Prospects are individuals in your talent pool who haven't applied through Fountain Hire and don't have a Worker Profile. Adding them lets you send targeted campaigns and match them to new job Openings.
This article covers importing prospects in bulk through the Talent page, setting up an import configuration, and mapping custom data columns. To let people add themselves through a public form, see Capture Leads with Lead Capture Forms.
Before You Start
You need a role that can create data pipelines and import talent. Create any custom attributes you plan to map before you build the import configuration.
Import Prospects
Import Prospects via the Talent Page
This is the quickest path for a one-off list. The standard configuration works for most files.
Click Pool in the left side panel, then Talent.
Click Import talent in the top right corner.
In the Import configuration dropdown, select a configuration. The standard configuration handles files containing only standard prospect fields. For custom attributes or specific data transformation, you may need to create a Data Pipeline first — see below.
Once a configuration is selected, click Download CSV template.
Enter prospect information into the CSV file. The prospect's email and first name are required. The recommended column set is listed below these steps.
Save the CSV file to your computer.
Drag and drop the CSV file, or click browse to select it from your computer.
Click Preview to review how each column will map to your prospect data.
Click Import prospects. You'll see a confirmation message showing how many prospect records were queued for import.
Recommended CSV Columns
Column | Required | Notes |
Yes | The merge key. A row without an email address is not imported. | |
firstName | Yes |
|
lastName | No |
|
phone | No | Required if you intend to send SMS campaigns to these contacts. |
address, city, state, postalCode | No | Needed for location and proximity filtering. |
Custom attribute columns | No | Each must be mapped in your import configuration before the column will import. |
Every Contact Needs an Email Address
Email is how Pool matches records into a single Talent Profile. A row with no email address is not imported, and a contact with no email address does not exist in Pool.
Import Limits and What to Use Instead
A single CSV upload is capped at 10 MB. For larger volumes, recurring uploads, or files carrying custom attributes, configure a data pipeline instead.
Files cannot be attached to a prospect record through import. Resumes and documents are not part of the prospect import.
Upload Prospects via Data Pipeline
For large-scale or recurring prospect uploads, Pool supports ingestion via Fountain's Data Pipelines tool. This method is designed for uploads that exceed what a single CSV import can handle — including one-time bulk uploads of tens of thousands of contacts, and recurring ingestion from external sources.
When to use this method:
Your file is larger than a single CSV import allows
Your file carries custom attribute columns that need mapping
You have a recurring source of prospect data (for example, a nightly export from an external database)
You want to automate prospect ingestion without manual CSV uploads
Set Up a Prospect Import Configuration
How Data Pipelines Works
A data pipeline carries a single data type. Prospects, Workers, Jobs, Locations, Openings, and Location Groups each need their own pipeline. This is why a Workers pipeline does not appear as an option under prospect import, and why one pipeline cannot load prospects and workers together. If your source file contains both, split it by entity type and configure a pipeline for each.
If your contact spreadsheet has custom data columns beyond the standard prospect fields, a configuration is where you map each additional column to a Fountain custom attribute so the data can be used for targeting in Pool.
Unmapped Columns Are Discarded
A column you do not map is not imported, and nothing tells you afterwards. If a prospect attribute is missing after an import, check the mapping before checking anything else — it is the most common cause of a prospect audience filter returning zero.
Create new custom attributes first if needed. These custom attributes appear on the Attributes tab of the Talent Profile, alongside attributes from worker and applicant records, and can be used in the Automation Center, when creating segments, and when filtering within different Fountain products.
Prospect Contacts Require a Matching Worker Record to Appear Elsewhere
Although custom attributes can be used across Fountain, prospect contacts uploaded via CSV file will not appear in the Worker Profile list or anywhere else in Fountain products unless a corresponding worker contact already exists with the same email address.
To set up a prospect import configuration, follow the steps below:
Click your company name in the bottom left side panel, then click Settings.
Under Workflows, click Data Pipelines.
Click Add a data pipeline.
Enter a name, and set Data type to Prospects.
Upload a sample CSV file, including any custom data columns, then click Next.
On the Mapping step, each column from your file appears in a Sample columns list. For each one, use the Select field... dropdown to choose a matching target field. Standard fields (email, firstName, lastName, phone, address fields, and others) are listed first, followed by your account's custom attributes.
A banner above the mapping list names any required fields still unmapped. Email and first name are required; other fields are optional.
Click Save.
The configuration then appears in the Import configuration dropdown on the Talent page.
Let People Add Themselves
Instead of importing a list, you can let people add themselves through a public lead capture form shared as a link or a QR code. Each submission is saved to your talent pool as a prospect. To create, publish, and share forms, see Capture Leads with Lead Capture Forms.