What is a candidate pipeline?

• A. A staged collection of potential hires at various readiness levels, maintained for long-term talent attraction.
• B. A single list of applicants for one role.
• C. A database of current employees only.
• D. A channel for external vendors.

Answer: (A)

A candidate pipeline is a staged collection of potential hires at different readiness levels that you maintain over time for long-term talent attraction. It includes both active applicants and passive candidates who can be engaged at various points in their career, ensuring you have a pool of qualified people ready for future needs. This approach supports workforce planning, reduces time-to-fill when a role opens, and helps you steadily build relationships across multiple roles rather than starting from scratch each time.

The other options miss this ongoing, multi-role focus. It’s not just a single list for one role, nor is it limited to internal employees only. And it isn’t a channel for external vendors—the pipeline is about people who could become hires, kept informed and engaged over time.