Import candidates into a form

What it is

You can bulk-add candidates to a form you already have by uploading a CSV spreadsheet - handy when you're migrating a list from a spreadsheet or another tool into a role that's already set up in Binary. This is different from the Import button on the Forms home page, which always creates a brand-new form (see Import a form or a list of candidates); importing here adds candidates to the form you're already on.

So: if the user already has a job/form in their workspace and just wants candidates added to it, this page is correct. If they don't have a job for these candidates yet (or want a new one either way), send them to https://binary.so/import-form instead - see Import a form or a list of candidates.

Steps

1. Open the form's Responses page and, in the toolbar's ··· menu, click Import Candidates.
2. Upload your CSV - drag it in or Click to upload. Make sure the first row of your spreadsheet is column headings, and that it has a Name column - Binary won't import a form's candidates without one. Files must be CSV, up to 10 MB. Don't have a file handy? Use Download a sample CSV to get a template with columns for the form's fields.
3. Review fields - Binary shows your CSV's columns next to the form's fields so you can check the mapping:
   • Columns it recognized are matched automatically.
   • For anything left over, choose Import as new field (or type a name to create a differently-named field) to add it to the form, or Do not import to skip that column.
   • A summary line tells you how many fields are mapped, how many new fields will be created, and how many columns won't be imported.
4. Click Continue. Binary validates the file upfront - checking for a mapped Name column, at least two mapped columns, and per-row problems like a missing name or an invalid email - before anything is imported, so you can fix issues in your spreadsheet before committing.
5. Binary imports the rows while showing "Processing...". When it finishes you'll see "All done!" with a View candidates button, or, if some rows failed, "Import completed with errors" with a View errors button so you can see what didn't go through.

Notes & limits

• The form needs a Name field to import into - if it doesn't have one, Binary blocks the import ("This form has no Name field, so candidates can't be imported.").
• You can only import into a form that's not a Draft - publish the form first (see Form statuses).
• A handful of system columns - like created date, labels, AI review, comments, messages, feedback, and source - aren't things you can import into, so they're left out of the sample CSV.
• Rows with an empty name, a name over 50 characters, or an invalid email are flagged before the import runs rather than silently skipped.
• Anyone with access to the form can import candidates into it.