Send a message to one candidate

Where: open a candidate (from the Kanban, Table, or talent pool) → the message composer.

This is your default for anything personal — a tailored first outreach, a follow-up to a reply, a note that only makes sense for this one person. When the message is the same for many people, reach for bulk messaging instead (below).

When the composer opens on its own

The composer opens automatically when you move a candidate to a stage that has Communications Settings → Notify candidate turned on — so the message becomes part of the stage move rather than a separate task you might forget. You can also open it manually from the candidate's profile any time.

Steps:

1. Choose the message type — Email or External message — from the toggle at the top right of the composer. (If no email address is on file, Email is disabled.)
2. Write your message in the Compose your message... field.
3. For email: add a subject (the field above the body).
4. Choose how to send:
   • Send now — sends immediately.
   • Schedule email — pick a date and time; the button changes to Schedule email once a time is set.
   • Mark as sent (External message only) — logs the message as sent without Vouch delivering it.
5. For External message: choose Copy message to copy the text to your clipboard.

Good to know. Scheduling is for timing, not delay — a message that lands Tuesday at 9am gets read far more often than one fired off at 11pm. Set the time and the button flips to Schedule email; the message then waits in your Inbox with a Scheduled chip until it goes out.

If your calendar isn't connected, a warning appears: "Your calendar connections are not valid. You need to reconnect your calendar to schedule an interview." — with a link to Connect calendar. This only blocks calendar-dependent actions (like inserting a scheduling link); plain emails still send. See Interviews & scheduling.