# Candidate actions > Change a candidate's stage and status, reject or snooze them, move them to another job, merge duplicates, or delete them. ## Overview Most things you do to a candidate happen on their profile. Search for the candidate or open them from the **Candidates** tab. The stage and status card on the right has the **Stage** and **Status** dropdowns, the main action buttons, and a **Candidate actions** menu (the three dots) with **Move jobs**, **Snooze**, and **Delete candidate**. To act on many candidates at once, see [Bulk actions](https://docs.dover.com/managing-candidates/bulk-actions/). | Action | Where | | --- | --- | | Change the stage or status | The **Stage** and **Status** dropdowns on the card | | Reject a candidate | **Reject**, or set the status to **Rejected** | | Snooze a candidate | **Candidate actions → Snooze** | | Mark a candidate as hired | The **Status** dropdown | | Move a candidate to another job | **Candidate actions → Move jobs** | | Merge duplicates | **Preview & Merge** on the duplicate banner | | Delete a candidate | **Candidate actions → Delete candidate** | --- ## Change a stage or status ### Stage Use the **Stage** dropdown to move a candidate to another stage in the job's interview plan. The stages come from the job's interview plan, so yours may have different names. Here are a few examples: | Stage | What it means | | --- | --- | | **New Lead** | A candidate you sourced who hasn't been contacted yet. | | **Contacted** | You sent the candidate outreach. | | **Responded** | The candidate replied to your outreach. | | **Applied** | The candidate applied to the job. | | **First Interview** | An example of an interview stage you add to the plan. | | **Onsite** | An example of a stage with several interviews on one day. | | **Offer** | The final stage of every plan. | To set up the stages, see [Setting up your interview plan](https://docs.dover.com/scheduling-interviewing/setting-up-your-interview-plan/). ### Substage The substage is tied to scheduling, and it's available for any interview stage, such as **First Interview**, **Technical interview**, or **Onsite**. When you pick one of those stages, a second dropdown shows where the candidate is within it: | Substage | What it means | | --- | --- | | **Needs Scheduling** | The interview needs to be scheduled. | | **Scheduling** | You're arranging a time. | | **Scheduled** | The interview is booked. | | **Waiting on Feedback** | The interview happened, and interviewers haven't submitted feedback yet. | | **Needs Decision** | Feedback is in, and the team needs to decide what's next. | For example, a candidate in **First Interview** might move from **Scheduling** to **Scheduled** when the calendar event is created, then to **Waiting on Feedback** after the interview. When a candidate is in the **Contacted** stage, the substage shows **Follow up 1**, **Follow up 2**, or **Follow up 3** instead. You can change the stage and substage without creating a calendar event. To schedule interviews, see [Scheduling candidates](https://docs.dover.com/scheduling-interviewing/scheduling-candidates/). ### Status Use the **Status** dropdown to change where a candidate stands: | Status | What it means | | --- | --- | | **Active** | The candidate is in your process. | | **Rejected** | You decided not to move forward. | | **Withdrew** | The candidate withdrew. | | **Snoozed** | You set the candidate aside until later. | | **Hired** | The candidate was hired. | --- ## Reject a candidate 1. Open the candidate's profile and click **Reject**. 2. Under **Reason**, choose why. The list has reasons for when you reject the candidate and reasons for when the candidate withdraws. 3. Optionally, add a **Note**. It's added to the candidate's **Notes** tab. 4. To send a rejection email, click **Include email** and choose a **Template**. To skip the email, click **Remove email**. 5. Click **Send and Submit**, or **Submit** if you aren't sending an email. The candidate then shows as rejected. To reject many candidates at once, see [Bulk actions](https://docs.dover.com/managing-candidates/bulk-actions/). To set the default rejection email for a stage, see [Email templates](https://docs.dover.com/settings/email-templates/). --- ## Snooze a candidate Snooze a candidate to set them aside for later. 1. Open the candidate's profile. 2. Click the **Candidate actions** menu and click **Snooze**. 3. Choose how long: **indefinitely**, **for ~24 hours**, or **until...** a date and time. Their status changes to **Snoozed**. --- ## Mark a candidate as hired When a candidate accepts, change their **Status** to **Hired**. If you use Dover for offers, create and send the offer first. See [Offers](https://docs.dover.com/managing-candidates/offers/). --- ## Move a candidate to another job Move a candidate when they're a better fit for a different job. 1. Open the candidate's profile. 2. Click the **Candidate actions** menu and click **Move jobs**. 3. Choose the new job and the interview stage. 4. Click **Submit** to move the candidate without sending anything, or click **Submit & Draft Scheduling Email** to move them and write a scheduling email. 5. If you're drafting an email, review the message and click **Send and Update Stage**. **Submit & Draft Scheduling Email** is only available when the new stage can be scheduled. The candidate's interview history is kept, and they start at the stage you chose in the new job. --- ## Merge duplicate candidates When Dover finds someone who might already be in your account, the profile shows **This might be the same person as** and the other candidate's name. 1. Click **Preview & Merge**. To dismiss the banner, click the X. 2. In the **Merge Candidates** window, under **Select primary candidate**, choose which candidate to keep. If their data conflicts, this person's information is used. 3. Review the **Preview of Changes**. 4. Confirm the merge. This action can't be undone. --- ## Delete a candidate Deleting removes a candidate and all of their data from Dover. Only members with the **Owner** permission can do it. For everyone else, **Delete candidate** is turned off. 1. Open the candidate's profile. 2. Click the **Candidate actions** menu and click **Delete candidate**. 3. Confirm the deletion. Dover permanently deletes the candidate and all associated data, and this can't be undone. To keep a candidate but stop working with them, reject or snooze them instead. See [Permissions](https://docs.dover.com/settings/permissions/) for the Owner permission. --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I move several candidates to another job at once? Yes, with ATS Premium bulk actions, you can update the job, stage, or status of many candidates at once. See [Bulk actions](https://docs.dover.com/managing-candidates/bulk-actions/). Without it, move candidates one at a time. ### What happens to a candidate's history when I move them? Their interview history is kept. They start at the stage you choose in the new job. ### Can I undo moving a candidate? Yes. Move the candidate back to their original job and stage with the same steps. ### Can I undo a merge or a deletion? No. Merging and deleting can't be undone, so check the preview before you merge and confirm carefully before you delete. ### Why is Delete candidate turned off? Only members with the **Owner** permission can delete a candidate. Ask an Owner to do it, or ask them to give you the permission. See [Permissions](https://docs.dover.com/settings/permissions/). ### Where do rejected candidates go? They stay in Dover with the status **Rejected**. To see them, open the **Candidates** tab and filter by status. See [Candidates overview](https://docs.dover.com/managing-candidates/candidates-overview/).