Hiring glossary
What is an applicant pool?
An applicant pool is the full set of people who have applied for a specific job opening, before any screening or selection has narrowed it down.
It is tied to one opening at one point in time, which is what separates it from a talent pool. Its size and make-up depend on where the job was advertised, how the posting is written and the requirements it lists. A bigger pool only helps if the team can evaluate it fairly; reading hundreds of applications by hand tends to produce rushed and inconsistent decisions.
Teams review the pool to check that sourcing worked: how many applicants met the must-haves, which channels they came from, and whether the stated requirements screened out people who could have done the job.
Also called: candidate pool.
Example
A posting for a content writer draws 410 applications in two weeks: that is the applicant pool. Screening leaves 95 who meet the requirements, all 95 complete a short writing exercise, and the eight best are shortlisted for interview.
Related terms
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