What it is
The pipeline is the view of all active candidates, grouped by stage: applied, in review, interview, offer. It can be viewed per individual opening or aggregated across the whole team.
Reading a healthy pipeline
A healthy pipeline has more volume in the early stages than in the late ones —a funnel shape— and candidates who advance stages regularly, not piling up without movement.
Warning signs
Candidates stuck more than a week in the same stage, an inverted funnel (more people in interviews than in applications, a sign something isn't flowing well upstream), or stages with no new candidates in weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, though you can also view an aggregated pipeline across all of a recruiter's or team's active openings.
Ideally daily for active processes; weekly at minimum so candidates don't get forgotten.
Not if candidates aren't moving — volume without progress is as bad a sign as lack of volume.