Overview of the Application list – Personio

This article gives an overview of the Application list in Personio. With this feature, you can view and manage all your candidate applications in one place.

The Application list offers several key benefits. You can:

Screen applications efficiently: Customize the list by configuring columns and applying filters. This lets you display only relevant applications.
Access a specific list view when needed: Use default and custom views that you can return to at any time. This feature lets you pull up a specific view without the need for manual work.
Perform tasks in bulk: Manage tasks for many applications at once, thereby saving time. You can also easily switch from one recruiting task to another.

Access the Application list

To access the Application list, go to Recruiting > Applications.

Your access to the Application list depends on your permissions:

Employees with administrator access to the Recruiting settings: Full access.
Employees with permissions for the Recruiting app (via Permissions > Configurations):
▶︎ Edit rights: Full access
▶︎ View rights: Can view all open jobs and candidate profiles

The main Application list vs. the job-specific list

In Personio, you can find two application lists:

The main Application list, which this article describes. In the main Application list, you can view all applications for all jobs at your company.
The job-specific application list. You can access this list in the Applications tab of the job details. This list shows you all applications for one specific job (if you have access to it).

The job-specific and main lists share many similarities and functionalities. However, they’re not identical, and some features apply only to the relevant list.

Saved views aren’t shared between the two lists. For example, if you create a saved view in the main list, this is only ever visible in the main list. It’s not reflected in the job-specific list.

CV parsing in the Application list

Personio automatically parses all incoming CVs. This includes applications from all channels. You can then view the parsed attributes in the Application list and candidate profile. Automatic parsing speeds up the screening process and reduces the need for you to open profiles and read CVs.

Learn more about automatic CV parsing.

Customize the Application list

Select which data set to show

Click All jobs to determine which applications to show. This tab is at the top of the page, beside Columns. Here are the options:

My jobs: Applications for jobs where you are a hiring team member.
All jobs: All applications for jobs you have viewing or editing rights for.
Archived jobs: Applications for past jobs that are archived.

Customize columns

In the Application list, you can view your candidate data arranged in columns. Each column corresponds to a different attribute, for example, Name, Application date, Stage, etc.

You can customize the Application list by adding, removing, and reordering columns. Click Columns to reveal the list of attributes, and use the toggle icon to add or remove an attribute. Arrange the columns in your preferred order using the drag-and-drop icon.

The first column is frozen by default and remains visible as you scroll through the list. For this reason, we recommend that you set the Name attribute as the first column. If you mark an application as priority, a flag icon appears next to the relevant candidate’s name.

In the Updates column, you can find action items for the relevant application. Each action item is represented by an icon. Beside each icon, there’s also a counter that represents the number of updates. Click an icon to go to the action item, for example, to reply to a new message.

Sort columns

You can also sort most columns, either in alphabetical or chronological order. For example, you might sort the Experience column to order candidates by years of experience. Click the name of the respective column to sort the order.

Personio sorts the following columns like this:

Updates: By the newest update first. You can filter by the type of update.
Current employer, Current title, and Candidate location: Alphabetically by default. You can filter by typing in the first few letters to reveal all results that contain these letters.
Evaluations: By open request first and then by submitted. You can filter by submitted or pending.
Experience: By ascending or descending number of years. You can filter by the desired number of years.

Apply filters

You can use the Filter tab to narrow the information based on a wide range of attributes. You can use all default and custom attributes as filters. For example, you can filter the Application list based on system attributes such as Available from and Location. You can also filter the list by the following items:

Hiring team member: This option is particularly useful if a hiring team member is absent. By filtering by the hiring team member’s name, you can identify any relevant candidates and find cover for interviews.
Average evaluation score: This option supports workflows where a candidate’s evaluation score determines their progression or rejection. You can filter and display the average evaluation score as a column in the list.

You can combine filter rules to extract the information you need. For example, you could combine the rules “Candidate location contains Munich” and “Channel contains LinkedIn” to show only applications that meet these criteria. You can also use the filtering operator Does not contain to exclude candidates from the list.

Candidate pipeline

The candidate pipeline is a visual representation of your recruiting process. When you filter using the attribute Category, the candidate pipeline appears at the top of the Application list. You can also filter by the attribute Job. In this case, the pipeline shows candidates for jobs in the same recruiting category.

