection to Placement: Track Progress and Revenue for Each Application

Tasks and notifications are created automatically as selection stages are updated, and when a placement closes, the start date and placement fee are recorded. You can then check conversion rates and revenue forecasts by owner on a dashboard every week.

Make the next action follow automatically when a selection stage changes

For example, when a deal moves from “document screening” to “interview”, a workflow can prompt the CA to enter the interview date and send a reminder the day before. At Migi Naname Ue Inc., automatic task assignment, reminders and follow-ups were built into the core design.

After placement, manage start date, billing and gross profit in the same record

At Blackbelt Inc., a revenue record is created automatically when a selection reaches a certain stage. They also have a view, based on the “start date” and “invoiced” properties, that lists people starting this month who have not been invoiced yet.

Gross profit, which is the placement fee minus payments to job sites and others, is also calculated automatically. Manual calculation is no longer needed, and a system to prevent missed invoices is in place.

Metrics to watch on dashboards

NowVillage recommends tracking the following metrics in detail as input for management decisions. All of them can be produced in HubSpot reports if your data is organized as described in the sections above.

• By CA: consultation-to-placement rate and booking-to-placement rate (a placement rate that accounts for cancellations)
• By RA: submission-to-placement rate
• By CS: booking rate
• By job: year-over-year revenue
• By candidate background: revenue per placement and placement rate
• By sourcing channel: consultation rate and cost per consultation

There is no more comparing spreadsheets across departments, and no more transcription errors when building reports. At Blackbelt Inc., the team checks the number of first consultations at a glance in a review every Monday morning, and data-driven retrospectives have become routine.

Re-engaging Past Registrants: Bring Dormant Candidates Back to a Consultation

Filter registrants you have lost touch with by criteria, send them new job openings automatically, and alert the assigned CA only about those who respond. With this flow, you can create more consultation opportunities without relying on ads.

Re-engagement starts working once you decide three things.

1. Who to send to: Filter by consultation records and desired conditions, such as “booked a consultation but did not attend”, “six months or more since last contact” or “desired job type is sales”. This assumes these properties were set up from the start in your data design (earlier section).
2. What to send: New job openings close to their desired conditions, or a short message asking how they are doing. Besides email, use LINE for people you are connected with on LINE.
3. What to do when they respond: Add people who opened an email, clicked a link or replied to the assigned CA’s tasks, and follow up with a call or an offer of a consultation.

This flow is built with Marketing Hub lists and workflows. Once it is built, it needs almost no monthly work, and CAs can focus on contacting the people who responded. For how to use marketing automation tools, see our article on MA tools for recruitment agencies.

Your Plan Depends on How Much You Automate and Who Uses HubSpot

The right combination of HubSpot plans depends on how far you automate re-engagement and handoffs, and on who will use it among CAs, RAs and marketing. Holding job openings as a separate object is the starting assumption.

We recommend holding job openings as a separate object regardless of company size. On top of that, the products and plans you need change depending on whether you focus on email campaigns and automated re-engagement, or on managing selection and sales.

For concrete plan combinations by case, see HubSpot features and pricing plans for recruitment agencies. For the latest pricing, see HubSpot’s official pricing page.

If you will combine HubSpot with your current dedicated system or tools, also check whether each one can connect to external systems (whether it has an API), together with the plan.

HubSpot Case Studies from Recruitment Agencies

Here are two recruitment agencies NowVillage has supported: one that moved from spreadsheets and one that moved from Salesforce.

Migi Naname Ue Inc.: Moved from spreadsheets, placements per CA up 120%

The company supports job changes for young and early-career professionals, among other services. It managed candidates, jobs, companies and selection in spreadsheets. As data and formulas grew, the sheets became slow, and the same information had to be entered again and again. This cut into the time CAs could spend on consultations and matching.

NowVillage defined records for candidates, jobs, companies and selection, and the links between them, and built them in HubSpot. We also set up automatic task assignment, reminders, and dashboards for conversion rates and lead times.

As a result, placements per CA were up 120% and the placement rate was up 140%, and selection stages and lead times per job became visible in real time. Read the Migi Naname Ue case study

Blackbelt Inc.: Moved from Salesforce, ending double management and manual work

The company is a recruitment agency specializing in healthcare. It entered candidate information into Salesforce by hand and also tracked selection progress separately in Notion. Conversion metrics such as consultations and calls per owner were also hard to see.

