Review Applications
TL;DR — Open Applications from the sidebar. As a Campaign Manager you see My Assigned Applications — only candidates whose campaigns you're assigned to. Use filters to narrow down (especially Needs Review), click into an application to see stage progress, evaluations, notes, and actions. Update the status to move candidates forward or to a final outcome.
Before you start
- Requires: Campaign Manager or Admin role.
- Campaign Managers see only their assigned campaigns' applications. Assignment happens on the Managers tab of each campaign — see Manage a Campaign → Managers tab. If you don't see applications you expect, ask an Admin to assign you to the campaign.
Open the Applications page
- From the sidebar, click Applications.
- The page heading is My Assigned Applications for Campaign Managers, or Applications for Admins. Below it sits the filter bar, the result count, and the applications table.
Filter to what matters
You'll usually have far more applications than you can review at once. The filter bar is the daily-driver tool — combine these to drill in:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search | Free-text on candidate name, email, or reference |
| Status | One of In Progress, Submitted, Under Review, Accepted, Rejected, Waitlisted, Withdrawn |
| Campaign | Pick a single campaign (only those you're assigned to, for Campaign Managers) |
| Manager | Filter by assigned manager (Admin view) |
| Source | Referral source — LinkedIn, Email Campaign, Indeed, Facebook, etc. |
| Date range | Application created in this window |
| Needs Review | Toggle. Surfaces applications stuck on a stage that doesn't auto-advance — i.e. waiting for you to act |
| Stage Reached | Toggle. Candidate reached a stage but hasn't completed the action yet |
| Payment Pending | Toggle. Payment stages with bank-deposit payments waiting to be confirmed |
Click Clear all in the filter bar to reset.
Needs Review is the most useful filter for daily review. It shows exactly the applications waiting on a human — no auto-advance, no automatic checks, just you.
You can sort by Created date, Last updated, or Progress (how far through the workflow). Pagination sits at the bottom of the table; URL params persist filters and page so you can bookmark or share a filter view.
Open an application
Click any row in the applications table to open its detail page. The detail page back-link returns you to the filtered list you came from — your filters and page position are preserved.
The application detail page
The detail page has these sections, top to bottom:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Header | Candidate name, current status, campaign, reference, assigned manager, source, created date, progress, plus the actions described below |
| Stage Progress Timeline | Visual list of every stage in this campaign's workflow, with the candidate's current position and per-stage status |
| Evaluation Results | Interview rubric scores from each interviewer, where the candidate has reached an interview stage |
| Tasks | Tasks linked to this application (e.g., "Call this candidate", "Verify documents") |
| Notes | Internal notes timeline. Newest first. Pinned notes (Admin-only) sit at the top |
A Quick Actions Bar also appears in the header area — see Quick actions on a candidate below.
Update the application status
Final-outcome decisions (Accepted, Rejected, Waitlisted, Withdrawn) are made by changing the application status.
- In the header, click Update Application Status (or the equivalent action). A dialog opens.
- Pick the new Status from the dropdown.
- (Optional) Add a Note explaining the reason — this is recorded against the application and visible to anyone with access.
- Click Update Status.
The candidate is notified by email when their status changes (subject to your organization's notification settings). Status changes are auditable — both the change and any note are logged in the application's history.
In Progress vs Submitted: In Progress means the candidate is still filling stages out. Submitted means they've reached the end of the workflow. Move to Under Review when you're actively evaluating, then to a final status when you've decided.
Quick actions on a candidate
The Quick Actions Bar puts the most common per-candidate actions one click away:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add Task | Create a task for yourself or another team member, linked to this application (e.g., "Email transcript request") |
| Add Note | Internal note on the application, visible to other staff (Admin / Campaign Manager / Member). Not visible to the candidate |
| Upload Document | Add a document on behalf of the candidate (useful when they sent something via email instead of uploading) |
| Phone Call | One-click outbound call (only when phone calls are enabled for your organization). Recording controls appear during the call if recording is configured |
| WhatsApp Chat | Open a chat sheet to send WhatsApp messages — only enabled when your organization has WhatsApp messaging configured |
Move a candidate through stages
The Stage Progress Timeline is where you push a candidate forward when their stage doesn't auto-advance. For each stage, you can:
- View the submission — for Form stages, see exactly what the candidate submitted (each question and its answer). For Quiz forms, you can grade individual questions that are flagged as Manually Graded.
- Mark the stage complete — moves the candidate to the next stage.
- See timestamps — when the candidate reached the stage, when they submitted, when it was completed.
For Interview stages, the timeline links to the interview-specific progress sheet showing booking, attendance, and evaluation scores.
For Payment stages, the timeline links to the payment progress sheet — you can confirm bank-deposit payments here once you've verified the transfer.
Skip a stage
Some candidates may be exempt from a stage (e.g., an existing student doesn't need to retake the application form). To skip:
- On the Stage Progress Timeline, find the stage and click the action menu.
- Select Skip Stage. A confirmation dialog asks for a reason (logged on the application).
- Confirm. The stage is marked as skipped (not the same as completed) and the candidate moves on to the next.
Skipping is a soft override — the stage is marked skipped, not retroactively required. Skipped stages still appear in the timeline, just labeled as such. Any auto-advance rule that depended on a stage's completion still won't fire for a skipped stage.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Applications sidebar entry shows nothing | You're a Campaign Manager not assigned to any campaign | Ask an Admin to assign you to a campaign on its Managers tab |
| Search returns no results even though you know the candidate exists | A status filter or campaign filter is still active | Click Clear all in the filter bar |
| Phone Call button missing from a candidate | Twilio phone calls aren't enabled for your org, or the candidate has no phone on file | Add a phone number on the candidate's contact record. If Twilio is fully missing, ask the BrightStep team |
| WhatsApp Chat button missing | WhatsApp messaging isn't enabled for your organization | Ask the BrightStep team to enable WhatsApp |
| Status update fails with a permission error | You're not a manager assigned to this candidate's campaign | Ask the assigned manager (or an Admin) to make the change |
| Update Application Status dialog doesn't show all status options | A few statuses (e.g. Withdrawn) are typically only used by candidates themselves; you'll see all staff-allowed options | If a status seems missing, refresh — the dropdown reflects what your role can set |
| Candidate didn't get the status-change email | Your org's notification settings have the email channel disabled for this event, or the candidate's email bounces | Check Settings → Notifications with an Admin |