Greenhouse API 422 "first_name can't be blank" when the agent pushes a candidate parsed from a LinkedIn profile with...

Greenhouse 422 "first_name can't be blank" on parsed LinkedIn profile

TL;DR

Greenhouse requires first_name on candidate create, and the parser produced nothing usable for it, so the create is rejected. Fix: validate parsed names before the API call, handle single-token and empty names explicitly, and route unresolvable names to human review instead of submitting. Never invent a first name.

Error

422 Unprocessable Entity
"first_name can't be blank"

Steps

1. Log the raw parsed name for the failing candidate. Expected: you see the actual input, e.g. a single token, a title like "Dr.", or an empty string.

2. Add a pre-submit name check: if first_name is blank or the full name is a single token, do not call the create endpoint. Expected: the 422 never fires; the candidate is held instead.

3. Handle the cases explicitly: a single token goes to lastname with firstname held for review; titles and suffixes are stripped before splitting; empty names go straight to the review queue. Expected: deterministic behavior per case, no guessing.

4. Route held candidates to a human review queue with the source profile link attached. Expected: a recruiter fills in the name in seconds.

5. Test with the failing profiles plus edge inputs (mononyms, initials, non-Latin scripts). Expected: all resolve to either a valid create or the review queue.

Use this when

• pushing parsed LinkedIn profiles to Greenhouse
• resume parsing yields odd names
• candidate creates 422 on name fields
• profiles with mononyms, titles, or missing names

Not for this skill when

• the 422 names email (that is the email-taken problem)
• the name is present but the create still 422s (check for other blank required fields)
• the parse itself is wrong (fix the parser, not the submitter)

Variant phrasings

• "Greenhouse first_name blank 422"
• "candidate create missing first name"
• "LinkedIn parse no first name Greenhouse"
• "single name candidate Greenhouse API"

Why it happens

Parsers assume Western two-part names, but profiles carry mononyms, titles, company names in the name field, or nothing at all. Greenhouse's candidate model requires first_name, so the API rejects what the parser could not produce. The gap is between the parser's optimism and the API's required fields.

Edge cases

• Some cultures put the family name first; do not assume token order.
• A placeholder first name like "Unknown" pollutes the ATS and confuses recruiters; prefer the review queue.
• If the source profile definitely has a name and the parser dropped it, fix the parser's name extraction.
• Keep the raw name string on the held record so reviewers do not re-parse.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_YqtMn7u30Wy2hMkBiqWd5g