With the move to HubSpot, we organized the data so that candidates and client-side contacts are both managed as contacts. On top of that, we built mutual search with Matching Extension, automatic creation of revenue records and automatic gross profit calculation, and a weekly KPI dashboard. Double management in Notion has ended, and a system to prevent missed invoices is in place. Read the Blackbelt case study

How to Implement: The Order of Decisions and How to Load Data

Implementation follows the five steps below. The most important thing is to fully decide the data structure first.

1. Take stock of current operations and tracking sheets: Write down who enters what into which sheet or system. Fields entered twice come to light here.
2. Decide the data design and pipelines: Decide how to hold job openings as a separate object, how many selection stages to have, and which properties are required at each stage. The plan is also decided here.
3. Standardize data formats: Decide which record is the “source of truth” for each piece of information, and merge duplicate companies and candidates. Standardize job type, location, selection stage and similar fields as picklists (see “NowVillage’s view” below).
4. Migrate data and start using it: Move candidates, client companies, job openings and in-progress applications from spreadsheets or your current system, and have CAs and RAs start using HubSpot in their daily work.
5. Review on dashboards: Check conversion rates each week and add properties and automation over time.

NowVillage’s view: do not load data without standardizing its format

What we do not recommend is pushing data into HubSpot in one go without standardizing its format. If you import data from your current sheets or system as is, all at once, the same companies and candidates get duplicated. Job types, locations and selection stages end up written differently by each person, and later you can neither search nor report on them.

What you should decide before importing is where each piece of information has its “source of truth” (master). Company information lives on the company record, job details on the job record, and applications and selection on the record linking a candidate and a job. Other records only reference them. Also, do not use free text for fields that can be picklists, such as job type, location, selection stage and reason for withdrawal. Standardize the format before loading.

If you think through this data structure first, you will not need to rebuild when you add properties, create reports or use extension apps later. This is what decides whether operations are easy after implementation.

FAQ

Q. Can HubSpot manage candidate, job and company data in one place?

Yes. Hold candidates as contacts, client companies as companies, job openings as a separate object, and applications and selection as deals, and associate them with each other. This lets you trace one candidate’s applications, or one company’s jobs and selection status, from the same screen. Data spread across your current systems and sheets is imported after its format is standardized.

Q. Is it easy for CAs and RAs to use?

The main actions are filtering on list screens and entering notes and next actions on each record’s screen, so it feels familiar to people who managed their work in spreadsheets. On the go, they can also enter data from the mobile app. However, ease of use depends heavily on whether the number of properties and the screen layout match the flow of work. It is important to tailor them to the daily work of CAs and RAs during design.

Q. What is the best way to manage job openings?

We recommend managing them in a dedicated, separate object for jobs. You can link several candidates to one job and report applications and placement rates per job directly.

Q. How do you manage one candidate applying to several jobs?

Create one deal for each application. Each deal keeps its own selection stage and reasons for withdrawal or rejection, so it does not get mixed up with the same candidate’s other applications.

Q. Can we migrate candidate data we manage in spreadsheets?

Yes. However, before migrating, you need to organize the fields to match your HubSpot data design and merge duplicate people. Migi Naname Ue Inc. also migrated from spreadsheets.

Q. Can we see numbers for each CA and RA?

Yes. You can report consultations, submissions, placements and more by owner on dashboards, and compare them with weekly targets.

Summary: What to Decide First to Run Recruitment on HubSpot

Whether a recruitment agency can make full use of HubSpot depends on deciding first how to hold candidates, client companies, job openings and applications. In particular, hold job openings as a separate object.

Once the data design is set, everything connects in one flow: attracting candidates and developing jobs, selection progress, billing after placement, and re-engaging past registrants. Because the stages from registration to consultation and placement are consistent, you can compare channels and owners by consultation rate and placement rate.

Then, if you standardize data formats before loading and use extension apps and AI to fill gaps in standard features, you will not need to rebuild when you add properties or run reports.

NowVillage has supported more than 150 recruitment companies as a HubSpot Diamond Partner. If you want to know whether HubSpot can run your current operations, feel free to reach out through our contact form.

*The figure of 150 companies is a cumulative total of our marketing and HubSpot support (as of October 2026).