Example:

1. You want to check how many candidates are in the pipeline for all intern positions. You have already created a recruiting category called "Interns."
▶︎ Set your filter to "Category contains Interns."
▶︎ You can see how many candidates are in the pipeline for all intern positions. You can also see the number in each recruiting stage.

2. You have a job opening for a Junior Software Developer and a Senior Software Developer. These positions both belong to a recruiting category called “Permanent Employees.” You want to check how many candidates are in the pipeline for these positions.
▶︎ Set your filter to "Job contains Junior Software Developer, Senior Software Developer."
▶︎ You can see how many candidates are in the pipeline for these specific jobs, and the number in each recruiting stage.

The numbers shown in the pipeline always represent the total number of applications in each stage. This is regardless of other filters you apply. The only exception is if you include anonymized applications through filters. In this case, the pipeline numbers update to reflect their inclusion.

Manage views

Click All applications at the top-left of the list to open your view options. Here, you can view and create specific Application list views. You can then return to a specific view when needed, saving you time and effort. There are two types of Application list views: default views and saved views. Beside each view, there’s a number that shows the total application count for that specific view.

Default views

Default views are predefined and ready to use. Here’s an overview of the default views available:

All applications: All job applications in your account.
New applications: All applications that need to be screened.
Pending review: All applications where at least one evaluation request is incomplete.
Overdue applications: All applications that have been in the respective recruiting stage longer than the expected limit.
Pending decisions: All the applications where:
▶︎ All requested evaluations have been filled out (no open request exists), and
▶︎ The recruiting stage hasn’t changed since the last evaluation was filled out.
New updates: All the applications that have either a:
▶︎ New message
▶︎ New comment
▶︎ New evaluation, or
▶︎ A combination of the above.
Referred applications: All applications that come from employee referrals.

When you customize the columns in the All applications default view, your preferred layout remains until you change it again.

Saved views

You can save custom views of the Application list. These views appear under Saved views. Saved views are particularly useful for recurring tasks.

To save a custom Application list view, follow these steps:

Go to Recruiting > Applications.
Set up the view by adding columns and applying filters.
Click All applications and select Save current view.
In the window that appears, give your view a name.
Save your new view.

Tip:
You can create an unlimited number of saved views. To delete a saved view, click Manage views and select the view to delete.

Perform tasks directly from the Application list

You can perform many tasks directly from the Application list. This is particularly useful if you need to make changes to multiple applications.

Perform tasks in bulk

To perform a task on multiple applications, follow these steps:

Go to Recruiting > Applications.
Check the box to the left of the relevant candidates’ names.
Select the task you want to perform from the menu bar, for example, disqualify the candidates.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the task.

Perform a task on an individual application

To perform a task on an individual application, follow these steps:

Go to Recruiting > Applications.
Check the box to the left of the relevant candidate’s name.
Select the task you want to perform from the menu bar, for example, disqualify the candidate.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the task.

Tasks available from the menu bar

When you select one or many candidates, a menu bar appears at the top of the list. You can perform the following tasks from the menu bar:

Disqualify: Remove candidates from your recruiting process.
Proceed: Move candidates to a different recruiting stage.
Forward: Forward applications to another member of the hiring team. This appears as a task in their Inbox. You can add a comment to explain the input you need. For example, ask the recipient for feedback on a group of candidates. For this feature to work, your chosen recipients must have permissions to all the applications you’ve selected.
Email: Send an email to candidates. You can select an existing email template and also schedule the sending for later.
Anonymize: Anonymize the applications.
Close unreplied messages: Close recruiting messages for which you have not received a reply.
Move to job: Assign candidates to another job.
Delete: Remove an application from the recruiting process. This is a permanent action that removes all associated data.

Other functions

Search the Application list: To search for a candidate, use the search bar at the top-right of the page. You can search for candidates using any system or custom attribute present in the candidate profile. For example, you might search for a candidate based on their phone number or location. You can only search using attributes that you have permissions for.
Export the Application list: Click the three-dots icon at the right of the page. You can export the Application List data in CSV format. Learn more about exporting application data or how to import candidate data.
Create a new application: Click the button at the top-right to start a new application

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