Defining Search Index Settings for Recruiting

To define which job postings and applicants to include in recruiting search indexes, use the Build Search Index Settings (HRS_SCHIDX_SETTING) component.

Page Name

Definition Name

Usage

Build Search Index Settings Page

HRS_SCHIDX_SETTING

Configure which job postings and which applicants to include in search indexes.

There are two separate ways to specify how recent data must be in order to be included in the job posting or applicant search indexes:

  • In the recruiting system, the Build Search Index Settings page includes fields where you enter a “From Post Date" for postings and a “From Application Date” for applicants.

  • In the PeopleTools Search Framework, the search definitions for each index include an “Index Only Last n Days” field.

    To access this field, select PeopleTools > Search Framework > Designer > Search Definition. Access the Advanced page, and look in the Full Indexing Criteria group box.

The system reconciles the two settings differently for different types of indexes:

  • For job postings, the system ignores the search definition setting and uses only the recruiting setting.

    Job postings remain searchable as long as they are posted. When a job is no longer posted, it is automatically excluded from the index. Therefore, posting dates are sufficient to ensure that the index does not include any expired postings, and the search definition setting is unnecessary.

  • For applicants, the system uses the search definition setting if there is one. The recruiting setting is used only if the search definition setting is blank.

Use the Build Search Index Settings page (HRS_SCHIDX_SETTING) to configure which job postings and which applicants to include in search indexes.

Navigation

Recruiting > Administration > Build Search Index Settings

Image: Build Search Index Settings page

This example illustrates the Build Search Index Settings page.

Build Search Index Settings page

Job Search Index

These settings apply to the two job posting indexes: HC_HRS_JOB_POSTING and HC_HRS_JOB_CONTENT.

Field or Control

Definition
From Post Date

When the system builds or updates the job posting indexes, it includes job postings that were posted on or after the date you enter in this field.

If you leave this field blank, the index includes all job postings for job openings that:

  • Have an open status.

  • Have been posted internally or externally to a destination that is a Company recruitment source type.

Note: For job posting indexes, the system does not look at the setting within the PeopleTools Search Framework search definition that specifies the number of days of data to include in the index.

Applicant Search Index

These settings apply to the three applicant indexes: HC_HRS_APP_INDEX, HC_HRS_APPLICANT. and HC_HRS_APPLICATION_CONTENT.

Field or Control

Definition
From Application Date

Important! For applicant indexes, the setting within the PeopleTools Search Framework search definition that specifies the number of days of data to include in the index supersedes any date that you enter here.

If the search definition for an applicant index does not already specify the number of days of data to include in the index, the index includes only applications that were submitted on or since the date you enter in this field.

If you leave this field blank and the search definition doesn’t specify how many days to include, then all applications are included in the indexes.
Applicant Status

Select which applicant statuses to include in the applicant-related search indexes. You must select at least one status. By default, all check boxes are selected.

The selection grid shows all statuses that have been defined for the Applicant recruitment area. The four statuses that PeopleSoft delivers are Active, Hired, Inactive, and Queued.

Applicant who are not included in the indexes are still searchable using the Search Applicants page: Quick Search tab (the database search for applicants). If you want consistency among all types of searches, you can include all available statuses in the index. However, when there are large numbers of applicants in the system, you can improve the search performance by including fewer applicants (for example, only active applicants).

Note: On the Search Applicants page, the advanced search gives users the option to exclude selected statuses from search results. The list of statuses that appears on the Advanced Keyword Search page include all statuses, regardless of whether which statuses are included in the applicant indexes.