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We’re excited to introduce the new candidate pipeline! This updated experience offers a cleaner, faster interface that makes it easier to review candidates, understand where they are in your hiring process, and take the next action quickly. The new pipeline features simplified stage names, a modern column-based layout for in-progress candidates, and a convenient slide-out drawer so you can review candidate details without leaving the page.
In this article we will cover:
- Pipeline Structure Overview
- Applied Stage
- In Progress Stage
- Pre-Hire Stage
- Hired & Declined Stage
- Candidate Communication
- Job Management
- Video Library
- Related Topics
Pipeline Structure Overview
The new candidate pipeline brings a cleaner, more modern look and significantly improved performance. Based on customer feedback, we’ve addressed three core issues: the interface looked dated, page load times were slow, and there were too many places to navigate to get things done.
Updated Stage Names
One of the biggest changes is the simplification of stage names. The confusing “Applicants” and “Candidates” naming convention has been replaced. Now, everyone who applies is a candidate, and they move through four clear stages:
- Applied – Candidates have come in and are awaiting your review of their documents (formerly “Applicants”)
- In Progress – Candidates are actively moving through your hiring steps such as interviews, background checks, and assessments (formerly “Candidates”)
- Pre-Hire- Candidates who have successfully completed interviews and assessments and are in the final stages before an offer is made, including reference checks, background checks, and offer letter preparation.
- Hired – Candidates you’ve decided to bring on board, where you can sync to payroll or start onboarding
- Declined – Candidates you are not moving forward with, where you can manage disposition codes and rejection letters
The Candidate Drawer
Instead of navigating to a completely separate page to view a candidate’s details, clicking on a candidate’s name now opens a slide-out drawer. From this drawer you can:
- View all of the candidate’s documents (resume, application, survey responses, etc.)
- Review past applications
- Review messages and continue communication with the candidate
- See tags, comments, and recent activity
- Use the navigation arrows to quickly flip between candidates without closing the drawer
Applied Stage
The Applied stage has been redesigned to help you quickly understand who needs your attention. The previous layout showed star ratings, comments, tags, advance/decline buttons, and document statuses all on one screen for every candidate, which was overwhelming. The new design focuses on what matters most: who’s new, what documents are available, and what decision you need to make.
Key Features
- Candidate count: See how many candidates are in the Applied stage at a glance, right in the stage header.
- New badge: Candidates who haven’t been reviewed yet are marked with a “New” tag so you know exactly who needs attention first.
- Star: Flag standout candidates with a star.
- Document indicators: Quickly see which documents each candidate has submitted (resume, application, survey) and whether any are still pending.
- Pre-screen scores: If a candidate has a pre-screen score, it displays directly in the list. You can also sort by the highest pre-screen score.
- Filter options: Filter the list to show all candidates, only new candidates, or only those needing a decision (decline or advance to In Progress).
Reviewing and Taking Action on Candidates
To review a candidate’s documents, you can either click directly on a specific document or click on the candidate’s name to open the drawer. From the drawer, you can:
- Review all submitted documents
- Review messages with the candidate
- View past applications
- See tags and comments
- Decline the candidate with a disposition code and optional rejection email
- Advance the candidate to In Progress
- Navigate between candidates using the arrow buttons
In Progress Stage
The In Progress stage is the biggest change in the new pipeline. Previously, candidates had individual cards with all hiring steps listed, which made it hard to understand where each candidate stood and what action to take next. The new design uses a column view that makes it immediately clear where every candidate is in your hiring process.
Column View
- Not started: The candidate has been placed in a step but no action has been taken yet (e.g., background check not yet ordered). For interviews, this shows up as ‘Not Scheduled’.
- Pending Candidate Action: You’ve sent something to the candidate and are waiting
- Pending Completion: The step is waiting for a third party to complete (e.g. the candidate has consented to a background check and we’re waiting for the check to be completed). For interviews, this status shows up as ‘Scheduled at [date & time]’
- Awaiting a decision: The step is complete (e.g., interview scored) and the candidate is ready to be advanced or declined.
Taking Action from the Drawer
Clicking on a candidate in the In Progress stage opens the drawer directly to the relevant hiring step with the next action ready. For example:
- Scheduling an interview: Send a scheduling link, select a time to send, or manually add the interview.
