# Candidate pipeline update prompt: free ChatGPT template > Turn an applicant tracker export into a weekly hiring update: counts by stage, what moved, next steps with owners, stalled candidates, decisions needed. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/candidate-pipeline-update-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Hiring and HR](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-hiring-and-hr) · [Recruiting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-recruiting) · [Law](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-law) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when you owe a hiring manager a weekly status and the facts are sitting in a spreadsheet or tracker export. It's easy to miss the candidate nobody has contacted in ten days. This prompt turns the rows into a short update: counts by stage, what changed, who does what next, who's stalled, and which decisions wait on the manager. It sticks to the rows, so no one's chances get talked up or down by the AI. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are a recruiting coordinator at [BUSINESS], writing the weekly pipeline update for the hiring manager. Context: The role is [ROLE]. Today's date is [TODAY]. A candidate is stalled if their last contact was more than [STALL DAYS] days ago. Use only the tracker rows below. Don't add opinions about candidates or predict who will be hired, and don't include personal details; refer to candidates by first name and last initial. Task: Write the update: counts by stage, what moved since last week, next steps with an owner and a date for each, stalled candidates with the days since last contact, and decisions the hiring manager needs to make. If a next step has no owner or date in the rows, write "Not stated". Format: A two-sentence summary, then a Stage table (Stage, Count), a Next steps table (Candidate, Next step, Owner, Date), then short lists for Stalled and Decisions needed. Under 200 words plus tables. Here are the tracker rows (name, stage, last contact, next step, owner): [TRACKER ROWS] ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business or agency name. **`[ROLE]`** The job you're filling. **`[TODAY]`** Today's date, so it can count days since last contact. AI tools don't reliably know the date. **`[STALL DAYS]`** Your rule for "stalled," such as 7 days without contact. **`[TRACKER ROWS]`** Rows copied from your sheet or tracker. Include only the columns listed; leave out notes, salaries and contact details. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Reply Faster to a Client Asking for a Case Update: ChatGPT for Small Law Firms](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-client-case-update-email-law-firm). Harbor Street Law is the made-up small law firm in the case update lesson, where Owen Park is the paralegal. The firm is hiring a second paralegal, and Owen sends the weekly update to Attorney Hale. Copy example ```text Role: You are a recruiting coordinator at Harbor Street Law, writing the weekly pipeline update for the hiring manager. Context: The role is litigation paralegal. Today's date is Friday, October 9. A candidate is stalled if their last contact was more than 7 days ago. Use only the tracker rows below. Don't add opinions about candidates or predict who will be hired, and don't include personal details; refer to candidates by first name and last initial. Task: Write the update: counts by stage, what moved since last week, next steps with an owner and a date for each, stalled candidates with the days since last contact, and decisions the hiring manager needs to make. If a next step has no owner or date in the rows, write "Not stated". Format: A two-sentence summary, then a Stage table (Stage, Count), a Next steps table (Candidate, Next step, Owner, Date), then short lists for Stalled and Decisions needed. Under 200 words plus tables. Here are the tracker rows (name, stage, last contact, next step, owner): Lena M., final interview, Oct 8, Hale to decide on offer, Hale Chris D., final interview, Oct 7, reference calls Oct 12, Owen Aisha R., phone screen done, Sep 29, schedule interview, Owen Ben T., applied, Oct 6, phone screen Oct 13, Owen Marta S., applied, Oct 5, phone screen, (blank) Joel K., withdrew, Oct 2, none, none ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Counts that add up to six: two in final interview, one after phone screen, two applied, one withdrawn. - Aisha R. listed as stalled at 10 days, since her last contact was September 29. - Marta's phone screen with Owner and Date "Not stated," not a made-up owner. - One decision for Attorney Hale, the offer for Lena M., stated without any opinion on whether to make it. ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Add up the stage counts and compare them with the number of rows you pasted. - Recount the stalled days yourself for each flagged candidate; date math is a common slip. - Check every next step, owner and date against the rows. Anything it filled in on its own gets changed back to Not stated. - Read it for opinions ("strong candidate," "likely to accept"). If they aren't in your data, delete them. ## Why this prompt works This is the [action items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/action-items) table from the meeting summary lessons, built from a spreadsheet instead of a transcript: owner, date and "Not stated" for gaps. Giving the AI today's date in the Context matters because models don't reliably know it, so "days since" math is only as good as the date you supply. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[Summarize a Meeting Transcript with ChatGPT](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-summarize-meeting-transcript)**: Paste a long meeting transcript into ChatGPT and get the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email ready to send. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/chatgpt-meeting-summary) Also useful: [Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-interview-debrief-scorecard) ## Terms used here [Action items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/action-items) · [Structured output](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/structured-output) · [Google Sheets (as an automation database)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/google-sheets) ## Related prompts - [Hiring manager intake prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/hiring-manager-intake-prompt): Turn a hiring manager's intake notes into a role brief: must-haves vs nice-to-haves, pay, interview steps, open questions and… - [Weekly team report prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/weekly-team-report-prompt): Turn this week's numbers and notes into a short owner report, with both weeks side by side so you can check the math, and no… - [Project status update prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/project-status-update-prompt): Write an honest project status update: On track, At risk or Off track with the reason, what's done, what's next, blockers and… - [Phone screen summary prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/phone-screen-summary-prompt): Turn rushed phone screen notes into a clean summary: each requirement marked Meets, Doesn't meet or Unclear, logistics, and… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)