Qualified candidates are abandoning job applications across Europe after clicking links that lead nowhere. The error “keine karriere-subdomain gefunden” has become common enough that recruiters are losing applicants without knowing their hiring portals are offline.
The technical failure sits between companies using external recruitment platforms and the job seekers trying to reach them. While HR teams attribute declining applications to market conditions, the actual cause is simpler: their DNS records are broken.
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How Recruitment Subdomains Fail
Companies host job listings on separate addresses from their main websites. A business at company.com puts openings at jobs.company.com. This requires DNS configuration pointing the jobs subdomain to their applicant tracking system.
When those DNS records break, the portal goes dark. Candidates see timeout messages or blank screens instead of application forms.
Three technical failures cause most outages:
Misconfigured CNAME Records
Platforms like SAP SuccessFactors require exact CNAME entries pointing to their servers. According to SAP documentation, clients must route their subdomain to a specific jobs2web.com address. A single typo kills the connection. DNS changes also take 48 hours to propagate globally, creating temporary outages even when configured correctly.
Expired SSL Certificates
Browsers block sites handling personal data without valid HTTPS encryption. Companies need separate SSL certificates for job portals. A cert covering company.com won’t protect jobs.company.com. When certificates expire or cover the wrong domain, browsers refuse to load the page.
Platform Setup Errors
The Site URL field in ATS settings must match DNS records character-for-character. SAP’s Career Site Builder documentation warns that certain data centers cannot support root domains at all. Companies trying to host recruitment pages without proper subdomains face technical dead ends.
The Hidden Cost
Most HR departments never see the error. They log into applicant tracking systems through admin portals that bypass public-facing URLs. Application numbers drop. Teams assume fewer people are applying. Nobody checks whether the career page actually loads.
Search rankings collapse quickly. Google indexes broken pages and removes them from results. Job listings that previously appeared in searches for relevant positions disappear.
Job seekers move on fast. After hitting an error, most assume the posting is outdated or the position was filled. Few try alternate paths.
What Candidates Can Do
The same jobs usually appear on LinkedIn, Indeed, or StepStone. Companies post openings to multiple boards, providing backup routes when their main portal fails.
Searching “company name careers” in Google can surface working links that bypass broken subdomains. Company website footers often link to recruitment pages through different infrastructure that may still function.
Direct messaging recruiters through LinkedIn works but requires more effort than a standard application.
Fixing the Technical Side
Organizations should verify their recruitment portal loads from outside their network. Open an incognito window and visit the jobs URL. Test from mobile. Check from different locations. Internal teams often miss failures because they access the system directly.
DNS Verification
Domain registrars provide DNS management tools. The CNAME record for your recruitment subdomain must point to the exact address your ATS vendor specified. Character accuracy matters. One wrong letter breaks everything.
SSL Status
Check certificate expiration dates through your hiring platform’s admin panel. SAP places SSL management under Career Site Builder settings. Generate new certificate requests well before expiration. Verify the cert covers your specific subdomain.
Configuration Audit
The Site URL in platform settings must match your DNS setup exactly. No protocols (http://), no paths, no trailing characters. Just the subdomain.
DNS checker tools verify whether CNAME records have reached servers worldwide. Full propagation takes two days.
Prevention Through Monitoring
Uptime monitoring services check page accessibility continuously and alert teams when errors appear. SSL monitors track expiration dates and warn weeks ahead of time.
Document your DNS and certificate setup. When IT staff changes, written records prevent configuration loss. New administrators can maintain systems without reverse-engineering previous work.
Test configuration changes in staging before production deployment. DNS updates, certificate renewals, and platform migrations all carry risk.
The Disconnect
Companies need applicants. Job seekers want positions. A DNS misconfiguration or expired certificate shouldn’t block that connection.
The “keine karriere-subdomain gefunden” message appears in German, but organizations worldwide face the same technical gap. CNAME records must point correctly. SSL certificates must stay current. Platform configurations must align.
Until companies prioritize recruitment infrastructure, job seekers need backup strategies. Check multiple job boards. Search directly for company career pages. Contact recruiters when links fail. The positions exist. The path to apply just needs maintenance.
Technical details reference SAP SuccessFactors Career Site Builder and Oracle Taleo configuration documentation.
