It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we first launched the WP Job Openings plugin. In that time, the plugin has helped tens of thousands of businesses and organizations create and manage career pages on their WordPress websites. We’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished, and we’re grateful to our amazing users for their support.

The beginning

It all began in 2016 when we started working on WordPress projects under the banner of Awsm Innovations. We soon found that all our clients needed a career page to display their openings and no simple plugins were available then. Custom-building career pages were draining our valuable time and resources. 

We decided to take matters into our own hands and develop an intuitive plugin that will help users create and manage job postings effortlessly eliminating the need for custom development. But due to time constraints, we were only able to work in our spare time and finally released the plugin in the Repository on August 12, 2018.

Our milestones

Our journey was amazing, and these are some of the major milestones we had.

1. 30k Active Installations

Celebrating 30K Active Installations 🎉

Here's our journey from 2016 👉 https://t.co/EOHgn8hLzy

To all 30,000 members of this AWSM family, thank you for being a part of our story. 🤗 Let's continue writing the chapters together❣️ #Celebration #RecruitmentPlugin #WordPress

— WP Job Openings – WordPress Plugin (@wpjobopenings) July 19, 2023

Just last month, we achieved this incredible milestone! Its true potential can be understood when you take these points into account. 

• We don’t have a Marketing team and thus the growth we had was purely organic and through word of mouth. 
• This plugin caters to a niche clientele and we cannot expect exponential growth.

2. Market leader in Recruitment & staffing technologies

Analyzing the recruitment and staffing technologies market share, popular technology profiler Wappalyzer, puts WP job Openings in #1 position on the percentage of websites that use a recruitment & staffing tool, followed by popular SAAS recruitment tools like Lever and Workable. 

3. Impressive 4.9 rating in Repository

WP Job Openings has been rated 4.9 with 117 Five star ratings and 30K+ active installations. It’s great to know that our plugin is out there helping so many people with their recruitment needs.

4. Powerful Pro version & Addons

We introduced the Pro version in 2019 for those who need more advanced features. As time passed, the requests from our clients for more features too increased. We saw no point in bloating the plugin with features that would be used only by some clients. So we introduced Addons to be used by those who need the feature. Today we have 4 addons:

• Job Alerts to automatically send daily email alerts to subscribers when new jobs are added to your website.
• User Access Control to manage user roles and restrict access for advanced WPJO users.
• Auto Delete Applications to auto-delete all applications and uploaded files after a certain time to comply with GDPR Policies.
• Docs Viewer to add a preview of the uploaded resume on the applicant detail page.

The Team 

Our plugin is headed by a team of enthusiastic WordPress contributors. Guiding the course of this venture is Aravind Ajith, supported by Vidya K V in customer service, Nithin John, Adhun Anand, and Sarath A R  as developers, Jomon Thomas Lobo as the Product Manager, and Vivek J K overseeing testing—a collective force of incredible individuals who breathe life into this endeavor.

Future Plans

We are committed to introducing new and better features to make your recruitment process smoother. Also we are in the process of rebranding and becoming your trusted partner in recruitment. We’ll keep you updated on the progress. Stay connected with us for updates on this exciting journey.

We are delighted to announce that our cutting-edge recruitment plugin has surpassed 30,000 active installations! This milestone showcases the trust and recognition we have gained from our valued users, as well as our commitment to revolutionizing the hiring process.

The Early Days

We started as Awsm Innovations in 2016 with a handful of projects. Soon we noticed a common need among the corporate sites we worked on—a robust and user-friendly career page, and the then-existing job plugins were not something easy to use or customize for clients. We resorted to custom create career pages and used a form plugin to create the application form. But it did not give a good user experience for the client. Custom-building career pages was also painful with complex coding and design work, consuming valuable time and resources.

Recognizing the widespread challenge faced by WordPress users, we set out to develop a plugin that would empower them to create and manage job postings effortlessly. Our goal was clear—to offer a user-friendly solution that simplified the hiring process and eliminated the need for custom development. 

