An applicant pool is the total number of individuals who apply for a single position by sending in a resume or completing an application for employment. Employers have a variety of ways to evaluate the applicant pool, including interviews and application reviews.
Depending on the job and/or economic climate, an applicant pool can be very diverse or uniform. For some jobs, such as new graduate jobs, the applicant pool can have thousands of individuals from all backgrounds. In other positions, such as C-level openings, serious candidates with the necessary experience are more likely to apply or to be recruited for the position.
Employers, human resources professionals, and recruiters work to describe the position effectively to reduce the pool to only candidates that would be a good fit for the role.