ATS Pipeline Cleanup

Pipeline cleanup report: silent rejections processed, stalled candidates triaged, talent pool updated, zombie reqs surfaced. ATS in clean state with accurate aging. Stage SLA compliance metric updated.

Before you start

ATS access with admin permissions for bulk updates
Defined stage SLA (max time per stage)
Stale-candidate policy approved
Active requisitions and candidate counts
Stage age per candidate
Last-activity timestamp per candidate

The steps

Pull pipeline aging report — Generate a report: candidates by stage, days in stage, last activity. Flag any candidate with days-in-stage exceeding the documented SLA (e.g., 'Recruiter Screen' max 5 days, 'Onsite' max 14 days). Group by stage for batch action.
Identify silent rejections — Filter candidates: stage = 'Application Review' or 'Recruiter Screen' with no activity in 14+ days. These are silent rejections — close them out properly with a rejection email. Letting them rot in the system damages employer brand.
Identify stalled candidates needing action — Filter candidates: in 'Phone Screen' or later, no activity in 7+ days. Each needs a decision: rejection, advancement, or pause. Surface to recruiter for batch decision rather than auto-rejecting senior-stage candidates.
Send batch rejection emails for silent-rejection cohort — Send polite rejection emails for the cohort identified in step 2. Use the appropriate template by stage. Tag for talent pool where applicable. Update ATS in bulk to stage = Rejected with reason 'Pipeline cleanup — no progression'.
Recruiter triage on stalled mid-stage candidates — For mid/late-stage stalled candidates, schedule a 15-minute recruiter triage: per candidate, decide reject / re-engage / hold. Log decision in ATS. Don't bulk-reject mid-stage candidates without recruiter eyes.
Update talent pool and re-engagement schedule — For all rejected candidates flagged future-fit, ensure talent pool tagging is correct and re-engagement dates are set. Talent pool tagging is the asset, not the rejection.
Close out hired and abandoned requisitions — Audit requisitions: any req with no hire and no activity in 30+ days needs a status decision (paused, killed, transferred to new recruiter). Don't let zombie reqs accumulate — they confuse reporting and hide pipeline health issues.

If it goes wrong

Recruiter pushes back on cleanup as 'closing out' candidates they wanted to revisit

Cleanup adds talent-pool tag — they're not gone, they're filed. Recruiter can re-engage anytime via talent pool. Cleanup is hygiene, not deletion.

Bulk rejection emails create a wave of replies

Rejection template should make replying optional. Set up filters or auto-responses for common 'why?' questions. Reply rate is usually <5% of bulk-rejected.

Cleanup reveals systemic stage-SLA violations

Surface to TA leadership — likely a workload or process issue at the recruiter level. Cleanup is the symptom, not the cause.

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