Recruiting Overview

An overview of the Recruiting module, covering the candidate pipeline, comp estimator, and onboarding conversion tools and how they connect.

Why recruiting matters in mortgage operations

Recruiting talented Loan Officers, Processors, and support staff is one of the most impactful activities a mortgage company undertakes. Every new originator directly affects volume and revenue, and every new operations team member affects the quality and speed of loan processing. Yet many brokerages manage recruiting through spreadsheets, email threads, and disconnected tools.

The Keystone Recruiting module brings the hiring process into the same platform where your team already manages loans, commissions, and operations. This creates a seamless path from “we found a great candidate” to “they just closed their first loan.”

What the recruiting module provides

Candidate pipeline

A structured pipeline tracks every candidate from initial lead through hire (or decline). Each candidate has a stage, a source, production history, state licensing details, and a full notes timeline. You always know where every prospect stands and what happens next.

Compensation estimator

Before making an offer, use the built-in compensation estimator to model projected earnings based on your actual commission templates. Input a candidate’s expected volume and units, select a commission plan, and see monthly and annual projections — including file fee deductions.

Candidate-to-employee conversion

When a candidate accepts an offer, a guided conversion flow creates their employee record, copies over state licenses, assigns them to a branch, and optionally kicks off an onboarding checklist from a task template. No data re-entry required.

Onboarding tracking

After conversion, the onboarding dashboard shows every new hire who has not yet completed setup. If an onboarding checklist was assigned, progress is tracked automatically as tasks are completed.

The hiring pipeline concept

The pipeline is a series of stages that represent where a candidate is in the hiring process:

Lead  -->  Screening  -->  Interview  -->  Offer  -->  Accepted  -->  Hired
                                             |
                                             v
                                          Declined
                        |
                        v
                     Withdrawn

Stage	What it means
Lead	Initial contact or referral. The candidate has been identified but not yet engaged.
Screening	The candidate is being evaluated for basic qualifications — resume review, phone screen, license verification.
Interview	The candidate is actively interviewing with your team.
Offer	An offer has been extended. The compensation estimator is often used at this stage.
Accepted	The candidate has accepted the offer and is awaiting onboarding.
Hired	The candidate has been converted to an employee. This is a terminal stage set automatically during conversion.
Declined	The candidate or your company decided not to proceed. This is a terminal stage.
Withdrawn	The candidate withdrew from the process. This is a terminal stage.

Terminal stages (Hired, Declined, Withdrawn) represent the end of the pipeline. A candidate in a terminal stage is typically not moved to another stage.

Candidate sources

Every candidate has an optional source that records how they were identified:

Source	Description
Referral	Referred by an existing employee, industry contact, or business partner
Job Board	Found through a job posting on Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or similar
LinkedIn	Sourced or applied through LinkedIn
Direct Outreach	Your team proactively reached out to the candidate
Website	Applied through your company website
Other	Any other source not listed above

Tracking sources helps you understand which recruiting channels are most effective over time.