Why Recruiters Can’t Drag Attachments into Bullhorn Anymore (And What to Do About It)

If your recruitment team has recently been frustrated by the sudden inability to drag email attachments directly into Bullhorn from Outlook, you're not alone. And no. It's not a Bullhorn bug or a system-wide glitch. It's a change in how Microsoft Outlook works, and it’s thrown a wrench into one of the simplest, most relied-upon recruiter workflows.

At RE:STACK, we work closely with recruitment teams to automate and streamline processes inside Bullhorn. So when a common productivity feature disappears, we pay attention.

To explain what’s going on, we spoke with Ben Fielding from Quinset, a technical consultant specialising in email and integrations. He’s been helping clients navigate exactly this kind of Outlook-CRM mismatch.

“This is one of those changes that hits recruiters right where it hurts,” says Ben. “Dragging a CV straight from an Outlook email into Bullhorn used to be second nature. With New Outlook, that workflow just… vanishes.”

What Changed?

The issue lies in the shift from Classic Outlook to what Microsoft calls New Outlook. A completely rebuilt application that trades flexibility for consistency and security.

“New Outlook is basically Outlook on the Web dressed up like a desktop app,” Ben explains. “It doesn't interact with your operating system the same way. That includes file drag-and-drop behaviours that recruiters have depended on for years.”

Here’s what that means in plain terms:

• In Classic Outlook, dragging an attachment created a temporary file on your system, which the browser (and Bullhorn) could recognise and upload

• In New Outlook, attachments are handled in a sandboxed environment, meaning they don’t exist in a way your browser (or Bullhorn) can see when you try to drag them

Microsoft’s goal is tighter cloud integration and platform consistency across Windows, macOS, and the web. But for Bullhorn users? That means a core workflow is now broken.

So What Can You Do?

Recruiters are nothing if not resourceful and - luckily - there are still a few reliable ways to get email attachments into Bullhorn.

1. Download First, Then Upload

Right-click on the attachment in New Outlook, save it locally, then upload it through Bullhorn’s web interface. A few extra clicks, but it works.

2. Forward to Bullhorn

If you’ve set up Bullhorn’s email parsing, forwarding the original email (attachments and all) to your team’s Bullhorn email address will log it automatically.

3. Stick with Classic Outlook (While You Still Can)

“Many of our clients are keeping Classic Outlook around for exactly this reason,” Ben notes. “It supports workflows that New Outlook just doesn’t. At least, not yet.”

4. Use File Explorer or Finder

Once the file is saved to your system, you can drag it into Bullhorn from your file manager like usual.

Looking Ahead

At RE:STACK, we’re always helping teams adapt to changes like this. Whether it’s rebuilding automations or rethinking workflows that depend on third-party tools like Outlook.

And as Ben puts it:

“Microsoft isn’t rolling this back. It’s not a bug. It’s a design decision. The key is not waiting around for a fix, but finding a new way forward.”

Need help adjusting your Bullhorn processes or automation to keep pace with these kinds of changes? Let’s talk.