A Glossary of Key Make.com Terms for HR & Recruiting Professionals
In the rapidly evolving landscape of HR and recruiting, leveraging automation is no longer a luxury but a necessity for strategic talent acquisition and management. Make.com stands out as a powerful no-code/low-code platform, enabling HR professionals to automate complex workflows without deep technical expertise. To truly harness its potential, understanding the core terminology is paramount. This glossary demystifies the essential Make.com concepts, illustrating their practical application in streamlining HR operations, enhancing candidate experiences, and empowering your team to focus on high-value, human-centric tasks. Dive in to equip yourself with the knowledge to transform your HR processes.
Scenario
A Scenario in Make.com is the foundational element of any automation, representing an entire workflow or process you want to automate. It’s a canvas where you connect various apps and define the sequence of operations. For HR professionals, a Scenario might involve automating candidate onboarding, from sending welcome emails and collecting paperwork to setting up HRIS profiles. Another example could be a Scenario that triggers when a new applicant enters your ATS, automatically parsing their resume, performing an initial screening based on keywords, and then adding them to a segmented communication funnel in your CRM. Scenarios are built visually, allowing HR teams to design intricate automations without writing a single line of code, significantly reducing manual administrative burdens.
Module
A Module is a single block or step within a Make.com Scenario, representing a specific action or interaction with an app or service. Think of it as a verb in your automation sentence. Each Module performs a distinct function, such as “Send an Email” (Gmail module), “Create a Row” (Google Sheets module), “Add a Contact” (CRM module), or “Search Applicants” (ATS module). For HR, Modules are the building blocks that allow you to string together a series of actions, such as a Module to “Watch New Applicants” in your ATS, followed by a Module to “Extract Text” from their resume using an AI service, and then a Module to “Update Applicant Status” in your system based on the AI’s output. Selecting the right sequence of Modules is key to designing an efficient and effective HR automation workflow.
Connection
A Connection in Make.com is the authenticated link between your Make.com account and a specific third-party application or service, such as your Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Human Resources Information System (HRIS), CRM, or email provider. When you set up a Connection, you grant Make.com permission to access and interact with that service on your behalf, typically using an API key or OAuth authentication. For HR professionals, establishing secure Connections to critical platforms like Greenhouse, Workday, BambooHR, or HubSpot is essential to enable data flow and automation across your entire tech stack. Without a valid Connection, Make.com cannot perform actions within that app, making it a critical first step in integrating your HR tools and building comprehensive automation.
Webhook
A Webhook acts as a real-time trigger for a Make.com Scenario, listening for specific events in an external application and instantly initiating an automation when that event occurs. Instead of Make.com constantly checking an app for changes (polling), the app itself “pushes” data to Make.com when something happens. In HR, Webhooks are incredibly powerful for instant reactions. For instance, you can configure a Webhook to trigger a Scenario immediately when a new candidate applies to a job opening in your ATS, when a form submission occurs on your careers page, or when an interview is scheduled in a calendar app. This real-time capability means HR workflows can be proactive and highly responsive, eliminating delays associated with manual monitoring or scheduled checks, and ensuring candidates receive timely communications or actions are taken instantly.
Iterator
An Iterator is a special Make.com Module designed to process individual items within an array (a list of data). When a Module outputs a bundle containing an array of items (e.g., a list of new applicants, multiple email attachments, or several line items from an invoice), the Iterator takes each item from that array and processes it as a separate bundle. For HR, this is crucial when dealing with bulk data. Imagine receiving an email with multiple resume attachments, or an ATS export listing several candidates. An Iterator can be used to take each resume, or each candidate’s data, and feed it into subsequent Modules one by one. This allows you to perform individual actions for each item, like parsing each resume separately or sending a personalized email to each candidate, rather than handling the entire list as a single block of data.
Aggregator
An Aggregator Module in Make.com performs the opposite function of an Iterator: it collects and combines multiple bundles of data into a single, consolidated bundle or an array. After an Iterator has processed individual items, or when you have separate data points that need to be grouped, an Aggregator can bring them back together. For HR, this is useful in various reporting and document generation scenarios. For example, after individually processing interview feedback from multiple panelists (each feedback form being a separate bundle), an Aggregator can combine all that feedback into a single summary report for a hiring manager. Another use might be collecting details from several candidate interactions (emails, notes, assessments) and compiling them into a comprehensive candidate profile document. Aggregators ensure that fragmented data can be efficiently collected and presented in a coherent format.
Router
A Router is a Make.com tool that allows a Scenario to branch into multiple paths, directing bundles of data down different routes based on specified conditions. It introduces conditional logic to your workflows, enabling dynamic decision-making within your automation. For HR professionals, Routers are invaluable for creating sophisticated, adaptable processes. For example, a Router could be used to direct new applicants down different onboarding paths: one path for full-time employees, another for contractors, and a third for interns, each with its own set of automated tasks. Or, it might send candidates who meet specific criteria (e.g., specific skills, years of experience) to an accelerated interview process, while others go through a standard screening. Routers ensure that your HR automations are flexible enough to handle diverse scenarios and requirements.
