Disqualify or reject a candidate

Disqualification is a status, not a stage

Disqualifying a candidate doesn't move them to a special Disqualified stage. It applies a status that overrides whichever stage

they're currently in. The candidate stays in the pipeline view (filtered out of the active list by default, accessible via the Disqualified

filter) and keeps their full profile and history.

This matters because disqualified candidates aren't deleted. The record stays. The data behind why you didn't hire someone is

often the most important record your team keeps, especially for funnel analysis, talent pool searches, and the occasional question

from a candidate three months later.

The disqualification flow

From any candidate profile:

Click Disqualify in the actions panel.

Pick a reason from the dropdown.

Optionally, type a note explaining the decision in more detail.

Optionally, send a rejection message to the candidate (covered below).

Click Confirm.

The candidate's status badge updates to Disqualified immediately. A timeline entry is added with the reason and the optional note.

If you sent a message, the message thread updates too.

[Illustration: Cropped screenshot of the Disqualify modal showing the reason dropdown, the optional notes field, and the sendrejection-message toggle.]

The reason list

Talinty asks for a reason because the reason matters. It's used in two places: your funnel analytics break out by disqualification

reason, and the talent pool surfaces candidates whose disqualification reason suggests they might fit a future role.

The defaults usually include:

Not enough experience. Skill gap that experience would close.

Skill gap. Specific missing capability not addressable by experience alone.

Cultural fit. Concerns from the interview team that aren't capability-based.

Salary expectations. Compensation misalignment.

Withdrew. Candidate withdrew, not your decision.

Hired elsewhere. Candidate accepted another offer.

Other. Free-text required.

The list is configurable per workspace. If your team has more nuanced reasons, an Admin can edit the list from Settings →

Workspace → Disqualification Reasons.

Note for the docs team: confirm the default reason list and the location of the configuration setting against the live product. The

pattern (required reason, configurable list, used downstream) is the pattern to keep.

Should you send a rejection message?

The disqualify flow asks whether to send a rejection message. Some thoughts on when to send and when to skip:

Send a rejection message when:

The candidate made it past the first screen. They invested time; a clear answer is fair.

The candidate explicitly asked for feedback.

You may want to re-engage the candidate later. A respectful rejection makes future outreach easier.

Skip the automated message when:

The candidate is being moved to the talent pool with the intent to engage them differently soon.

You're going to write a personal note instead.

The disqualification is sensitive enough that a templated message would land wrong.

If you skip the automated message, write a note in the candidate's profile so the team knows the decision was made and the

candidate was not contacted.

The talent pool option

For candidates who were strong but didn't fit this role, the talent pool is a better destination than a flat rejection. The disqualify

modal includes an Add to Talent Pool checkbox; when you check it, the candidate is disqualified from the current role and added to

the pool for future consideration.

Reasons that lend themselves to the talent pool: salary expectations (the budget changes), withdrew (timing might be right next

time), not enough experience yet (in 18 months, maybe). Reasons that don't: cultural fit, skill gap without an experience path to

close it.

Reversing a disqualification

Sometimes a disqualification is the wrong call, or new information surfaces. To reverse:

Open the disqualified candidate's profile.

From the actions panel, click Reactivate.

Pick the stage to return them to (usually the one they were in before disqualification).

Optionally, add a note explaining the reversal.

The reversal is recorded in the timeline. The original disqualification entry stays; it's not erased. The candidate's status returns to

whatever it was before.