But we had other projects to deliver and deadlines to meet and the plugin development took a backseat. So we started analyzing the available recruitment tools in our free time to find out what works best and what does not. We could only work on the plugin in our spare time and the progress was slow.

2018 – Launched in WP Repository 

We released the plugin in the Repository on August 12, 2018. The plugin was a result of hundreds of hours of research and design. The response we received from our early adopters was overwhelmingly positive, confirming that we were on the right track.

As time went on, we listened attentively to our users’ feedback and continuously improved the plugin. We introduced new features and functionalities, enhancing its capabilities and making it more versatile.

As the plugin was catering to a niche audience, the growth was mostly organic but we were soon able to surpass all other tools with roaring reviews. 

Current Status

Today, we are proud to announce that our recruitment plugin has surpassed the milestone of 30,000 active installations. Additionally, we have developed four valuable add-ons for the plugin, further expanding its capabilities. The plugin has received a staggering 115 five-star reviews in the WordPress Repository and has been featured in numerous listicles about job listing plugins.

Analyzing the recruitment and staffing technologies market share, popular technology profiler Wappalyzer, puts WP job Openings in #1 position on the percentage of websites that use a recruitment & staffing tool, followed by popular SAAS recruitment tools like Lever and Workable. 

Secret behind our achievement

Right from the beginning, we had a clear vision about this plugin and we have stuck to the initial plans we made. We can attribute the success of this plugin mainly to these factors:

Built by WordPress Core contributors

Our plugin is lovingly crafted by a team of WordPress core contributors who are the best in the industry. They bring unparalleled expertise and passion to the development process. You can only get the best plugin when it’s built by the best artisans. 

Reliable & unparalleled customer support

Our dedicated support team has received high praise from our users for their prompt and knowledgeable assistance. They always go the extra mile to ensure our customers’ satisfaction. Most of the reviews are due to their magic in charming the users. 

We had realized in the early days the drawbacks of chat and telephone support and made use of the ticketing system. Currently, we are using HelpScout to make things easier.  

Easy-peasy to use

We were adamant about our plugin having a user-friendly interface. Designed with simplicity in mind, even those with minimal coding knowledge can effortlessly set up and manage job postings on their WordPress websites. The plugin seamlessly integrates with the existing site infrastructure, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for our users. We don’t believe in torturing our users with long winding User Manuals or complicated settings. 

Best friend of recruiters

A recruiter should be able to focus on recruiting the best talent for his team and not spend time doing clerical work. We ensured that the plugin can be installed in under 60 seconds! This lets the recruiters quickly post the openings available and start the hiring process. From quick installation to comprehensive features like communication tracking, resume management, and applicant categorization, our plugin is designed to be a recruiter’s best friend.

Ease the job of developers

Our plugin is GDPR compliant and gets along with almost all the themes. It is also compatible with WPML and Polylang plugins. It has a powerful form builder and is flexible, scalable, and has hooks and filters, making it easy to modify and tweak to specific needs. Developers can play around to their heart’s content. 

Powerful addons

We actively listen to our users and are always ready to develop what they desire. But the downside is that too many features will weigh down the plugin. So instead of adding the requested features to the main plugin and bloating it, we launch addons. This approach allows us to maintain a lightweight core while providing specific functionalities to users with unique requirements.

Thank you!

We thank all our incredible users for this achievement. Your support, feedback, and loyalty have been invaluable, and we are committed to continually surpassing your expectations. Thank you for being a part of our journey! 

Today, we are excited to introduce Job Alerts for WP Job Openings, a highly anticipated addon that revolutionizes the way you connect with potential candidates. With this feature-rich plugin, you can effortlessly send daily email notifications to subscribers whenever new job openings are published on your WordPress website. Let’s explore how this add-on can enhance job seeker engagement and streamline the application process.

Why Job Alerts?

