Use this import to put candidates who are already in PeopleForce onto vacancies, on the right pipeline stage, without moving them one by one. It's also how you bring over a pipeline from another system with every candidate in place.
Before you start
Import vacancies and candidates first. This import creates nothing except applications, so both the candidates and the vacancies must already exist. The usual order is Vacancies import, then the candidates import, then this one.
Have the vacancy IDs ready. A vacancy is identified by its ID, never by its title. You'll find the ID on the vacancy itself: open it from Recruitment → Vacancies.
Create disqualify reasons first if you want to disqualify candidates in the same file. The import matches reasons by name and never creates new ones.
Prepare your file
Download the template and use it as a reference. You can upload .csv or .xlsx files.
Fill in one row per candidate per vacancy:
Column | What to enter |
Candidate Internal ID / External ID / Email | Required. The candidate's email, PeopleForce ID or external ID |
Vacancy ID/External ID | Required. The vacancy's PeopleForce ID or external ID |
Pipeline stage name | The stage the candidate should be on, for example Screening, Interview or Offer. It must exist in that vacancy's pipeline. |
Applied at | The date the candidate applied |
Disqualified at | The date the candidate was disqualified |
Disqualify reason | A reason from your disqualify reasons list |
💡 Name the first two headers Candidate email and Vacancy ID. Otherwise they won't be matched automatically, and you'll need to map them by hand.
Disqualifying candidates in the same file
To disqualify a candidate, fill in Disqualify reason. The candidate is placed on the stage you named and then disqualified there.
⚠️ The reason is what disqualifies, not the date. If Disqualified at is filled in but the reason is empty or doesn't match a reason on your list, the candidate is imported as a normal application and isn't disqualified. No error is logged. If you fill in a reason without a date, the candidate is disqualified as of the moment of import.
Import the file
Go to Settings → Import and select Candidate applications.
Upload your file and click Next.
3. Check that each column is matched to the right field. Map any missing ones by hand. You can't continue until both required columns are mapped. Click Next.
4. Review the preview. Values that don't match anything in PeopleForce are highlighted in red. Pay special attention to:
Candidate or vacancy cells in red: these rows will fail.
Pipeline stage name in red: the stage isn't in that vacancy's pipeline (see below).
Disqualify reason in red: the candidate won't be disqualified.
5. Click Import.
What happens to each row
A candidate who isn't on the vacancy yet gets a new application on the stage you named.
A candidate who's already on the vacancy is moved to the stage you named, not added again. Applied at is ignored, because the application already has a date.
If the stage name doesn't match, a new application lands on the Applied stage, and an existing one stays where it was. The row doesn't fail, so check for red stage cells in the preview.
⚠️ No automations or notifications run. Stage emails, tasks and tags don't run, and neither do rejection emails attached to disqualify reasons. The hiring lead isn't notified about new candidates either. This is useful for moving many people without sending them emails, but it means automated messages won't go out.
💡 Good to know
Candidates can be added to any vacancy, including drafts and closed or archived vacancies.
The import never requalifies anyone. A candidate who's already disqualified stays disqualified.
The import can't remove a candidate from a vacancy.
Track import history
Go to Settings → Import and open the History tab.
The table lists every import you've run: the file name, import type, who uploaded it and when, its status and the total number of records.
Click ⋯ next to an import and choose:
Download to get the file that was imported
View logs to see which records were imported or updated, along with detailed error messages
💡 If some rows weren't imported, open the logs, fix the errors in your file and import it again.