# Customise your pipeline stages

Build the stages your desk actually uses, and control exactly what a candidate sees about where they stand.

## Default stages

Every new role starts with five stages: Applied, Screening, Interview, Offer and Placed. Most agencies rename two of them and add one. You can reorder, rename and delete any stage except Applied.

## Add your own

1. **Open the role, then Pipeline settings** — Stage changes apply to that role. To change them everywhere, edit your organisation default in Settings → Pipeline.
2. **Name the stage as your team speaks** — “2nd screen w/ Maya” is a perfectly good internal stage name. Candidates never see it — see the next section.
3. **Pick a candidate-facing category** — Every stage maps to one of four public categories. This is the only thing a candidate ever sees.
4. **Drag to reorder** — Order defines your funnel, and drives the conversion report in Analytics.

## Candidate-facing categories

Your internal stage names are yours. Each one maps to a public category so candidates get honest status without seeing your process.

| Public category | What the candidate learns |
| --- | --- |
| Received | We have their application. Nobody has read it yet. |
| Reviewed | A human has opened it. This is the single most requested status from candidates. |
| In process | Actively moving — screening, interviewing, assessment. |
| Decision made | Offer sent, placed, or not selected. The candidate sees the outcome once you send it. |

> [!TIP] Status visibility is per organisation
> If you would rather candidates saw nothing, switch off Settings → Candidate portal → Show application status. Every candidate-facing status disappears at once.

## Automations per stage

Each stage can carry automations: send a template email, request an assessment, notify a teammate, or add a tag. They fire when a candidate enters the stage, and every one shows a preview before you enable it.