Email Queue

The Email Queue manages outgoing messages created by Kraken Careers. It shows emails waiting to be sent, messages currently being processed, and emails that need attention after failed attempts.

To open the queue, go to Tools → Careers Email Queue.

The queue includes:

• Application confirmations and new-candidate notifications
• Reviewer assignment, removal, and activity notifications
• Interview invitations, reminders, and meeting information
• Reference requests, reminders, and completed-reference notifications
• Evaluations, offers, hired messages, rejections, and communication replies
• Job closed and expired notifications

Access Permissions

The Email Queue requires the WordPress manage_options permission, which is normally available to WordPress Administrators.

Access to Careers settings alone does not grant access to the Email Queue.

How the Queue Works

When Kraken Careers creates an outgoing email, it saves the message in the queue for processing.

During normal processing:

1. The queue selects the oldest eligible pending message.
2. Kraken Careers prepares the email and asks WordPress to send it.
3. A successful send removes the message from the queue.
4. An unsuccessful attempt keeps the message available for retry.

Messages waiting for a later retry do not prevent other eligible messages from being processed.

Automatic Processing

WordPress Cron is scheduled to check the queue every minute. Each normal processing run attempts one eligible message. A 30-second cooldown between successful normal sends limits repeated processing across requests.

The one-minute schedule is not a guarantee that every message will be sent within one minute. Messages may wait behind other emails or until their next retry time.

WordPress Cron normally runs in response to website requests. Low traffic or a disabled scheduled-task system can delay processing. Ask your website administrator or hosting provider to check scheduled tasks if emails remain pending unexpectedly.

Understanding the Queue Screen

The screen shows the total number of queue records, the Last send time, the Send queued emails now button, and the queued messages.

The total includes Pending, Sending, and Failed records.

Messages appear in pages of up to 50 records. Use the page controls below the list to review additional messages.

Each row includes:

• Queued At: When the message was added, displayed using the WordPress site’s date and time settings.
• Recipient: The primary recipient address or addresses. BCC and Reply-To addresses are not shown here.
• Subject: The email subject line.
• Source: The email template filename, which helps identify the message type.
• Status: Whether the message is Pending, Sending, or Failed. Available failure details appear below the status.
• Attempts: The recorded unsuccessful sending attempts.
• Next Attempt: When the message becomes eligible for processing again.
• Actions: The available Retry or Delete controls.

Older or incomplete records may show Unknown, (Not set), or (No subject) where information is unavailable.

Email Statuses

Pending

The message is waiting for its first attempt or a scheduled retry.

Check Next Attempt to see when it becomes eligible. The actual attempt may occur later, depending on scheduled processing and other queued messages.

Sending

A queue worker is currently processing the message.

The Actions column displays Worker active while processing is underway. Retry and Delete controls are not shown during this status.

Failed

The message could not be sent after three unsuccessful attempts.

It remains in the queue with the latest available failure reason. Next Attempt displays Manual retry required.

Correct the underlying problem before retrying.

Automatic Retries

Kraken Careers allows three total automatic attempts for an email:

1. The initial attempt.
2. A retry after a five-minute delay if the first attempt fails.
3. A retry after a 30-minute delay if the second attempt fails.

If the third attempt fails, the message receives Failed status and automatic attempts stop.

These delays determine when the message becomes eligible again. WordPress Cron and the remaining queue can affect the actual sending time.

Failed messages are removed by daily cleanup once their last attempt is more than 90 days old.

Retry an Email

Use Retry to return a pending or failed message to the queue for another attempt.

1. Review the recipient, subject, and failure details.
2. Correct any email configuration problem.
3. Select Retry beside the message.
4. Confirm that its status returns to Pending.

Retry resets the attempt count and clears the previous failure details. The message becomes eligible for processing immediately, but selecting Retry does not itself send it.

Allow automatic processing to continue, or use Send queued emails now.

Delete a Queued Email

Use Delete when a queued message should no longer be sent.

1. Find the message.
2. Check its recipient and subject.
3. Select Delete.

Deleting removes that email from the queue. It does not delete the candidate record or recall an email already sent.

The queue does not provide an undo control. If a replacement is needed, create it through the relevant candidate or notification workflow.

Send Queued Emails Now

Select Send queued emails now to process a batch without waiting for the next scheduled run.

1. Go to Tools → Careers Email Queue.
2. Review the messages and any failure details.
3. Select Send queued emails now.
4. Wait for the page to reload.
5. Review the confirmation notice and remaining records.

Each click attempts up to 25 emails. It does not necessarily empty the queue.

Manual processing bypasses the normal cooldown and retry waiting times. It can include failed messages as well as pending messages, so correct known mail problems before using it.

The confirmation notice counts successful sends reported by WordPress, rather than every attempted message.

Last Send and Delivery Confirmation

Last send records the most recent successful queue send. If none has been recorded, the screen displays Last send: not yet recorded.

A successful send means WordPress reported that it handed the email to the configured mail system. It does not confirm that the message reached the recipient’s inbox.

The queue does not provide a sent-email archive, delivery receipts, bounce tracking, or open and click reports. Check your mail provider’s logs when you need delivery information.

Email Content and Attachments

The queue screen does not let you edit recipients, subjects, messages, or attachments. It also does not provide email previews.

Use the preview controls in the candidate’s communication composer before sending. For an incorrect queued message, delete it and create a corrected replacement through the relevant workflow.

Manage notification sender details under Email settings and default subjects and messages under Templates.

Attachments must remain available while their emails are waiting. Avoid moving or deleting those files before processing finishes.

Troubleshooting

Messages Remain Pending

Check:

• The message’s Next Attempt time
• Whether older messages are still waiting
• Whether WordPress scheduled tasks are running
• Any error notice displayed above the queue

For an urgent batch, use Send queued emails now after reviewing the messages.

A Message Has Failed

Read the failure details beneath its status. Check the recipient, sender settings, mail-service connection, and provider limits.

After correcting the problem, select Retry.

The Queue Is Empty but the Email Was Not Received

Check the recipient address, spam or junk folder, and your mail provider’s delivery logs.

A message leaving the queue does not prove inbox delivery. Messages can also leave the queue through manual deletion or cleanup of old failed records.

The Queue Keeps Growing

Check scheduled processing and mail-service errors. Normal processing handles one eligible email per run, so a large volume can create a backlog.

If the queue reaches its 10,000-message limit, it cannot accept additional messages. Resolve the sending problem and process or delete existing records before trying the affected workflow again.

A Message Remains on Sending

Refresh the page after allowing processing to finish.

Interrupted processing becomes eligible for recovery after ten minutes, when another queue-processing run occurs. If messages repeatedly remain on Sending, ask your website administrator to investigate server interruptions.

The Email Queue Page Is Missing

Confirm that Kraken Careers is active and that you are signed in with a WordPress Administrator account or another account with the required manage_options permission.

The page is under Tools → Careers Email Queue, rather than the Careers settings menu.