Problem: feedback without access to ATS
In any recruitment process, the hiring decision rarely belongs to one person. Hiring managers, team leads, department directors, external consultants - everyone can have a say in the evaluation of candidates. But not everyone has (or should have) accounts in the ATS system.
The traditional solution is painfully inefficient: the recruiter downloads the candidate's CV, attaches it to an email along with a handwritten summary, sends it to the evaluator, waits for feedback (usually a vague phrase in a reply), and then transcribes that feedback back into the ATS. This process consumes time, loses context and generates fragments of information scattered in inboxes.
Another frequent solution is creating additional accounts in the ATS. But this approach has two major problems: (1) cost, because many ATS platforms bill per user, and adding accounts for people who access the system infrequently increases the cost unjustifiably, and (2) complexity, because creating, training and managing accounts for people who will use them a few times a year is an effort disproportionate to the real need.
The real need is simple: let someone view a candidate's profile and leave feedback, without an account, without training and without compromising data security.
How does sharing work in Treegarden
Treegarden solves this problem through a dedicated candidate profile sharing feature based on a secure link. Here is the full process:
Generating the secure link
From the candidate's profile, click on the "Share Profile" button. A dialog opens where you configure: (1) Expiration period - 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or a customized date, (2) Visible sections - only the CV, the full profile or the profile without the team's internal notes, (3) After confirmation, a unique URL secured with HMAC SHA256 token is generated, which you copy and send to the evaluator via email, chat or any other preferred channel.
What the external evaluator sees: When accessing the link, the evaluator sees a read-only page with the candidate's profile, clearly and professionally formatted. Depending on the settings chosen at generation, they can see contact information, the full CV, professional experience, education, skills, interview evaluations (if they were included) and, optionally, a form to leave their own feedback.
No account required: The external evaluator does not have to log in, create an account or install anything. They open the link directly in the browser, from desktop, laptop, tablet or phone. The experience is smooth and free of barriers.
Security and sharing control
The sharing of candidate data raises legitimate security and confidentiality questions. Treegarden addresses these concerns through several layers of protection:
HMAC SHA256 tokens: Each sharing link contains a cryptographically generated token using the HMAC SHA256 algorithm. This token cannot be guessed, forged or modified. Each token is unique and tied to a single candidate profile.
Automatic expiration: Links expire automatically on the date you set. After expiration, any access attempt shows a clear, professional "Link Expired" message. There are no grace windows or partial access after expiration; security is binary.
Instant revocation: If circumstances change (the candidate withdrew their application, the process was cancelled, the link was sent by mistake), you can revoke any active link with a single click. Revocation is instant, and the link immediately becomes invalid.
Practical tip
Use the shortest expiration period that makes sense for your situation. If you need feedback in 2-3 days, set the expiration to 7 days (with a small margin of safety). Don't leave links active for 30 days if you don't have a real reason. The shorter the expiration period, the lower the risk of unauthorized access.
Granular visibility control: Not all information must be visible to every evaluator. The "Profile without notes" option hides the recruitment team's internal notes (which may contain informal evaluations, comparisons with other candidates or sensitive information) while showing the rest of the profile. The "CV only" option limits visibility to the CV document alone, without the extra information added by the team.
View tracking
You need to know not only that you sent a link, but also if it was accessed. Treegarden offers detailed tracking for each sharing link:
Tracking information available
For each sharing link, Treegarden records: the date the link was created, the expiration date, the total number of views, the date of the last view and the current status (active, expired or revoked). This data is accessible from the candidate's profile, in the sharing section. You can see at a glance whether the evaluator has accessed the profile or whether you need to send a reminder.
Tracking is useful not only for monitoring, but also for speeding up the recruitment process. If you sent a link 3 days ago and the number of views is still 0, you know the evaluator has not seen the profile yet and you can send a reminder. If there are several views but no feedback, you know it has been accessed and you can ask for the feedback directly.
Practical use cases
Sharing the candidate profile covers multiple scenarios from the daily practice of recruitment:
Evaluation by the hiring manager: The most common scenario. The recruiter does the initial screening, selects a shortlist of 3-5 candidates and sends the profile links to the hiring manager for evaluation. The manager reviews the profiles in the link, leaves feedback (if the form is enabled) and the recruiter receives the evaluation directly in the ATS, associated with the correct candidate.
