What is an XML Feed?
Think of an XML feed as a specially formatted list of your job openings that your website or ATS (Applicant Tracking System) can generate. We can then "read" this list to automatically add new jobs to Scout and remove old or filled positions. This means you only have to manage your jobs in one place – your own system!
How Does it Work?
You provide us with a URL: You'll give us a single web address (URL) where your XML job feed is located. This feed should contain all your active job posts in one document, without pagination.
We regularly check your feed: Our system will periodically visit this URL to see if there are any new jobs to add or existing jobs that need to be removed.
Your jobs appear on Scout: We'll then automatically publish and manage your job listings on our site based on the information in your feed.
Please note: Our system supports adding new jobs and removing inactive ones based on your feed. We do not currently support updating job posts that are already published. If a job's details change, you would need to remove it from your feed (which will remove it from Scout) and then re-add it to your feed with the updated information. Or you can always manually update a job post directly on Scout.
What We Need From You: Your Job XML Feed URL
We will need the URL of your XML feed that contains all your job postings. We currently only support XML formats for your job feed. To get started, please contact hey@hound.vet to begin setting this up with us.
Key Requirements for Your XML Feed Structure
Your XML feed should contain all the essential information about each job post.
Here's a quick overview of what we look for:
Here's a quick overview of what we look for:
Job ID (or Reference Number): A unique identifier for each job. This helps us track and manage listings for adding and removing.
Job Title: The official title of the position.
Job Description: A detailed description of the role, responsibilities, and requirements.
Job Type: Type of job, full- or part-time.
Category: Position category (Veterinarian, Technician, Receptionist, etc.)
Salary: Offered pay.
Company (or Location) Name: Your practice or location name.
Application URL: A direct link where candidates can apply for the job on your website.
Any other fields we can use to fill in the job post on Hound
Key Takeaways
To get started, we need the following from you:
The URL of your XML jobs feed, which includes essential job information
We prefer the XML format following Indeed's XML feed, but we are flexible and can work with different XML structures
Contact hey@hound.vet to start the process
Please note our current limitations of what's supported:
Only XML formats are supported
Only publishing and deleting functions are supported; editing job posts must be done by logging into your account
For Developers: Understanding the XML Structure
We are flexible and can work with different XML structures.
Desired Schema (Recommended): Indeed's XML Feed We prefer and fully support the XML schema described in Indeed's job feed documentation. If you or your technical team are setting up this feed, please refer to the official Indeed documentation for detailed specifications on the required tags and their formats.
Link to Indeed Documentation: https://docs.indeed.com/indeed-apply/xml-feed
Using this format will allow for the quickest and most straightforward integration. This documentation provides a comprehensive guide on how to structure your XML file, including examples and explanations for each element (like jobtitle, company, category, description, url, referencenumber, etc).
Custom Schema Support: If your existing system generates an XML feed in a different structure, we can discuss implementing support for your custom schema. Please provide us with an example of your XML feed, and we will evaluate the effort required for mapping.
Next Steps
Once you have your XML feed URL ready and formatted, please provide it to us. We will then test the integration and let you know when your jobs are live on Hound!
We're excited to help you reach more qualified candidates through our platform. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at hey@hound.vet.
XML Feed FAQ
How often does Hound index the XML feed?
Hound refreshes the job data every 12 hours, starting from the time of the last request
Which metadata can I include in a feed?
The more data you include to XML, the better for us. We can use them to fill in as many fields as possible for the post.
How do I include an external application link in my jobs?
Just use
<url>element in XML to pass your Application URL.
How can I track applicants who applied through Hound?
You can add tracking UTM links at the end of your Application URL, which will be automatically added to the external application link field of your job post.