SAP SuccessFactors runs the careers sites of many large employers and public bodies around the world. Sometimes the address contains successfactors.com or successfactors.eu; often it is the employer’s own careers site, with a Sign In link at the top and an Apply button on each job.
As with most enterprise systems, each employer’s site is separate. Your account and profile belong to that employer, and you create a new one for each company.
Before you start
- Your CV as a file, PDF or Word.
- Your work history and education with dates, in case you need to type them into the profile.
- An email address and a password for this employer.
- Answers to the eligibility questions the job may ask.
- Twenty to thirty minutes for the first application at a new employer, less after that.
Step 1: create an account
Press Apply, or Sign In at the top of the site, and choose to create an account. You will be asked for your email address, a password and a few required details. Some employers offer other ways in, such as signing in without a password or with a social account. Use the same email address you will use for everything else in your job search.
Step 2: the data privacy statement
Before the account is created, SuccessFactors asks you to accept the employer’s data privacy statement. You cannot continue without it, but it is worth a minute: it says what the employer keeps, how long it keeps it, and how to ask for your data to be deleted. That matters if you apply to many large employers, because each one keeps its own copy of your profile.
Step 3: your candidate profile
The candidate profile is the heart of a SuccessFactors application: contact details, work experience, education, and usually your CV upload. Some employers fill parts of it from your CV; others ask you to type it in. Either way, check every entry before you continue.
The profile stays saved with that employer. Apply for a second role there and most of it is already filled in, so it is worth getting right the first time, and worth updating when your situation changes.
Step 4: the job’s own questions
Each job can add its own questions: eligibility to work, availability, salary expectations, relevant qualifications, and sometimes written answers. We have guides to salary expectations and “Why do you want to work here?”.
Step 5: review and submit
SuccessFactors shows your application before you send it. Check your contact details, that your CV is attached, and every written answer, then submit. You should receive a confirmation by email. Signing back in to the same site shows your applications and their status.
When something goes wrong
- You cannot remember which email you used. Try the password reset with each address you use for job hunting. The site will only send a reset to an address that has an account.
- The page will not continue. Look for a required field marked in red, often in the profile section.
- Anything else. See our guide to applications that won’t submit.
How Draftloop helps on SuccessFactors
- It is ready as each page loads, because SuccessFactors is one of the hiring systems it supports. When a page adds new fields without reloading, it fills those too.
- It fills the profile and the job’s questions from your Draftloop profile, and never overwrites anything already in a field.
- It writes the open questions from your CV and the job posting, marked purple for you to read first.
- It never accepts anything for you. The data privacy statement, consent boxes, your password and the Submit button are always yours.