Skip to main content

AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable

Workflow preview

Workflow preview
100%
AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable preview
Open on n8n.io

Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

Who is this for? This workflow is ideal for: HR professionals and recruiters who want to automate and enhance the hiring process Organizations seeking AI driven, consistent, and data backed candida...

Best for

  • HR automation workflows
  • AI Summarization automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.airtable, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenai, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.outputparserstructured, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent, n8n-nodes-base.set, n8n-nodes-base.merge, n8n-nodes-base.googledrive, n8n-nodes-base.if

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Billy Christi.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable
Workflow name
AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable

Who is this for?

This workflow is ideal for:

  • HR professionals and recruiters who want to automate and enhance the hiring process
  • Organizations seeking AI-driven, consistent, and data-backed candidate evaluations
  • Hiring managers using Airtable as their recruitment database

What problem is this workflow solving?

Screening candidates manually is time-consuming, inconsistent, and difficult to scale. This workflow solves that by:

  • Automating resume intake and AI evaluation
  • Matching candidates to job postings dynamically
  • Generating standardized suitability reports
  • Notifying HR only when candidates meet the criteria
  • Storing all applications in a structured Airtable database

What this workflow does

This workflow builds an end-to-end AI-powered hiring pipeline using Airtable, OpenAI, and Google Drive. Here's how it works:

  1. Accept candidate applications via a public web form, including resume upload (PDF only)

  2. Extract text from uploaded resumes for processing

  3. Store resumes in Google Drive and generate shareable links

  4. Match the application to a job posting stored in Airtable

  5. Use AI to evaluate candidates (via OpenAI GPT-4) against job descriptions and requirements

  6. Generate suitability results including:

    • Match percentage
    • Screening status: Suitable, Not Suitable, Under Review
    • Detailed notes
  7. Combine AI output and files into one data object

  8. Create a new candidate record in Airtable with all application data

  9. Automatically notify HR via Gmail if a candidate is marked “Suitable”


Setup

  1. View & Copy the Airtable base here:
    👉 Candidate Screening – Airtable Base Template
  2. Set up Google Drive folder
  3. Connect your OpenAI API key for the AI agent model
  4. Connect your Gmail account for email notifications
  5. Deploy the public-facing form to start receiving applications
  6. Test the workflow using a sample job and resume

How to customize this workflow to your needs

  • Expand file support: Allow DOC or DOCX uploads by adding format conversion nodes
  • Add multi-recipient email alerts: Extend Gmail node for multiple HR recipients
  • Handle “Under Review” differently: Add additional logic to notify or flag these candidates
  • Send rejection emails automatically: Extend the IF branch for “Not Suitable” candidates
  • Schedule interviews: Integrate with Google Calendar or Calendly APIs
  • Add Slack notifications: Send alerts to team channels for real-time updates

Contact me for consulting and support:
📧 [email protected]

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - Search Job Posting

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.airtable - airtable
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 2 - Create Candidate

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.airtable - airtable
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 3 - OpenAI Chat Model

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi - lmChatOpenAi
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 4 - Structured Output Parser

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.outputParserStructured - outputParserStructured
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 5 - Candidate Screener AI Agent

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent - agent
Config choices
Version 1.9

Block 6 - Set File Array for airtable

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 3.4

Block 7 - Merge

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.merge - merge
Config choices
Version 3.1

Block 8 - Upload File

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleDrive - googleDrive
Config choices
Version 3

Block 9 - Set File Permission

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.googleDrive - googleDrive
Config choices
Version 3

Block 10 - Check if candidate is suitable

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.if - if
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 11 - Send email to HR

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 12 - Candidate Application Form

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.formTrigger - formTrigger
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 13 - Extract Resume PDF

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.extractFromFile - extractFromFile
Config choices
Version 1

Block 14 - Sticky Note

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 15 - Sticky Note1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 16 - Sticky Note2

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 17 - Sticky Note3

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 18 - Sticky Note4

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 19 - Sticky Note5

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 20 - Sticky Note6

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 21 - Sticky Note7

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 22 - Sticky Note8

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 23 - Sticky Note9

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

3. Summary Table

Workflow AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable
Complexity advanced
Nodes 23
Categories HR, AI Summarization
Author Billy Christi
Published 29 May 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/4481/4481.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does AI-powered candidate screening and evaluation workflow using OpenAI and Airtable do?

Who is this for? This workflow is ideal for: HR professionals and recruiters who want to automate and enhance the hiring process Organizations seeking AI driven, consistent, and data backed candida...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your HR, AI Summarization use case.