Why are there duplicate Candidate records?

Owned by Kim Pickering
Last updated: 29 September 2020
4 min read

Problem

There are a few different reasons why duplicate Candidate records occur in FastTrack360. The most common are:

  • Details entered by the Candidate in a job application or Registration form are different to the existing record

  • Candidate has applied to a job via Seek and fields other than First Name, Surname & Check Email are being checked for duplicates

  • An Agency user uses Outlook Extensions > Add Candidate to update a Candidate’s Resume but details differ to the existing record

Below are details on what is required to determine why a duplicate record was created.

Solution

There are 2 parts required:

  • Identify how the Candidate was created

  • Determine why a duplicate was created

Part 1 - Identify how the Candidate was created

Before being able to determine why a duplicate record was created, you first need to identify how it was created. 

How to do this will depend on whether the Candidate was created before or after upgrading to 11.37. Click the below links for details on how to do this.

The Creation Date of a record can be found in the Record Properties section.

Part 2 Determine why a duplicate was created

There are 2 reasons why a duplicate record is created, these are:

  1. Candidate Duplicate Check options haven’t identified a duplicate

  2. A duplicate has been identified but Duplicate Settings are setup to create a new record

Current settings may not reflect what the settings were at the time the duplicate was created.

If duplicates are being created from the API and assistance is needed to determine why, lodge a request via our Service Desk portal 

 

Candidate Duplicate Check

Before creating a record, the system performs a check against existing records to determine if the Candidate already exists. The check is done by comparing certain information against existing records.  The Candidate Duplicate Check options determine what information is checked.

To check what options are selected, go to:

These options are also used when an Agency User creates a record. The below message will appear if there is an existing Candidate with matching details. The record will be created if OK is selected.

A duplicate won’t be identified if:

  • the details entered by a Candidate in a job application or Registration form are different to an existing record

  • Candidate has applied to a job via Seek and fields other than First Name, Surname & Check Email are being checked for duplicates

  • An Agency user uses Outlook Extensions > Add Candidate to update a Candidate’s Resume but details differ to the existing record

 

Example

If the below options are selected and there is an existing Candidate called Steve Smith

If one of the following occurs, a duplicate record will be created as all letters of the First Name don’t match the existing record (Surname and email address is the same as the existing record):

  • Candidate applies for a job and in their response they enter Steven as their first name - to find out how to check what details were entered, refer to Job Board Application

  • Candidate completes a Registration form and they enter Steven as their first name - to find out how to check what details were entered, refer to Registration Form

  • An Agency User uses Outlook Extensions > Add Candidate to add an updated Resume which has Steven as their first name

 

Duplicate Settings

If a duplicate is identified, the Duplicate Settings determine whether a new Candidate record is created. To check these settings, go to:

  • Maintenance > Questionnaire > Maintenance

  • Click General Settings

  • If Create New Always is selected, a new record will always be created - for further information refer to How to Configure the Duplicate Settings

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