Our core philosophy is to keep things simple and that’s what we do when it comes to our products too. We have succeeded in keeping WP Job Openings as a simple light plugin. But some of our users have been approaching us for more features like the option to send alerts to subscribed job seekers when new jobs are posted. 

We felt this to be a good feature but then didn’t want to bloat our plugin as everyone may not need this feature and there’s no point in adding it to the main plugin. So we decided to introduce this addon – a win-win situation for all the concerned parties. 

What is Job Alerts Addon?

Job Alerts for WP Job Openings is an add-on plugin that enables you to send automated email notifications to subscribers when new jobs are published on your website. It makes the work of recruiters easier as it helps them to spread the word about the new jobs among the targeted crowd without any extra effort on their part. It helps job seekers eying jobs in a particular company to be in the loop too and they can apply for their dream job quickly. 

Job Alerts for WP Job Openings is the result of extensive development and valuable feedback from our user community. We understand the importance of providing job seekers with timely updates and personalized notifications to match their preferences. This addon is designed to meet these needs and take your recruitment efforts to new heights.

Features of the Job Alerts Addon

• Automatically sends daily email notifications for new job postings saving the recruiters’ time.
• Subscriber management with detailed job specification records and email logs, ensuring transparency and effective management.
• Customizable email template to match your brand.
• Subscription form with customizable placement options.
• Versatile placement options to display job alerts anywhere on your website.

Personalized Job Notifications

With Job Alerts, subscribers have the power to choose their preferred job specifications. Whether it’s a specific location, job type, department, or any other criteria, job seekers can customize their preferences during the subscription process. This ensures that they receive only relevant job notifications, eliminating the hassle of sifting through irrelevant openings. By providing personalized job alerts, you create a seamless user experience that saves time and increases job seeker satisfaction.

Flexible Subscription Form Placement

Our addon offers flexible options for placing the subscription form on your website. Once activated, a dedicated button is added to the job listing page, which opens a popup with the subscription form. You have the freedom to disable the button and place the form anywhere else on your website using the Job Alerts Gutenberg block or sidebar widgets. Additionally, the shortcode generator empowers you to generate and place the form exactly where you desire, providing maximum visibility and ease of access for job seekers.

Comprehensive Subscriber Management

We understand the importance of effectively managing your subscriber base. With Job Alerts, you gain access to a comprehensive list of subscribers and their chosen job specifications. This allows you to analyze user preferences, tailor your job offerings, and provide a personalized experience. The addon also maintains a log of all emails sent to each subscriber, ensuring transparency and efficient tracking.

Customizable Email Template

Maintaining your brand identity and delivering a consistent user experience is paramount. Job Alerts for WP Job Openings allows you to customize the job alert email templates directly from the plugin settings. This enables you to match your brand’s visual style, create engaging content, and establish a professional connection with your audience.

Why Use Job Alerts Addon?

We are sure this Addon will become the recruiters’ best friend as it will make their work easier. The alerts will notify the intended audience about the new openings available, enabling the right candidates to apply quickly and fill up the openings. The recruiters can focus on the main job while this Addon will take care of alerting the subscribers of new openings and maintains a comprehensive list of subscribers and their chosen job specifications, along with all emails sent to each subscriber.

Why should Career pages be graveyards visited by a few lonely souls when you can make them interactive and nurture a dedicated talent pool? No need for genius coding skills or a hefty bank balance. Just install Job Alerts Addon and get ready to welcome the best-fit resource to your organization. 

As with our other products, this one too provides innumerable customization options – job alert placement, email customization, subscriber management and more. 

Freelance platforms, educational institutions and niche job portals will definitely find this addon effective. 

Looking Forward

More amazing products and even more wonderful features are definitely on our cards. You can watch our exciting journey on Facebook and Twitter. You can join us by sharing your suggestions, feedback, and feature requests here.

Frustrated by not getting email notifications from WP Job Openings?

We understand how irritating it can be when you are unable to get/send email notifications. The recruiters may miss new applications, the candidates will be left in the dark without knowing anything about their applications – it will be a total mess. 

