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, mapping custom data columns, and letting people add themselves through a public form.
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.
Capture Prospects with a Public Form and QR Code
Instead of importing a list, you can let people add themselves. The New Prospect Profile form is a public page you share as a link or a QR code. When someone fills it out, their information is automatically saved as a new profile in your talent pool, ready for audience and campaign targeting. This is useful at career fairs, on printed materials, or anywhere you want people to express interest without completing a full job application.
To set up your form, go to Pool > Settings and click Edit on the New Prospect Profile tile.
Turn the Form On
Enable new prospect profile is the master switch. When it is off, the public page shows a generic unavailable message and submissions are rejected. Configure the form first, then switch it on when you are ready to share it.
Customize What Prospects See
The Editing panel on the left controls the form, and the Live preview on the right shows what prospects will see as you make changes.
Under Landing page, set:
Header — the title at the top of the form, for example "Tell us about yourself".
Welcome message — a short introduction, with basic formatting available.
Submit button label — the text on the button prospects click to finish.
Choose Which Fields to Collect
Under Form fields, toggle which prospect fields are collected and whether each one is required. Each field has a COLLECT toggle and a REQUIRED toggle. Available fields include first name, last name, phone, middle name, date of birth, and address lines.
Email Is Always Collected and Required
The email field cannot be switched off. Email is how Pool matches records into a single Talent Profile, so a submission without one cannot create a record.
Share the Form
Anyone with the link or QR code can submit themselves as a prospect, as long as the form is enabled. Under Share your form you can copy the Public link to send directly or post online, or click Download QR code (PNG) to print or display the code for people to scan.
Click Save changes when you are finished. When someone submits the form, a prospect record is created in Pool and becomes eligible for audiences and campaigns.
One Form Per Account
A single New Prospect Profile form is available per account. You cannot run two differently configured forms at once, so a form used at several events collects the same fields at each. If you need to tell submissions apart by source, capture that in a field on the form itself.