Migrate from Softgarden to Recruit CRM & ATS

Softgarden Applicant records (Bewerber) map to Recruit CRM Candidate records. The mapping preserves name fields, contact information (email, phone, address), and profile data. We resolve German-language field labels (Vorname for first name, Nachname for last name, E-Mail for email) to Recruit CRM's English field equivalents during transformation. Softgarden's applicant profile pictures migrate as attachments linked to the Candidate record.

Softgarden Application records (Bewerbungen) link an Applicant to a Position and represent the candidate's submission for a specific job. We map Application records as Candidate records with a Job association in Recruit CRM. The application-specific data (submission date, application source, current stage) migrates into Recruit CRM's candidate record fields. We resolve the parent Applicant and Position lookups before creating the application link so that Recruit CRM's candidate-to-job association is satisfied at migration time.

Softgarden Positions (Stellen) map directly to Recruit CRM Jobs. The mapping preserves job title, description, department, location, employment type, and publication status. Active versus archived positions are distinguished in Recruit CRM's job status field. We normalize German field labels (Stellentitel for job title, Stellenbeschreibung for description, Abteilung for department) to their English equivalents. Published jobs migrate with open status; archived positions migrate with closed status.

Softgarden's configurable workflow stages (e.g., New, Screening, Interview, Offer, Hired, Onboarding) map to Recruit CRM pipeline stages. Custom stage names are preserved as-is where Recruit CRM allows free-form stage naming, or mapped to the nearest standard stage where the destination enforces a defined stage set. We document the full source stage name to destination stage name mapping before migration and apply it consistently across all application records.

Softgarden uploaded CVs, profile pictures, and application documents migrate to Recruit CRM's resume and attachment fields. Softgarden's dedicated attachment upload and retrieval endpoints handle binary file transfer. We migrate raw attachment files directly rather than relying on Softgarden's system-generated applicant PDF summary (which only exists when a candidate enters the configured trigger status). Profile pictures migrate to the Candidate photo field; CVs attach to the Candidate resume field.

Softgarden tracks which channel—job board, direct application, referral—each application originated from via configured application sources. These catalog values (Katalogwerte) are resolved via Softgarden's dedicated catalog values endpoint and mapped to Recruit CRM's Source field on the candidate record. Custom application sources are preserved as custom source values in Recruit CRM if the destination allows free-form source entries, or mapped to the nearest standard source category.

Softgarden uses catalog values for structured dropdown fields including location, department, employment type, and any other configurable picklist-type fields. The API exposes a dedicated endpoint for resolving catalog values. We resolve each catalog value at migration time to its display label and insert the corresponding value into the mapped Recruit CRM field. If Recruit CRM does not have a pre-existing picklist option matching the catalog value, we create it as a new option or map to the nearest equivalent depending on the customer's configuration preference.

Softgarden allows configurable custom fields on applications and positions but does not expose a dedicated custom field registry endpoint. We discover active custom fields during the discovery phase by querying a representative sample of records and identifying fields that appear inconsistently or with non-standard values. Each discovered custom field is then mapped to a corresponding Recruit CRM custom field created before migration. The discovery step adds modest time to scoping but does not block migration.

Softgarden generates system-composed applicant summary PDFs containing all attachments, but these are only available via the Applicant Data Export PUSH interface when triggered by a status change. For candidates still in early pipeline stages, the composed PDF may not exist in exportable form. We bypass the composed PDF entirely and migrate the raw attachment files (CVs, documents, photos) via Softgarden's attachment API, which ensures all files are transferred regardless of candidate status. We flag this approach to customers during scoping.

Softgarden acquired absence.io in 2021 to add internal HR capabilities including personnel files, absence management, and time recording. This data lives in a separate product instance and is not accessible via Softgarden's main ATS Frontend API v3. We do not migrate Absence.io data as part of this scope. Customers needing absence or personnel file data in Recruit CRM must export it manually from Absence.io and import separately, or choose a destination that supports HCM data if those records are critical.