Master Your Hiring Pipeline
A well-designed pipeline turns the chaos of recruitment into a predictable, manageable process. Each stage has a clear purpose, every candidate's status is visible, and your team knows exactly what needs to happen next.
Key capabilities
Visual Kanban Board
See your entire pipeline at a glance with Draft's drag-and-drop kanban view. Move candidates between stages, identify bottlenecks, and maintain flow without switching between screens.
Custom Pipeline Stages
Design stages that match your actual process. Whether you have three stages or ten, Draft adapts to your workflow rather than forcing you into a template.
Stage-Level Automation
Trigger emails, Slack notifications, and task assignments when candidates enter or leave a stage. Automation ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Pipeline Analytics
Track conversion rates, time-in-stage, and throughput per stage. Identify where candidates stall and where the process moves efficiently.
Bulk Pipeline Operations
Advance, reject, or tag groups of candidates with bulk actions. High-volume hiring becomes manageable when you can operate on batches instead of individuals.
Designing Pipeline Stages
Every stage should represent a clear decision point. Applied, Screened, Interviewed, Offered, and Hired is a classic structure. Avoid creating stages for status tracking alone (like 'Awaiting Review') because they become holding pens that slow velocity.
For technical roles, add stages for specific evaluation steps like Technical Assessment or Take-Home Review. For executive hiring, you might include Board Interview or Reference Check. The key is that each stage ends with a deliberate decision to advance or reject.
Managing Pipeline Velocity
Pipeline velocity measures how quickly candidates flow from application to decision. Slow velocity means candidates accept other offers while waiting on yours. Fast velocity without quality checks means bad hires. The goal is controlled speed.
Draft's analytics show time-in-stage for every role. When you see candidates spending an average of seven days in the Interview Scheduling stage, you know to fix your scheduling process, perhaps by using calendar integration or giving candidates self-service booking. Address the slowest stage first; it has the biggest impact.
Pipeline Health Indicators
A healthy pipeline has adequate volume at the top, strong conversion in the middle, and high acceptance at the bottom. If your top-of-funnel is thin, invest in sourcing and career page optimization. If candidates drop off at the interview stage, review your evaluation process and candidate experience.
Monitor these indicators weekly. Draft's dashboard surfaces pipeline health metrics automatically, so you can catch problems before they derail a search. A role with zero candidates in the Interview stage after two weeks needs immediate attention.
Frequently asked questions
Four to seven is typical. Enough granularity to track progress, few enough to maintain velocity. Each stage should require a distinct action or decision.
It varies by stage. A 25-50% conversion from Application to Screen is normal. Interview to Offer conversion above 50% is strong. Track your own baseline and aim for improvement.
Set stage-level SLAs for your team. If a candidate has been in a stage longer than the SLA, Draft can trigger a reminder. Stale candidates hurt both your metrics and the candidate experience.
Yes. Draft supports custom pipeline configurations per job. Engineering roles might have a coding challenge stage that marketing roles do not. Tailor each pipeline to the evaluation needs of the role.
Related resources
Kanban Pipeline
Draft's visual kanban board for pipeline management.
Read moreRecruitment Metrics
Track the KPIs that reveal your pipeline's health.
Read moreRecruitment Automation
Automate stage transitions and notifications to improve velocity.
Read moreAnalytics Dashboard
Monitor pipeline health with real-time analytics.
Read moreBuild a Pipeline That Delivers
Draft's visual kanban board, custom stages, and pipeline analytics give your team the clarity and control to move candidates efficiently from application to offer.
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