How to Handle Stuck Candidates

Get notified when candidates remain in a stage too long without progress.

What Are Stuck Candidates

Candidates become "stuck" when they remain in a pipeline stage beyond an expected timeframe. This often indicates:

• Waiting for feedback
• Forgotten follow-up
• Scheduling delays
• Decision bottlenecks

Setting Up Stuck Candidate Alerts

1. Open a job
2. Go to the Workflow tab
3. Click the bolt icon on a stage
4. Click Add Automation
5. Select Act If Candidate Is Stuck
6. Configure the trigger and action

Configuration Options

Days Until Considered Stuck

Set how many days a candidate can stay in this stage before triggering the alert.

Examples:

• Applied stage: 3 days
• Phone Screen: 5 days
• Interview: 7 days
• Offer: 3 days

Action When Stuck

Email to Teammate:

• Select recipient
• Customize message
• Include candidate link
• Set repeat frequency (e.g., every 3 days)

Move to Stage:

• Automatically advance or archive
• Use for: cleanup after extended periods

Disqualify:

• Auto-reject after timeout
• Use carefully, mainly for unresponsive candidates

Repeat Notifications

Set how often to resend alerts if candidate remains stuck:

• Every 1 day (urgent)
• Every 3 days (normal)
• Every 7 days (low priority)
• Never repeat

Example Configurations

Applied Stage

• Stuck after: 3 days
• Action: Email to recruiter "Review pending candidates"
• Repeat: Every 2 days
• Purpose: Prevent application backlog

Phone Screen Stage

• Stuck after: 5 days
• Action: Email to recruiter "Schedule phone screen"
• Repeat: Every 3 days
• Purpose: Keep screening moving

Waiting for Feedback Stage

• Stuck after: 2 days
• Action: Email to hiring manager "Submit interview feedback"
• Repeat: Every 1 day
• Purpose: Get timely decisions

Offer Stage

• Stuck after: 7 days
• Action: Email to HR "Follow up on pending offer"
• Repeat: Every 2 days
• Purpose: Close deals faster

Manual Stuck Candidate Report

For candidates already stuck:

1. View the pipeline in the job
2. Look for candidates with long stage duration
3. Use filters to find candidates by date added to stage

Tips

• Set realistic timeframes for each stage
• Shorter delays for competitive roles
• Don't over-notify—balance with workload
• Review and adjust based on actual hiring pace
• Combine with task assignments for accountability

Related screenshots

These screenshots show the 100Hires areas used in this workflow.

Updated on: 18/06/2026