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Connecting Microsoft Email or IMAP to FastHire

Rakesh · August 5, 2026 · 3 min read

Microsoft (Outlook/Exchange) and IMAP are two more email options alongside Gmail — connect whichever matches your actual mailbox so "Email message" and "Email follow-up" sequence steps, interview email reminders, and Inbox replies can really send instead of just simulating.

Connecting Microsoft

  1. Go to Settings → Connections → Email accounts.

  2. Select Connect Microsoft.

  3. You're redirected to a secure hosted login page (via Unipile, FastHire's connection provider) to sign in with your Microsoft/Outlook credentials — FastHire never sees or stores your password.

Connecting IMAP (any other provider)

Use this if your mailbox isn't Gmail or Microsoft — a company email hosted elsewhere, for example.

  1. Go to Settings → Connections → Email accounts.

  2. Select Connect IMAP / other.

  3. On the hosted connection page, enter your mail server details (host, port, encryption) along with your email credentials — check with your email provider or IT team for these if you don't already have them.

After connecting

As with any connection type, there can be a short delay before the Connections page shows Connected — it updates once FastHire receives confirmation in the background, not instantly on redirect.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need my IT team's help to connect IMAP?

Only if you don't already know your mail server's host, port, and encryption settings — your IT team or email provider's documentation will have these.

Can I connect Microsoft and IMAP at the same time?

Technically yes — Gmail, Microsoft, and IMAP are tracked as separate connections, so more than one can be active at once. But FastHire only uses one of them for actually sending, and doesn't let you choose which. There's currently no self-serve way to remove a connection either (only Connect/Reconnect), so it's best to only ever go through the connect flow for the one email account you actually want FastHire sending from.

What if my email provider isn't Gmail, Microsoft, or a generic IMAP-compatible service?

If your provider supports IMAP access (most business and personal email services do), use the IMAP / other option with its server settings.

Will email sequence steps stay "simulated" if I skip connecting an email account?

Yes — without one of Gmail, Microsoft, or IMAP connected, email steps are recorded as sent in FastHire without a real email actually going out.