Candidate actions
Change a candidate's stage and status, reject or snooze them, move them to another job, merge duplicates, or delete them.
Overview
Section titled “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.
| 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
Section titled “Change a stage or status”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.
Substage
Section titled “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.
Status
Section titled “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
Section titled “Reject a candidate”- Open the candidate’s profile and click Reject.
- Under Reason, choose why. The list has reasons for when you reject the candidate and reasons for when the candidate withdraws.
- Optionally, add a Note. It’s added to the candidate’s Notes tab.
- To send a rejection email, click Include email and choose a Template. To skip the email, click Remove email.
- 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. To set the default rejection email for a stage, see Email templates.
Snooze a candidate
Section titled “Snooze a candidate”Snooze a candidate to set them aside for later.
- Open the candidate’s profile.
- Click the Candidate actions menu and click Snooze.
- Choose how long: indefinitely, for ~24 hours, or until… a date and time.
Their status changes to Snoozed.
Mark a candidate as hired
Section titled “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.
Move a candidate to another job
Section titled “Move a candidate to another job”Move a candidate when they’re a better fit for a different job.
- Open the candidate’s profile.
- Click the Candidate actions menu and click Move jobs.
- Choose the new job and the interview stage.
- Click Submit to move the candidate without sending anything, or click Submit & Draft Scheduling Email to move them and write a scheduling email.
- 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
Section titled “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.
- Click Preview & Merge. To dismiss the banner, click the X.
- In the Merge Candidates window, under Select primary candidate, choose which candidate to keep. If their data conflicts, this person’s information is used.
- Review the Preview of Changes.
- Confirm the merge.
This action can’t be undone.
Delete a candidate
Section titled “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.
- Open the candidate’s profile.
- Click the Candidate actions menu and click Delete candidate.
- 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 for the Owner permission.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Can I move several candidates to another job at once?
Section titled “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. Without it, move candidates one at a time.
What happens to a candidate’s history when I move them?
Section titled “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?
Section titled “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?
Section titled “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?
Section titled “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.
Where do rejected candidates go?
Section titled “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.
