A candidate lead is someone who has expressed interest or supplied contact information. A prequalified candidate has also answered agreed, job-related questions such as location, shift, experience and availability. Prequalification does not establish hiring eligibility or replace recruiter review, required checks or an employer’s selection process.
How to put it into practice
- Define the required intake questions before launching a campaign.
- Preserve the candidate’s own answers and identify anything still unverified.
- Use separate stages for interested, contacted, screened, agency-reviewed and delivered.
A practical example
An applicant who shares a phone number is a lead. If they confirm the advertised shift, commute area and relevant experience, they may be ready for a recruiter conversation. They are not automatically cleared to start work.
What to measure
Report lead volume, completed conversations and agency-accepted candidates separately.
A mistake to avoid
Avoid selling every application as a qualified candidate or using AI to make final hiring decisions.
Turn the next step into a plan
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Plan my candidate campaign ↗Further reading
Industry and technical resources for this topic. The examples above are illustrative guidance, not client results.