Managing and Editing Email Templates

Thalamus has the ability to automatically and manually send system emails to applicants when certain actions occur throughout the interview season. 

Each template defaults with “System Templates” composed by the Thalamus Team. 

Program users have the ability to customize these email templates, create additional templates, send specific templates to selected groups of applicants, and set default sent message via the Thalamus “Email Template Editor.”   

 

Manually Triggered Templates

The following email templates are sent when manually triggered by the program:

• Interview Invitation: Invites applicant to interview with your program in Thalamus. Provides ability to the applicant to sign up for a Thalamus account, if not already signed up and the program's interview calendars become available for applicant self-scheduling.
  Note: If your program is using multiple scheduling groups, you may want to create different email templates for each specific email group.
• Follow-Up Interview Invitation: Invites applicant to sign up for follow up interview rounds. You can specify the template you would like to use for each round of invites. 
• Additional Templates: supplementary template messages customized by program that may be sent to applicants in customized groups. These templates can be sent to applicants manually from Applicant Dashboard “Actions” menu. 
• Interview Session Details: this template is used when sending interview session details from the individual itinerary builder sessions
  
• Social Event Session Details: this template is used when sending itinerary session details from the individual itinerary builder sessions.
• Applicant Survey Assigned: Notifies an applicant that they have been assigned a survey or if changes have been made to a survey that was previously assigned to them. 
  Note: This should be used when sending the survey to applicants outside attaching the survey with the interview invitation. 

Automatic Email Templates

These templates are triggered when applicants take specific scheduling actions within Thalamus.  For instance, when an applicant signs up to interview, they are automatically sent an “Interview Confirmation” email by the Thalamus system.  

For initial Interviews and Follow up Interviews:

• Interview Confirmation: confirms applicant interview sign up with program (only one confirmation message can be chosen as the default; be sure to include information for all scheduling groups in the same message - additional information can be sent out to each individual scheduling group using the "Additional Template" section). 
• Interview Cancellation: confirms applicant interview cancellation with program.
• Wait List Confirmation:  confirms applicant sign up for wait list notifications.
• Wait List Cancellation: confirms applicant cancellation for wait list notifications.
• Wait List Opening Notification: informs applicant of immediate opening on wait list.
• Interview Date Change Notification: informs applicant of interview date change by program.
• Interview Reminder: reminds an applicant of an upcoming interview day sent according to your preference set on the Calendar Settings Overview.

• Follow-Up Interview Confirmation: confirms applicant follow up interview sign up with program

• Follow-Up Interview Cancellation: confirms applicant follow up interview cancellation with program.

For Social Events: 

• Social Event Confirmation: confirms applicant social event sign up with program
• Social Event Cancellation: confirms applicant social event cancellation with program.
• Social Event Date Change Notification: informs applicant of social event date change by program.
• Social Event Reminder: reminds an applicant of an upcoming social event sent according to your preference set on the Calendar Settings Overview.

Templates for Follow Up Interviews

Thalamus allows programs to invite applicants for up to 4 rounds of interviews.

Each Follow up interview template has the option to choose which round you would like it to assign that template to.

When creating a new template, select the appropriate round, and the template will default for that specific round of interviews. 

 

Customizing Your Email Templates

The System Templates are not editable but are suitable for all program use. If you'd like to make a customized template, create a new template and you will have access to all customization features.

1.  To begin editing your email templates, select “Email” tab in the upper menu bar and open “Email Template Editor”.  

2. Choose the type of template you'd like to create (i.e. "Interview Invitation", "Interview Cancellation") via the tabs at the top of the screen. To create customized template(s), select “Create New Template” button. 

3.  Enter “Template Name” into the corresponding field. This will be the template title under which the message is stored in your Thalamus program account.

4.  To set this message as the default template sent by the system (during that action), enable “check mark” (teal blue) in the corresponding “Set as Default Template” row. 

5.  Enter “Email Subject” into the corresponding field. This will be the subject line used when this email message is sent to applicants.

6.  Email customization tools are found in the menu bar at the top border of each text box and include functions such as customizing/editing font characteristics, inserting links/images and composing bulleted lists. Scroll over each button to determine the function for that particular button (a description will appear). To execute that function, select/click that button.

7.  Default text (composed by Thalamus team) for each system template will initially be populated into new template text box for ease of creating additional template messages. This text may be customized as needed.

8. “Shortcodes” are located in the drop-down menu at the right side of the email editor screen. They may be used to further customize messages including: personalizing messages to applicants (e.g. [#Applicant First Name#]), or displaying program information (e.g. [#Program Name#]), or inserting tokens for account creation (e.g. [#Invitation Token Link#]). 

9. To insert a “Shortcode,” position your cursor in the desired location within the message box.  Then select desired shortcode and it will be inserted instantly into the text body.

Note: Shortcodes are specific to their template, you will not be able to copy a shortcode from another template and place in another. An error message will appear if an invalid code is included in the template. 

10. For Invitation templates the shortcode [#InvitationMessage#] must not be removed from the template. Removal of this short code will prevent your Applicant from being able to set up a Thalamus account and not allow you to save the template. 

11.  To add attachments to a template email, select “Add attachments” at the bottom of the message text box. The “Select Attachments” module will open.
NOTE: Attachment size maximum is 10MB and a warning will appear when file is too large. 

12.  Select “Upload” to browse for new attachments. Locate the desired file on your computer’s hard disk and select “Open.”  That file will now be included in the files list.  

13.  Select one or more files from the files list to include them as attachments in the templated email. A file is “selected” if it is highlighted teal in the Attachments list.

14.  To save your attachment selections, select “SELECT.” Otherwise, to discard changes, select “CANCEL” or click outside of the “Select Attachments” box. 

15.  Selected attachments will be listed immediately beneath the text box.

16.  To remove/delete attachments, select the “x” in the corresponding row.
NOTE: If an attachment is not displayed, it will not be sent with the template. 

 

17.  Once satisfied with message composition, save template by selecting “Save” To restore text to default, select “Restore System Template.” To cancel changes and restore to last prior saved version, select “Cancel Changes.”

18.  Once email text is finalized, users may send a test copy of the email to be received by applicants by selecting “Send Test Email".

19.  The “Sending Test Email” module will appear.

20.  Enter recipient email address in the corresponding row.

21.  Select “SEND” to send test email. Select “CANCEL” or click anywhere outside of the box to cancel.

22.  At any point in time, should you try to exit the page or change templates prior to saving changes, the “Save Template Changes?” module will appear.

23.  Select “Save and Continue” to save template. Select “Continue Without Saving” to discard changes.  Select “Confirm” to confirm selection.  Select “CANCEL” or click outside of the box to return to the template without making changes.

24.  Repeat the process as needed for additional templated message. 

NOTE: When a program sends interview invitations, Thalamus automatically determines which applicants have accounts, and which applicants are new users, and will send the correct message to each applicant. Program users do not need to make these distinctions manually. The "Invitation Message" shortcode [#InvitationMessage#] must be included in the body of the interview message.