What Is An Applicant Pool? Definition, Best Practices, And Importance

Definition of Applicant Pool

An applicant pool is a group of candidates who have applied for a particular role. It is also known as a hiring pool or a candidate pool.

It’s formed of anyone who has applied, from underqualified candidates to the most experienced ones who will likely get an interview. The employer’s job is to take the hiring pool and narrow it down until the perfect candidate is chosen.

The applicant pool varies in size depending on the type of job, how much experience is required, and what the organization is. There are also variants when it comes to who applies, too. If the position is a high-level senior role, the applicants will likely be experienced and highly trained. For jobs that require little experience or qualifications, the hiring pool will be a little more mixed.

Once employers have an applicant pool for a position, they must go through screening, interviewing, and communicating with candidates. There are lots of tools to help with this process, as it can be a lengthy one. Career assessments, applicant tracking software, and automation will streamline the recruitment process and help ensure the candidate chosen is the right fit.

Not everyone in the hiring pool will be the right fit for the particular position. That doesn’t mean all will be cast aside by the employer, however. If a highly-qualified candidate doesn’t quite get the role, the employer might still keep their records for their talent pool, as they could make an excellent fit for a future position in the organization.

The Benefits Of An Applicant Pool

Using an applicant pool as part of your recruitment process has numerous advantages.

Reduce costs and save time

Forearmed is forewarned. The last thing any recruiter wants is to sit through an interview with someone who clearly isn’t qualified for the position. Applicant pools allow you to ensure that the level of candidate quality is on par with the role you’re trying to fill. You could even consider using pre-employment tests with a larger pool to filter out the best candidates ahead of the interview stage.

Minimize employee turnover

There are few greater threats to a business’s productivity than the dreaded churn rate. Hiring the wrong candidates can lead to high employee turnover, both with the unsuitable new recruits and your existing staff. This is bad news for the long-term health of your company and something that a well-managed applicant pool can help you avoid.

Promote workplace diversity. 

A robust applicant pool can help prevent any subconscious bias or preconceived ideas when it comes to potential candidates. Prospective employees are judged on their capability and characteristics through Diversity Recruting Platforms, leading to greater workplace diversity. 

 

Find out how Oleeo’s Diversity Recruitment Software can help your business

 

Best Practices For Building And Managing A Hiring Pool Of Candidates

Attract the most suitable applicants

Put together a comprehensive job description so applicants clearly understand the requirements and responsibilities of the position you’re filling. It can also be beneficial to share a little about your company culture, so applicants know what kind of environment to expect should they be successful.

Consider the character of your applicants

Every employer wants the perfect hire. Someone who can fulfil the obligations of a role perfectly. But it is just as vital to ensure that any hire is a good fit for your company in other ways. Are they easy to get along with? Are they punctual? Soft skills like communication, time management, and teamwork should not be undervalued.

Maintain a talent pool

Talent pool recruitment is a fantastic way to ensure the best candidates for your job vacancies. Maybe you had several good prospects in your pool of applicants that didn’t make the final cut last time. Don’t let that potential go to waste, they might be the perfect fit for your next role. 

Building a talent pool comprised of previously shortlisted applicants, current employees and even former staff who left on good terms is a great way to ensure that future vacancies are filled quickly. Just make sure you stay on top of candidate engagement.

Applicant Pool Examples: What Are The Different Types? 

• Internal. Internal applicant pools comprise members of your existing workforce. Internal Promotion can often be the perfect solution to filling an elusive hole in your team when somebody leaves. Your pool of internal candidates will already be familiar with your company culture and comfortable working for you.
• External. Just as you’d expect, an external candidate pool is made up of people outside of your organization. This, of course, expands its size dramatically and gives you a much broader spectrum of candidates.
• Hybrid. A combination of the previous two pools. Potentially the perfect mixture of internal and external candidates.

Get The Most Out Of Your Hiring Pool With Oleeo

Applicant pools are a brilliant recruitment tool, especially when it comes to high volume hiring. They help you sift through candidates until you have a shortlist of only the most suitable people for your organization – both in terms of skills and experience, and personality. Applicant pools are a crucial part of the hiring process, a significant step in a long road. 

You can make the whole recruitment process streamlined and efficient with the right talent acquisition software. Halve your hiring time with Oleeo’s fully customizable cloud-based applicant tracking system. Our AI technology helps recruiters sift through thousands of applications in minutes. Intuitive job posting, debiasing tools, and detailed reporting come as part and parcel of our all-in-one system.

Book a consultation and get a demo of our software today.