If you hire across borders, candidates want to read your jobs in their own language. With multiple languages turned on, each job can have its own translations — candidates can switch between them on your careers site and apply in the language they prefer.
You can type translations yourself or let AI draft them for you, one language at a time. This article covers both, plus how the primary language works.
Note: Multiple languages are available on the Advance plan. To turn them on for your company, you need the Manage company permission. To translate a job, you need permission to manage jobs.
Before you start: Turn on multiple languages for your company
Before you can translate any job, choose which languages your company uses.
Go to Settings > Company settings > Languages.
Turn on Enable multiple languages.
Turn on each language you want to offer on your careers site and in your jobs.
To choose which language new jobs start in, click Set as default next to it.
Tip: Don't see the language you need? Click Add custom translation to add your own.
How the primary language works
Every job has one primary language. It does two things:
Job board promotion — your job is posted to job boards in its primary language.
Fallback on your careers site — if a field hasn't been translated yet, candidates see it in the primary language instead.
When you create a blank job, the Primary language field is filled in with your company's default language. Change it there if this job should start in another language.
Change a job's primary language
Go to Jobs, find the job, and click Edit.
Click Manage languages at the top right.
Next to the language you want, click Set as primary.
Click Yes, set language to confirm.
Note: You can only set a language as primary once every field in that job is translated into it. Until then, Set as primary is unavailable and shows Offer is not fully translated.
Note: You can't turn off a job's primary language. To remove it, set a different language as primary first.
Translate a job manually
Type the translations yourself if you want full control over the wording.
Go to Jobs, find the job you want to translate, and click Edit.
Click Manage languages at the top right.
Turn on the languages you want for this job, then click Continue.
Use the language switcher at the top left of the editor to move to the language you want to translate.
Fill in each field in that language.
Note: Fields that still need a translation have an orange border. The circle next to each language fills as you go — point to it to see how many fields are translated. When the circle turns green, that language is complete.
Click Publish changes when you're done. If the job isn't published yet, click Save changes.
You can translate on the Job details, Application, and Social sharing tabs. That covers:
Job title, description, requirements, and job highlight
Custom fields shown on your careers site
Screening questions and their answer options
The preferred location question
The auto-confirmation email
The title, description, and image used when the job is shared
Note: Location names aren't translated in the job editor. Translate them in your location settings instead.
Translate a job with AI
Let AI draft the translations, then review them before candidates see them. AI only fills in fields that aren't translated yet, so it won't overwrite anything you've already written.
Start from Manage languages
Use this when you're adding a new language to the job.
Go to Jobs, find the job you want to translate, and click Edit.
Click Manage languages at the top right.
Turn on the languages you want to add.
Select I want to use AI to translate this job. I will add guidelines next.
Click Continue.
Start from the Translate button
Use this when the languages are already turned on for the job.
Go to Jobs, find the job you want to translate, and click Edit.
Click Translate at the top right, next to Manage languages.
Note: When every language is fully translated, the button reads Content already generated and is unavailable.
Review and insert the translation
AI works through your languages one at a time. For each one:
Wait for the translation to appear. AI starts right away, using the default guidelines in the Guidelines for translation box.
Check the translation, section by section.
Not quite right? Edit the guidelines and click Improve to generate a new version. See the tips below.
Click Insert and go to [ language ] to save this translation and move to the next language. On the last language, click Insert and finish.
To leave a language for later, click Skip.
Important: Clicking Insert saves the translation to the job straight away. If the job is published, candidates can see the translation on your careers site right away, so review it before you insert.
Tip: AI is a fast first draft, not a final one. Open the job in each language afterward and read it through, especially job titles and industry terms.
Write good translation guidelines
The default guidelines ask AI for a simple, short translation. Tailor them to your job and your audience for better results:
Be clear and specific. If your job uses industry terms, say how to handle them. For example: "Keep technical terms in English."
Set the tone. Match your company's voice. For example: "Use a professional but friendly tone suitable for corporate hiring."
Name the region. Some words mean different things in different countries. For example: "Use European Spanish, not Latin American Spanish."
Keep it simple. Short, direct instructions work best.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which languages can I use?
Which languages can I use?
Recruitee includes 17 languages: English, Dutch, German, French, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Latvian, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, and Romanian. To use another language, add it as a custom translation in Settings > Company settings > Languages.
What happens to my translations if I turn a language off for a job?
What happens to my translations if I turn a language off for a job?
They're kept. Turn the language back on and your translations are still there.
Will AI overwrite translations I've already written?
Will AI overwrite translations I've already written?
No. AI only translates the fields that are still empty in that language.
Why can't I see the AI option or the Translate button?
Why can't I see the AI option or the Translate button?
AI translation may be turned off for your company. Ask your admin to check.
How do candidates switch languages?
How do candidates switch languages?
On your careers site, candidates can switch the site language from the navigation. Each job page also shows links to the other languages the job is available in.