The source of a candidate will be visible:
- In the list of qualified or disqualified candidates in a pipeline stage
- At the top of a candidate's profile where you can also edit the source (where applicable)
- In the Candidate details report; just tick the 'Source' under Customize data
- In the Candidate sources report (as a total number and not per candidate)
Applied candidates
Candidates that have applied directly (via an external or internal application). Their profile contains information about the source that led them to the application form.
Most common sources:
- Internal applications: the source will be 'via internal application'
- Job Boards: the name of the job board will be visible e.g. via indeed.com
- Career site: candidates via your company's website career page
- Careers page: candidates via your Workable-hosted careers page
Note: The source we indicate on a candidate is from their first-ever visit to the application form. So, even if someone applied from, say, LinkedIn but in the past has opened the application form from your Workable careers page, we will show 'careers page' as the source.
Sourced candidates
All candidates that have been added via:
- Our sourcing tools (Search with AI and Resurface)
- Uploaded by team members manually via the job mailbox or the API
- Copied from another job
- One or more of our sourcing partners
- Exported via LinkedIn Recruiter System Connect
- The Referrals portal; referred by your internal teams
Uploaded by a team member
If a team member uploaded the candidate, the member's name won't show as the source by default. The member's name will show only in the activities section of the candidate profile (Uploaded by [name]).
You can add a specific team member as a candidate source by editing the source. This change will be reflected in reports.
Uploaded by an external recruiter
If the candidate was uploaded by an external recruiter (either directly or through the job mailbox), the recruiter's name will show as the source of the candidate. The source cannot be changed if there are any activities on the candidate's timeline.
If the recruiter quits or no longer has access, we suggest copying the candidate to another job and deleting the original one.
Referred candidates
If your internal teams refer the candidate via the referrals portal, the referrer's name will show as the source of the candidate. You won't be able to edit the source of a referral in order to ensure that the candidate is always attributed to the original referrer.
Note: If you see the source as referred but with no attribution to a specific employee, this means that the candidate applied via a referral link, but the referrer has not confirmed the candidate.
Candidates who apply first and are referred later will retain the original application source on their profile.
Other sources
Candidates who have arrived via an alternative route not covered above will be listed under the 'Other' category in the Candidate Sources report. Most common scenarios:
- Custom candidate sources with a UTM link
- Custom sources added manually for applied candidates
- Unknown sources where Workable was not able to track the original source for the application
Reporting on candidate sources
In the Candidate sources report, the candidate sources are shown as a total number rather than per candidate.
In the Candidate details report, tick the 'Source' under Customize data to see the candidates' source. To filter candidates by source, export the report to CSV and then manipulate it externally.
FAQs
- Why aren't some of the applicants' sources showing up?
- A source marked as ‘Unknown’ is often associated with:
- QR codes, mobile job sharing, and in general, anything that the candidate may be doing that is unconventional, such as visiting an http link from an https website, opening a link in a new tab, opening a link from a bookmark, a chat application such as Slack or using an incognito tab.
- The use of the job mailbox; either candidates applying via the job mailbox or you forward resumes to the mailbox (e.g. from another board).
- Why do I see multiple sources from LinkedIn?
- You can check each source's explanation here.