- Ordering a background check: Click “Order,” select the package, and confirm. You’ll be returned to the drawer where you can track the order status and view the full report when complete.
- Sending an offer letter: Send directly from the drawer.
- Completing a checklist: Complete right in the drawer, just like today.
Drag and Drop
You can drag and drop candidates between hiring step columns to quickly move them through the process. This is especially useful if you prefer to keep things simple and want to manually track where candidates are without using integrated scheduling or ordering features. You can also complete a step at any time and work on multiple steps simultaneously.
Pre-Hire Stage
The Pre-Hire stage is an optional stage to host candidates who have completed interviews and assessments and are in the final stages before an offer is made, including reference checks, background checks, and offer letter preparation.
Adding Pre-Hire to Your Hiring Process
To add the Pre-hire stage to an existing job, select "Edit job" from the menu drop-down. To add the Pre-Hire stage to a role when opening it initially, skip to the next step.
Navigate to the "hiring steps" stage.
Select "Auto move active hiring steps" to automatically move applicable hiring steps into the stage.
You can also select "Add Another Hiring Step" and manually select which hiring steps you would like to be in the Pre-Hire stage. Press "Save & Exit" to save changes.
You will now see Pre-Hire as a stage from the Jobs page, as well as within the header of a specific job.
Once a candidate has applied to your role, you can select to move them to the "Pre-Hire" stage at any point in the hiring process from the stage overview page.
You can also select to move a candidate to Pre-Hire when viewing the candidate card.
Hired & Declined Stage
The Hired and Declined stages have been streamlined to focus on the actions that matter most at each stage, removing unnecessary clutter from the previous design.
Declined
The Declined tab now focuses on two key pieces of information: why the candidate was declined and whether they’ve received a rejection letter. This helps ensure every candidate gets a respectful experience.
- Disposition code: See the reason the candidate was declined at a glance.
- Rejection letter status: A clear indicator shows whether a rejection email has already been sent. If not, a quick-action button lets you send one immediately.
- Bulk actions: Send rejection emails to multiple declined candidates at once using the bulk action feature.
Hired
The Hired tab is simplified to focus on the key next steps after making a hire:
- Sync to payroll: Easily sync hired candidates to your payroll or HRIS system (e.g., ADP). Click the sync option to walk through the process, and the card will update to show sync status.
- Start onboarding: If you have onboarding enabled, a quick link takes you directly to the onboarding tab to get the process started.
- Hired date: View when the candidate was hired.
- Move back to In Progress: If needed, you can still move a hired candidate back to the In Progress stage.
Candidate Communication
You can email or text your candidate from any stage of the pipeline.
From the Applied stage, you can click on the candidate's name or select "Message" or the text/envelope icons.
This will open the Candidate Drawer. You will see the option to click on their email or phone number under the "Personal Info" section or select "New Message"
Clicking on either mode will open the communication form where you can toggle between Email and SMS, type a message, or select from templates available.
From the In Progress stage, you can select "Message" from the drop-down menu for a shortcut to send an email or text message.
Once in the Candidate Drawer, you can select phone or email again.
From any stage, you can toggle between messages, documents, and applications the candidate has submitted to your business.
Review messages sent to the candidate or filter by type and status.
Select a message to review its contents. Select "Send Message" to reply to that same message or select "Back to Messages" to go back to the list of all messages with the candidate.
Job Management
Managing job details is now easier without leaving the pipeline view. The job header displays key information at a glance, and management actions are accessible from a streamlined dropdown.
Job Header Information
The job header at the top of the pipeline displays:
- Job name and the ability to change status (internal or close the job, based on your permissions)
- Location and hiring manager
- Open date
- Sponsorship status: If your job is not sponsored, you’ll see an indicator with a link to the marketplace to sponsor it. If the job is sponsored, you’ll see which job boards it’s active on, and clicking will take you to job analytics to review your campaign.
Managing Job Details
From the job management dropdown, you can:
- View, edit, or share the job
- Click “Manage” to view all job details, description, and custom fields
- Access requisition approval information (if applicable)
- Add job comments and view comment history
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