Collaboration with external recruiters: When you work with recruitment agencies or headhunters, they can submit candidates that are added to the ATS. Profiles can then be shared with internal hiring managers without giving the agency access to the entire system.
Client review (for agencies): If you are a recruitment agency and work for external clients, secure profile sharing is essential. The client sees exactly the candidates you have selected, with the relevant information, without access to your full candidate database or other clients' processes.
Providing context for reference checks: When requesting references for a candidate, you can share a link to the profile (without internal notes) with the person providing the reference. They see the candidate's profile as you know it and can give more contextual, relevant feedback.
The advantage over competitors
Many ATS platforms require a paid account for anyone who wants to access candidate profiles. With per-seat pricing, adding a manager who only reviews a handful of candidates each quarter still adds another full licence to the bill. Sharing via secure link removes that cost entirely: external reviewers get temporary, controlled access without a permanent licence. For companies with large evaluation teams, that can add up to a meaningful saving over a year.
Managing active links
As you share multiple profiles, it's important to have an overview of your active links. Treegarden facilitates this management in several ways:
List of shares per candidate: In each candidate's profile, the sharing section shows all generated links: active, expired and revoked. You can quickly see when each link was created, when it expires, how many views it had and whether it is still active.
Quick revocation: If a process ends or circumstances change, you can revoke active links directly from the sharing list. One click and the link becomes invalid instantly.
Regenerating links: If a link has expired but you still need access (for example, the evaluator did not open it in time), you can generate a new link with the same settings or with different ones. The old link stays expired; there is no way to extend an existing link, which keeps access control strict.
Good management practices:
- Review active links monthly and revoke those that are no longer needed
- Use short expirations (1-7 days) for urgent evaluations and long expirations (30 days) only when the process is long
- When you close a position, check and revoke all sharing links associated with the respective candidates
- Do not share links on public channels (chat groups with multiple members, emails with extended CC) - send each link individually to the intended reviewer
Integration in the recruitment flow
Profile sharing is not an isolated functionality - it integrates naturally into the complete recruitment flow in Treegarden:
After initial screening: The recruiter evaluates the applications, selects the right candidates, and shares the profiles with the hiring manager for validation before scheduling interviews. This step avoids the situation where the recruiter books interviews with candidates the hiring manager would reject after the first look at the CV.
After interviews: Once a candidate has been through interviews with the recruiting team, the full profile (including interview scores) can be shared with the department manager or CEO for final approval. This gives them all the context they need for an informed decision.
In collaborative processes: When the hiring decision involves several evaluators (for example, an interview panel with members from different departments), each can receive a link to the same candidate profile. The feedback from every evaluator is collected and centralized in the candidate's profile in the ATS.
Secure sharing of profiles removes artificial barriers from the evaluation process. You no longer have to wait until the manager takes the time to log in to the ATS. You no longer need to copy data from ATS in emails. You no longer need to create expensive accounts for people who rarely use them. You send a link, the evaluator accesses it when it suits him, and the feedback returns to the ATS. Simple, secure and efficient - exactly how recruitment collaboration should work.
Related: Team Hiring & Collaboration
See how Treegarden brings recruiters, hiring managers and external collaborators into one workspace.
Explore collaboration features →Frequently Asked Questions
What is candidate profile sharing?
Candidate profile sharing lets you send a secure, revocable link to a candidate's profile so a hiring manager or external evaluator can review it and leave feedback without an ATS login. In most recruitment processes the hiring decision involves several people, but not everyone has (or should have) an account in the ATS.
How do you collect feedback from people who do not have ATS access?
Instead of downloading the CV, emailing it with a handwritten summary, and transcribing replies back into the ATS, you generate a secure link to the candidate's profile. The evaluator opens it in any browser, reviews the profile, and submits feedback that is recorded against the correct candidate, with no account required.
Why not just create extra ATS accounts for occasional reviewers?
Creating additional accounts has two drawbacks: cost, because many ATS platforms bill per user and accounts for people who log in a few times a year inflate the bill, and complexity, because creating, training, and managing those accounts is disproportionate to the need. A secure shared link gives temporary, controlled access without a permanent license.