AI Job Applicant Scoring in n8n: Airtable, Drive & OpenAI

Instantly score job applications with OpenAI inside n8n—then move candidates forward automatically

This n8n workflow captures job applications from an n8n form, stores CVs in Google Drive and details in Airtable, uses OpenAI to score CV fit, and automatically routes candidates into Interviewing or No hire. For shortlisted candidates, it generates interview questions, collects questionnaire responses, emails personalized follow-ups, and books a 30-minute phone screen in Google Calendar.

What this workflow does

• Collect applications: Receives candidate details and an uploaded PDF CV via an n8n form submission.
• Store CVs and records: Uploads the PDF to Google Drive, creates a share link, and creates an applicant record in Airtable.
• Extract and score CV fit: Downloads the CV from Google Drive, extracts the PDF text, then uses OpenAI (with an Airtable lookup for the position description) to produce a job-description fit score and a short reason.
• Stage routing: Updates Airtable with the score; if the score is ≥ 0.7, sets stage to Interviewing, otherwise sets stage to No hire.
• Generate interview questions: For shortlisted candidates, uses OpenAI (with Airtable job description and candidate context) to generate five interview questions and presents them via a second n8n form.
• Capture answers and follow up: Saves questionnaire responses back to Airtable, then drafts a personalized follow-up email using OpenAI and sends it via SMTP.
• Book the phone interview: Uses OpenAI with a Google Calendar tool to schedule a 30-minute phone interview for the next day, writes the meeting time to Airtable, and stores phone-screening questions.

Use cases

• Automating screening for SaaS recruiting workflows using Airtable + Google Drive + OpenAI
• Reducing manual triage by automatically scoring CVs against a role description
• Shortlisting candidates, sending tailored emails, and booking phone screens without spreadsheets

Technical details

• n8n nodes: if, set, form, airtable, email send, sticky note
• Integrations: Google Drive (CV storage), Airtable (position + applicant records), OpenAI (scoring + questions + email drafting), Google Calendar (30-minute scheduling), SMTP (email delivery)