Many teams start with one pipeline for every vacancy: applied, screening, interview, offer, placed. That is simple, but it rarely matches reality. A volume request for flexible workers needs a fast route with an availability check, an executive search assignment needs research, a longlist and client presentation, and an internal vacancy needs approval and a conversation with the current manager. When all of them are forced into the same stages, recruiters skip steps, park candidates in stages that do not fit and reports lose their meaning. An Applicant Tracking System lets you set up pipeline templates per vacancy type, so every vacancy starts with stages that fit the work. This article explains how to set up pipeline templates per vacancy type in your Applicant Tracking System: when separate templates make sense, how to design them, how to keep them comparable and how to maintain them over time.
The question plays out differently per segment. Recruitment agencies often combine permanent placements with interim or project roles. Staffing desks work with short, repeated routes where speed and confirmed availability matter most. Secondment firms add steps for assignment start, end date and redeployment. Executive search consultants run longer, research-heavy searches with formal client presentations. In-house recruitment teams handle internal and external applicants, graduate intakes and senior roles side by side. In each case one generic pipeline either becomes too heavy for the simple routes or too thin for the complex ones.
When one pipeline is no longer enough
A single pipeline works as long as vacancies follow roughly the same route. Signals that it no longer fits are easy to spot: recruiters regularly skip several stages at once, candidates sit in a stage whose name does not describe what is happening, notes are used to record steps that have no stage of their own, and every review starts with an explanation of what a stage means for this particular vacancy. If alerts for candidates stuck in a stage keep firing for vacancies that are in fact progressing normally, the pipeline itself is usually the problem rather than the recruiter.
Choosing the vacancy types
Keep the number of templates small. Base them on genuine differences in the route, not on every client or department. Typical types are a permanent placement, a volume or flexible staffing request, a secondment assignment, an executive search assignment and an internal vacancy. Ask for each vacancy type whether it has steps that the others do not have, such as an availability check, a documented longlist, a formal client presentation or an internal approval. If the only difference is the number of interview rounds, a single template with an optional stage is often enough. Record the vacancy type on the vacancy itself, ideally as part of the structured brief, so the right template is chosen from day one.
Designing a template
- Describe the route in plain steps first, then turn only the steps that need tracking into stages
- Give every stage written entry criteria, so each recruiter moves candidates on the same basis
- Agree an expected duration per stage, so delays become visible per type instead of against one generic norm
- Link standard tasks and messages to stages where they always recur, such as an availability check or an invitation
- Use the same closing stages and standard rejection reasons in every template
- Name stages in the language of the team, but keep the meaning of shared stages identical across templates
Keeping reports comparable
Separate templates should not mean separate truths. Map every stage to a small set of shared phases, for example new, in screening, with client or hiring manager, offer and placed. That way you can still compare conversion between pipeline stages and time-to-fill across vacancy types, while each template keeps its own detail. Compare figures within a type first: a volume request and an executive search assignment have very different natural durations, and mixing them in one average hides more than it shows. The weekly pipeline review becomes easier as well, because every stage name means something concrete for the vacancy in front of you.
Changing a template without losing history
Templates will need adjustments as your way of working evolves. Make one person responsible for each template and record why a change was made. Apply changes to new vacancies first, and decide deliberately whether running vacancies should move along. When you remove or merge stages, map the old stage to its successor, so candidates are not lost and earlier reports remain readable. Because every stage change records who moved the candidate, the history of existing candidates stays intact even when the template around them changes.
Where automation helps
Once templates are in place, automation becomes more precise. A new vacancy can start with the template that matches its type, standard tasks can be created when a candidate enters a stage, and reminders can follow the expected duration per stage for that type. See which repeated recruitment steps to automate for a broader view. Smart suggestions can be a secondary help, for example by pointing out stages that are skipped often, but deciding which route a vacancy type needs remains a choice for the team.
A practical start
- List the vacancy types your team handles and the steps that genuinely differ between them
- Start with two or three templates and one shared set of closing stages and rejection reasons
- Write entry criteria and an expected duration for every stage in each template
- Map every stage to a shared phase for reporting across vacancy types
- Record the vacancy type in the brief and review the templates after the first few weeks of use
The right route for every vacancy
Pipeline templates per vacancy type give recruiters stages that describe what really happens, give managers reports they can trust and give candidates and clients a predictable process. The structure lives in your Applicant Tracking System, next to the candidate and client records your team already keeps. Explore the product or book a demo — we will show how pipeline templates, stage criteria and reporting work together in BoldATS for your segment.