RDB Integration (Export Candidates)

Overview

ZipRecruiter's Resume Database helps partners go beyond inbound applicants by proactively searching and engaging job seekers. It enables employers to move resumes directly into their preferred ATS with a single click.

Key capabilities include:

Move resumes with one click — send sourced candidates straight to your ATS
Spot new engaged talent — surface recently active job seekers
Review candidates faster — structured profile data for quick evaluation
Bulk actions — unlock up to 25 resumes or download up to 100 at once
Team collaboration — multiple users can source candidates in shared projects
Admin oversight — visibility into sourcing activity across the organization

The RDB Integration delivers sourced candidates to your endpoint via webhook in the same manner as the Apply Webhook. Unlike the Apply Webhook which delivers candidates who actively apply to jobs, the RDB Integration delivers candidates who are sourced (found and selected) by employers from ZipRecruiter's resume database. This enables ATS partners to receive sourced candidates alongside applicants in a unified workflow.

Transport

The RDB Integration uses the same HTTPS POST transport as the Apply Webhook. Your endpoint must:

Accept HTTPS POST requests
Have a verifiable SSL certificate signed by a well-known Certificate Authority
Return a 200 OK or 2xx response on success

Fields

The RDB candidate payload is delivered as a JSON object. All field values are strings unless specified otherwise.

Payload fields reference

Field	Required	Type	Description
`name`	Yes	string	The candidate's full name.
`first_name`	Yes	string	The candidate's first name.
`last_name`	Yes	string	The candidate's last name.
`email`	Yes	string	The candidate's email address.
`phone`	No	string	The candidate's phone number.
`resume`	No	string	The candidate's resume in PDF format, base-64 encoded.
`profile`	No	object	The candidate's profile data (same structure as the Apply Webhook profile). Contains nested fields including `city`, `state`, `country`, `postal_code`, `executive_summary`, `job_records`, `education_records`, and `license_certification_records`.
`source`	Yes	string	Always `"ZipRecruiter RDB"` — identifies this as a sourced candidate.
`viewed_by_user`	No	string	Full name of the employer user who sourced the candidate.
`viewed_by_email`	No	string	Email address of the employer user who sourced the candidate.
`project_name`	No	string	The name of the sourcing project, if applicable.

Format

Full payload example

POST /candidates/sourced HTTP/1.1
Host: yourhost.example.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "first_name": "Jane",
  "last_name": "Smith",
  "email": "jsmith@example.org",
  "phone": "+1 5555550123",
  "resume": "JVBERi0xLjUK...",
  "source": "ZipRecruiter RDB",
  "viewed_by_user": "Bob Recruiter",
  "viewed_by_email": "bob@employer.example.com",
  "project_name": "Q1 Engineering Hiring",
  "profile": {
    "executive_summary": "Full-stack engineer with 8 years of experience...",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "state": "CA",
    "country": "United States",
    "postal_code": "94105",
    "job_records": [
      {
        "position": "Senior Engineer",
        "employer": "TechCorp",
        "current": "1",
        "start_date": "2020-03-01"
      }
    ],
    "education_records": [
      {
        "degree_name": "Bachelor of Science",
        "major": "Computer Science",
        "school": "University of California, Berkeley",
        "type": "Bachelor's Degree",
        "start_date": "2012-08-01",
        "start_date_precision": "MONTH"
      }
    ],
    "license_certification_records": [
      {
        "description": "Amazon Web Services certification for cloud solutions architecture",
        "name": "AWS Certified Solutions Architect",
        "issued_date": "2021-06-15",
        "issued_date_precision": "DAY",
        "issuing_authority": "Amazon Web Services"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response

Same as the Apply Webhook response. Return a 200 OK with optional identifiers.

If we receive a 5xx response, the system will automatically retry delivery up to six times over a two-day period.

Example response

{
  "candidate_id": "src-12345",
  "additional_data": {
    "status": "imported"
  }
}

Signatures

If signatures are enabled for your Apply Webhook integration, the same HMAC-SHA256 signature mechanism applies to RDB deliveries. See Apply Webhook Signatures for details.

Differences from Apply Webhook

	Apply Webhook	RDB Integration
Trigger	Candidate applies to a job	Employer sources a candidate
`source` field	Not present	`"ZipRecruiter RDB"`
`job_id` field	Always present	Not present (not job-specific)
`viewed_by_user` / `viewed_by_email`	Not present	Present (who sourced the candidate)
`response_id` field	Always present	Not present
`answers` field	May be present	Not present

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you provide a sandbox for testing?

Unfortunately, at the moment we do not have a sandbox for testing the integration. However, we can make arrangements to provide test data if needed.

Do I need an authorization or API key?

No, but we can support HTTP Basic Authentication if your endpoint requires it.

Can I redirect candidates to an external URL?

No. Integrations require candidates to be managed via the ZipRecruiter workflow.

This webhook doesn't meet my ATS requirements, can you make adjustments?

Please contact us, as we may be able to support minor tweaks or custom integrations.

Getting Started

To enable the RDB Integration for your partnership, contact us. If you already have an Apply Webhook endpoint configured, the RDB Integration can typically reuse the same endpoint — the source field distinguishes sourced candidates from applicants.

Overview​

Transport​

Fields​

Format​

Response​

Signatures​

Differences from Apply Webhook​

Frequently Asked Questions​

Getting Started​