We have come across users with these issues in our Support channel and thought we will publish an article in detail so that it will help everyone. 

What causes Email notification issues?

There are several reasons behind this. Let’s look into them one by one and their solutions. 

1. Emails ending up in the Spam folder

Sometimes, WordPress will be sending emails but they may end up in the Spam folder. So before you proceed to do any corrective action, check your Spam folder and ensure that your emails are not there. 

If the emails are in the spam folder, it means your WordPress emails are working fine. Some email clients may categorize emails from WordPress as spam because they’re automated. 

Solution 

Encourage your users to whitelist your site’s email address so they can see your email in their inboxes. They just need to add your email as a contact, which tells mail servers to trust your site’s email.

Also ensure that you are using a professional email. It is better to avoid emails like sales@, contact@ to reduce the chances of being assumed as spam.

Also please check the below points specific to WP Job Openings.

1. If the ‘From’ address in the Notifications settings does not match the domain on the hosting account, it can cause issues with email delivery or the mail may be marked as spam.

2. Avoid using the same email addresses for the From and To fields. If not, the email will be automatically marked as spam.

2. Using the same email address in ‘From’ and ‘To’ fields

If you are using the same email address in both fields, you will be in trouble. Some mail clients will mark these emails as a spoof and won’t deliver them to you while some mail clients will mark this as spam and send it to your spam folder. 

This is not actually an issue with our plugin. This is a generic mail issue. 

Solution

Change either ‘From’ or ‘Reply-To’ address. If this doesn’t fix the issue, please check if mails are deliverable to “email ID” with Check & Log Email plugin as we mentioned above. 

3. ‘From’ address does not match the domain on the hosting account

The domain name on the hosting account should be the same as the ‘From’ address. Otherwise, you will get this notification from WP Job Openings:

“The provided ‘From’ email address does not belong to this site domain and may lead to issues in email delivery.”

Solution

Give email IDs that match the domain name you are using in the hosting account. 

4. Using the default PHP mail service

If you are using the default PHP mailer on your WordPress site, you may face issues as several web hosting companies do not have their servers adequately configured to send PHP emails.

How to test if the server is sending Emails?

To check, you can use the free Check & Log Email plugin. Once installed, go to Status and send a test email. You can use the standard headers or use custom headers. 

You will then see a notification. 

Check your inbox for the email. Check your Spam folder too.

Solution

You can use a dedicated plugin for handling the mail. There are plugins like  WP Mail SMTP by WPForms or Stop WP Emails Going to Spam if you want to use the default PHP mail service.

5. Incorrect ‘From’ address

Of course, your emails will not be delivered if the mail ID in the ‘From’ address is wrong. And while you are at it, also make sure the ‘Reply-To’ email ID is correct. 

Solution

Check if the mail ID you have given for the applicant and admin notifications is correct. If not, correct it from Settings>Notifications. 

6. Plugin Conflicts

You may miss email notifications when other third-party plugins conflict with the WP Job Openings plugin. We mostly see this with users having dedicated plugins for sending emails such as WP Mail SMTP and Mailpoet. 

WP Mail SMTP conflict

Email issues occur with this plugin usually because “Force From Email” option under General Settings is checked. Some users find it unable to change ‘From’ email ID. 

Solution

If you want to use the ‘From’ address from notification settings, just turn off “Force From Email” option.

MailPoet conflict

If you are using MailPoet Sending Service, you may find that attachments are no longer displayed and the emails are only sent to the CC address. This issue is even mentioned in this plugin’s documentation. 

Solution

Choose MailPoet > Settings > Send With > Other and configure a mail service with a plugin such as WP Mail SMTP, or you can use the default mail service provided by your hosting provider.

Wrapping up

We have shared some of the causes of email notifications issues usually faced by our users and their solutions. If you are facing any other issues, please let us know in the comments section below and we will get back to you. You can also connect with our support team for solutions to other issues.