Using the job pipeline

How to read, filter, review and move candidates on a job's Pipeline tab, and what stops a move.

Every job has a Pipeline tab that lists its applications by stage. You use it to review candidates, move them forward, and reject or withdraw them. This article covers the whole screen. For setting up the stages themselves, see Configuring pipeline stages.

Who sees the Pipeline tab

Admin and HR users see the Pipeline tab on every job. A Member sees it only on jobs where they are on the job team or are the hiring lead. Agency users do not get a Pipeline tab at all. They see a read-only list of their own submissions instead, with no stage names.

The tab does not appear until the job has finished setup.

List view and Kanban view

The tab opens in List view. Switch between views with the List and Kanban buttons at the top right. The view goes back to List each time you open the job.

List shows one row per candidate, grouped under a heading for each stage. Click a stage heading to collapse or expand it. Columns are Candidate, Applied, Days In Stage and Substage, plus Distance from Job when a distance has been calculated. A row of stage cards sits above the table. Click a card to show only that stage, and click it again to clear the filter. The card also expands to show how many candidates sit in each substage.
Kanban shows one column per stage, with a card for each candidate. Rejected and Withdrawn candidates have their own columns at the end.

The number beside each stage name counts submitted applications only. Incomplete applications are shown but not counted.

What a card or row shows

Each candidate shows their initials, name, email address, and any Disability Confident, Armed Forces or Care Leaver scheme icons. On a card, a small badge such as 4d shows the number of days since the application was submitted, and the same figure appears in Days In Stage in the list. Further badges appear when they apply:

The candidate's source.
The distance from the job, in miles.
Video completed or Awaiting response on a video interview stage.
Incomplete for an application the candidate has started but not submitted.
Withdrawn in the Withdrawn column, and the rejection reason in the Rejected column.
Candidate flags, which Admin and HR can see.

Screening, interview and offer stages also group candidates under a substage heading with a count. Screening stages use Unstarted, Partially Complete and Complete. Interview stages use Setup Needed, Pending Invite, Pending Booking, Booked and Cancelled. Offer stages use Unsent, Sent and Signed.

On a job with confidential shortlisting, candidates whose details are hidden from you show a generic name, a question mark for initials and Email hidden.

Search and filters

The search box (Search candidates...) matches on name and email address. Click Filters to open the filter bar. A ! on the button means a filter is active.

Source and Tag list the sources and tags that exist on this job's candidates.
From and To filter by the date the candidate applied.
Stage appears in List view only.
Sub-status appears when candidates on the job have a sub-status assigned.
Ready for review shows candidates who have completed a video interview that you have not yet reviewed. It only ever matches candidates sitting in a video interview stage.
View incomplete applications adds candidates who saved their application and have not submitted it. They appear dimmed, with an Incomplete badge.
View disqualified candidates is shown to Admin and HR only. It adds a Disqualified group containing candidates whose answers to a qualifying question disqualified them.

Click Clear Filters to reset everything. If nothing matches, the tab says No candidates match your search and offers a Clear search button. Changing any filter or the search clears your current selection.

Admin and HR can make the incomplete and disqualified tick boxes start switched on by using Pipeline View Defaults in their profile settings.

Opening a candidate

Click a candidate's name, or anywhere on their Kanban card, to open the review window. It shows the candidate's documents on the left and their details on the right. The counter beside the name (for example 3 / 20) shows where you are in the current filtered list. Use the previous and next arrows to work through the list without closing the window.

On the left, up to three collapsible sections appear, depending on what the candidate supplied: CV (open by default), Cover Letter and Application Responses. Files that cannot be previewed have a Download button.

On the right you will find the applied date, days in stage, application reference, source and distance, then contact details, current role, tags, scheme participation and LinkedIn link. Contact details show Details redacted when they are hidden from you. Tags can be added and removed here. The mail icon next to the email address sends an email to the candidate, and Recent communications lists what they have already received. View full profile opens the candidate's record.

On a job with confidential shortlisting, Admin and HR also see Reveal Identity or Hide Identity, with an Identity Hidden badge while the details are hidden. This control is not shown to an Admin or HR user who is also on that job's hiring team.

The buttons at the bottom of the window depend on the application:

A stage drop-down and a Move button. After a successful move the window shows the next candidate in the list, or closes if you were on the last one.
Reject and Withdraw. Rejecting asks for a reason from a list. Additional Details is optional, except when the reason is Other, where it is required.
Reactivate in place of Move, Reject and Withdraw when the candidate has been rejected. It returns them to the pipeline.
Mark as complete for an incomplete application. The window explains that the application stays hidden from the default view until you do this.

