Which columns matter, and why
A candidate database in a spreadsheet works if it answers questions, and that takes only a few well-chosen columns. A stable identifier stops two rows for the same person becoming two different candidates. Skills separated by semicolons can be filtered; written as prose, they cannot.
The two most commonly forgotten columns are the consent date and the next action. The first is what allows a retention policy to be applied without deleting blindly. The second is what stops a process sitting still without anyone noticing, which is the most common way to lose a good candidate.
- A stable identifier that is never reused
- Skills as a list, not as free text
- Consent date and source of the contact
- A next action with a date on every active row