Data Store
A Data Store in Make.com provides persistent storage within the platform itself, allowing you to save and retrieve data that can be accessed across different Scenarios or even within the same Scenario over time. Unlike temporary variables that exist only for the duration of a single Scenario run, Data Stores retain information. For HR, this can be incredibly useful for maintaining lists, counters, or specific configurations. For instance, you could use a Data Store to keep a running tally of open requisitions, store a list of frequently asked interview questions, or temporarily hold candidate information that needs to be accessed by a subsequent, separate automation days later. This eliminates the need for external databases for simple storage needs, making your Make.com automations more self-contained and efficient.
Array
In Make.com, an Array is a fundamental data structure representing an ordered list or collection of items. Each item within an array can be a simple value (like text or numbers) or a more complex data structure (like an object). When Modules process data, they often output information in Arrays, especially when dealing with multiple records or entries. For HR, understanding Arrays is crucial because many of your systems will exchange data in this format. For instance, an ATS module might output an Array of applicant profiles for a specific job, or an email module might output an Array of attachments. Learning to work with Arrays, often in conjunction with Iterators and Aggregators, allows you to effectively process multiple candidates, documents, or data points within your automation workflows, ensuring no critical information is overlooked.
Object
An Object in Make.com (and in programming generally) is a data structure that represents a collection of key-value pairs. Each “key” is a unique identifier (like a field name), and its corresponding “value” is the data associated with that key. Unlike Arrays, which are ordered lists, Objects are typically used to represent a single entity with multiple attributes. For HR, candidate profiles, job descriptions, employee records, or interview schedules are often represented as Objects. For example, a candidate Object might have keys like “firstName,” “lastName,” “email,” “experienceYears,” and “status,” each with its respective value. Modules frequently output data as Objects, making it easy to access specific pieces of information (e.g., the candidate’s email) by referencing its key. Manipulating Objects is central to mapping data between different HR systems efficiently.
Operation
An Operation in Make.com refers to a single instance of a Module’s execution. Every time a Module successfully runs and processes a bundle of data, it consumes one Operation. Scenarios are billed based on the number of Operations they consume, making it an important metric for understanding usage and cost. For HR teams designing automations, being mindful of Operations means optimizing workflows to be as efficient as possible. For instance, instead of fetching an entire list of candidates and then filtering them, it might be more efficient to use a Module that allows for pre-filtering at the source if available, reducing the number of bundles processed and thus the Operations consumed. Understanding Operations helps HR professionals design cost-effective and streamlined automations that deliver maximum value without unnecessary resource usage.
Filter
A Filter in Make.com is a conditional gate within a Scenario that allows a bundle of data to proceed only if it meets specific criteria. If the conditions defined in the Filter are not met, the bundle is stopped, preventing subsequent Modules from executing. This is a powerful tool for controlling the flow of data and ensuring that actions are only taken when appropriate. For HR, Filters are essential for precision and compliance. You might use a Filter to only send an automated email to candidates who have reached a “Qualified” status, or only trigger an offer letter process if a background check Module returns a “Pass” result. Filters ensure that your HR automations are intelligent and responsive to specific data points, preventing unwanted actions and maintaining data integrity throughout your recruitment and HR processes.
Schedule
The Schedule setting in Make.com determines when and how frequently a Scenario is automatically triggered to run. This is crucial for automations that need to execute at regular intervals rather than being triggered by a real-time event like a Webhook. For HR, Schedules are incredibly versatile. You could set a Scenario to run daily to generate a report on new applicants, weekly to send follow-up emails to passive candidates in your talent pool, or monthly to audit data consistency between your HRIS and payroll system. Schedules can be configured with great granularity, from every few minutes to specific days of the week or month. This allows HR professionals to automate routine, time-sensitive tasks with confidence, ensuring they occur reliably and consistently without manual intervention.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. In essence, it’s a messenger that takes requests from one application and tells another application what to do, then returns the response. While you don’t directly write API code in Make.com, the platform uses APIs extensively to connect with your various HR tools (ATS, HRIS, CRM, etc.). Every time you use a Make.com Module to “Create a Candidate” in Greenhouse or “Update Employee Status” in BambooHR, Make.com is making calls to that application’s API behind the scenes. Understanding the concept of an API helps HR professionals grasp how Make.com seamlessly integrates their tech stack, enabling fluid data exchange and powerful cross-platform automation.
Error Handling
Error Handling in Make.com refers to the strategies and features within a Scenario designed to manage unexpected issues, failures, or exceptions that might occur during an automation’s execution. This includes mechanisms like “fallback routes,” “resume from error,” and “rollback.” For HR professionals, robust error handling is critical because even minor disruptions can have significant impacts, such as a candidate not receiving a crucial email or a new hire’s data failing to sync to the HRIS. Implementing error handling ensures that if an external system is temporarily down, an invalid email address is encountered, or an API call fails, your automation can gracefully recover, notify the right people, or attempt alternative actions, preventing silent failures and maintaining the integrity and reliability of your HR processes.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Make.com API Integrations: Unleashing Hyper-Automation for Strategic HR & Recruiting