Moving candidates

There are three ways to move someone.

Drag and drop. Pick up the drag handle on a card or row and drop it on another stage. In Kanban, drop it on the column. In List view, drop it on a stage card above the table, or on the heading or any row of the target stage. Dropping somewhere that is not a stage shows Drop on a stage to move this candidate and moves nothing. In Kanban, dropping on the Rejected column opens the rejection window, and dropping on Withdrawn opens the withdrawal window.
The review window. Choose a stage in the drop-down and click Move.
Bulk move. Tick the boxes beside several candidates. In List view the box in the table header selects everyone currently shown. A bar appears with a stage drop-down and Move to Stage. Choose a stage, then click the button. Candidates already in that stage are skipped.

The same bar has Reject Selected, Withdraw Selected, Send Email, Send SMS (an add-on), Download documents and Clear. Admin and HR also get Reopen Form and Download documents (redacted). See Using bulk actions and tags for what those do.

What happens after a move

A message reads Candidate moved successfully, or {n} candidate(s) moved successfully for a bulk move. If the target stage has an automated stage email, the candidate is sent it, after any delay set on the stage. Dropping a candidate on the stage they are already in does nothing.

Moving into an interview stage can start scheduling. If the stage sends invites automatically and an open event with free slots exists, the candidate is invited and you see Scheduling invite sent to their name. If an invite is already pending, you are told so. If there is no open event with slots, a window titled Set up the interview event offers Go to Events. The candidate is still moved.

Moving an incomplete application does not complete it. You are warned and offered Mark as complete.

In these cases a warning appears with the success message. The move still goes through.

The candidate's right to work is not verified and they have gone into an Offer stage, where your organisation allows that with a warning.
On a forward move, the stage they left has an interview feedback pass score and the average score is below it.
On a forward move, the stage they left needs a minimum number of interview feedback responses and fewer have been submitted, for example Only 1 of 2 required interview feedback responses have been submitted.

When a move is blocked

A blocked single move shows a red message and the card returns to where it was. In a bulk move, candidates who are blocked are reported as {n} moved, {m} failed without the reasons. Open a failed candidate and move them on their own to see the reason.

Shortlisting review incomplete. Moving a candidate forward is refused until enough of the assigned reviewers have submitted their evaluation for the stage the candidate is leaving. By default every assigned reviewer is needed, unless the stage sets a lower minimum. The message names the checklist and the count, for example Shortlisting review is incomplete for: Essential Criteria (1/2).
Pass threshold not met. If the stage has a pass threshold and the candidate's evaluations fall below it, the message is Shortlisting Threshold Not Met. This only applies once at least one evaluation exists. See Shortlisting candidates and Shortlisting checklists.
Right to work not verified. When a candidate's right to work is not verified, moving them into an Offer stage is either refused or allowed with a warning. Which one applies depends on how your organisation is set up. When it is refused, the message is Right to work verification must be completed before progressing to the offer stage. Verify the candidate first. See Right to work and governance.
Stage not visible to you. You cannot move a candidate into or out of a stage that is hidden from your role. The message is You do not have visibility to the target stage or You do not have visibility to the source stage.
You are not permitted to move candidates. See the next section.

The two shortlisting checks apply to moves to a later stage only. Moving a candidate back is never blocked by them. The right to work check applies to any move into an Offer stage.

Who can move candidates, and who sees which stages

Admin and HR users can always move candidates. So can the job's recruiter. Hiring managers and interviewers on the job cannot, unless an Admin or HR user turns on Allow hiring managers and interviewers to move candidates under Candidate stage moves in Settings, Roles & Permissions, Pipeline permissions. That setting is off by default. A Member with no role on the job cannot move candidates.

Where you cannot move candidates, the drag handles are hidden and the Move and Move to Stage buttons are greyed out. Hovering over them shows Only admins, HR and this job's recruiter can move candidates between stages.

Each stage can also be limited to certain job roles. An Admin or HR user sets this in Settings, Pipeline, by opening a stage and using the Team Access tick boxes for recruiters, hiring managers and interviewers. A stage with none ticked is visible to everyone. Admin and HR always see every stage. Everyone else sees only the stages their role on the job is allowed to see. Hidden stages do not appear as columns, in the stage filter or in the move drop-downs, and candidates who were rejected or withdrawn from a hidden stage are hidden too. If a hiring manager is allowed to move candidates, the stage visibility rules still apply on top.