3776902 - "You Are Trying to Import Data for a User Not Part of Your Target Population" When Importing Job Information for Alumni Users - Onboarding

When an administrator attempts to import Job Information data for an alumni user via Import Employee Data, the following error is returned:

Error: You are trying to import data for a user not part of your target population. Contact your administrator to proceed with the import.

The error occurs even when the administrator's permission role includes the alumni user type as the target population. The standard resolution documented in KBA 2434802 does not resolve the error when the target user is an alumni user.

• SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding
• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central 

1. Convert an employee to an alumni user through the Offboarding process.
2. Prepare an Employee Data import file with Job Information records for the alumni user.
3. Navigate to Admin Center > Import Employee Data.
4. Select Import Data and upload the file.
5. The import returns the error "You are trying to import data for a user not part of your target population."

Alumni users are of the External Alumni User type, which is distinct from the internal employee user type that the standard Employee Data import tool is designed for. The import tool's target population validation logic does not fully account for the External Alumni User type. This is a platform-level constraint specific to alumni users.

KBA 2434802 covers the same error message for standard internal employee imports, where the cause is that target population validation is enabled for the relevant entity under Employee Central Import Entities in the administrator's permission role. That configuration fix may not fully resolve the error when the target user is an External Alumni User, because the validation mechanism evaluates alumni users differently from internal employees.

This resolution has two stages. First, verify that the administrator's permission role is configured correctly for EC import entities per KBA 2434802. If the error persists after that verification, the External Alumni User type constraint described in the Cause section applies.

Stage 1: Verify import permission configuration

1. Navigate to Admin Center > Manage Permission Roles.
2. Open the permission role used by the administrator performing the import.
3. Click Permission.
4. Under Administrator Permissions, expand Employee Central Import Entities.
5. Locate Job Information and confirm that target population validation is disabled for that entity.
6. Save the permission role and retry the import.

Note: Starting from the 1H 2025 release, target population validation was extended to all HRIS import entities. If the tenant is on 1H 2025 or later, refer to KBA 2726519: How To Grant Permission to Employee Central HRIS Elements Import (Before and After 1H 2025 Release) for the complete post-release configuration steps. For the base configuration, refer to KBA 2434802: Employee Import Error: You are trying to import data for a user who is not part of your target population

After completing Stage 1, the import processes without the target population error for standard internal employee records. If the error persists specifically for alumni users after confirming that target population validation is disabled for Job Information, proceed to Stage 2.

Stage 2: External Alumni User type constraint

If the import continues to fail after Stage 1, the error is caused by the External Alumni User type constraint described in the Cause section. No further configuration change resolves this. Managing Job Information data for alumni users through the standard Employee Data import tool is not a fully supported path.

Note: Alumni users are designed to manage their own profile data through the Alumni Experience portal. The portlet-level permissions available to alumni users are governed by the alumni user schema, which is separate from the internal employee schema. For details on what alumni users can access and edit in their profile, refer to Role-Based Permissions for Former Employees as Alumni Users.

If the business requirement is to manage alumni Job Information through standard import tools, this must be submitted as a product enhancement request. Instructions are available in KBA 2090228: How to Submit Enhancement Ideas for SAP SuccessFactors Products.

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SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central all versions ; SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding all versions