Auto-enrich new Ashby candidates with PDL and Slack

Build me an agent workflow that enriches every new Ashby candidate the moment their application is created, attaches a research note in Ashby, and DMs the hiring manager in Slack.

Trigger: an Ashby webhook for the 'new application created' event. The webhook payload gives me the application id, candidate id, candidate email, candidate name, and job id.

When it fires, do this:

1) Use Ashby Get Application Info and Ashby Get Candidate Info to confirm the candidate's email, name, any LinkedIn URL already on file, and the job they applied to. Use Ashby Get Job Info to grab the job title and a short summary of requirements so we have something to write fit notes against.

2) Call People Data Labs Person Enrichment using the candidate's email (and name as a secondary identifier). Pull current job title and company, work history, education, skills, and public profile URLs (LinkedIn, GitHub, Twitter).

3) If Person Enrichment returns a match, call People Data Labs Company Enrichment on the candidate's current employer to pull industry, headcount range, and most recent funding round. PDL 404 (no match) responses are not billed, so it is fine to attempt the company lookup whenever a person match exists.

4) Use Ashby Create Candidate Note to attach a structured profile summary to the candidate. Format the note with these sections: Current role and tenure (title at company, how long), Prior companies (two or three with title and dates), Education, Public links (LinkedIn / GitHub / Twitter where available), and a two-line 'Fit notes' block written against the job's requirements. Keep it scannable, not a wall of text.

5) Use Slack Bot Send a Message to DM the hiring manager. The hiring manager comes from the Ashby job record (look up their Slack user by email). The DM should include the candidate's name, current title at company, three highlights pulled from the enriched profile (e.g. notable previous employers, relevant skills, education), and a direct link to the candidate in Ashby.

Failure mode: if People Data Labs Person Enrichment returns HTTP 404 (no match), skip the candidate note entirely and instead use Slack Bot Send a Message to post a single lightweight line in our recruiting channel: candidate name, the role they applied for, the Ashby link, and a short 'PDL had no match, recruiter please screen manually.' Do not create a half-empty note in Ashby in that case.

Other constraints: keep the Ashby note under ~250 words. Do not fabricate facts that are not in the enrichment payload. If a section has no data (e.g. no education on file), omit that section rather than writing 'unknown.' The Slack DM should be short — three to five lines plus the Ashby link, not a paragraph.

Make the recruiting Slack channel and the 'how to find the hiring manager' lookup easy to change later, since those vary per team.

Additional information

What does this prompt do?

Watches Ashby for new applications and starts the moment one is created
Looks up the candidate on People Data Labs to pull work history, education, current title, and public profile links
Pulls quick context on their current employer (industry, size, recent funding) so recruiters see who they work for
Attaches a clean profile summary as a candidate note in Ashby so the recruiter sees it the second they open the file
DMs the hiring manager in Slack with the candidate's name, current role, three quick highlights, and the Ashby link
If we can't find a match, skips the deep note and posts a lightweight heads-up in your recruiting channel instead

What do I need to use this?

An Ashby account with admin access so it can listen for new applications and add notes
A People Data Labs account for candidate and company lookups
A Slack workspace where the bot can DM hiring managers and post in your recruiting channel
A way to match hiring managers to jobs (their Slack handle or email on the job in Ashby)

How can I customize it?

Change who gets the DM. Send to a recruiting coordinator, the whole hiring channel, or both
Tweak what's in the Ashby note. Add a fit score against the job description, flag candidates currently at competitors, or pull skills into a tag list
Tighten the trigger. Only run for senior roles, certain departments, or jobs that have a referrer attached
Decide what 'no match found' looks like. Stay quiet, ping the recruiter, or fall back to a LinkedIn search link

Frequently asked questions

What if People Data Labs has no record of the candidate?

The workflow handles this gracefully. It skips the long profile note and instead posts a one-line heads-up in your recruiting Slack channel so nobody is left guessing. Lookups that come back empty are not billed, so there is no cost for misses.

How fast does the hiring manager see it?

Within seconds of the application landing in Ashby. The webhook fires immediately, so by the time a recruiter opens the candidate file the enriched note is already attached and the Slack DM is in the hiring manager's inbox.

Can I run this only for certain jobs or departments?

Yes. Tell the workflow to skip everything except the roles you care about. Common filters are seniority, department, location, or whether the job has a hiring manager assigned in Ashby.

Does the note replace the recruiter's own screen?

No. The note is a research head start, not a decision. Recruiters still do their own screen and add their own notes. Think of it as the pre-read so the first conversation is sharper.

What data ends up in the candidate note?

Current role and how long they've been there, two or three previous companies, education, public profile links like LinkedIn or GitHub, and two short fit lines tied to the job's requirements.