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Switch from Lever
Switching from Lever to Yardstick
Getting your data out
Getting your data out of Lever
The exact steps to get your candidates, jobs, and applications out of Lever — including what your plan gates and what needs a support ticket. Every step links to Lever’s own documentation.
- 1
Pull the self-serve export. A Super Admin can run Lever Data Exports, which bundles candidates (CSV), all feedback, interview calibration and events, profile notes (as JSON, including secret notes), and all profile files — resumes included — in their original format. Source
Self-serve · Super Admin
- 2
Your data isn't held hostage: per Lever's own docs, a Super Admin can still download the export even after the account is deactivated — you'll see a “Trial Expired” screen, but the download link still works. Source
Works post-deactivation
- 3
Only Super Admins can trigger the export, but you can grant Admins or Team Members access per user and per report from their profile's Access tab. Source
Super Admin · delegable
Watch the deadlines
- Lever's export download links expire — the candidate, posting, and interview-data portions after about 7 days — so generate the export and download it promptly rather than leaving it to sit. Source
What survives the move
The pipeline moves — people, roles, and the history connecting them.
Yardstick imports the three things every ATS actually holds: your candidates, the jobs they were attached to, and the applications that record who stood where in which role. Applying the import also creates the job postings and starter interview plans that give each role a working home — so you land in a system that’s ready to run interviews, not an empty shell.
Your Lever candidates, feedback, and resumes map straight into the dry run as candidates, jobs, and applications; profile notes come across as JSON, and your agent converts the whole bundle to the importer's structured rows.
Hand it to your agent
Your coding agent can run the whole move.
The importer is part of Yardstick’s public API and the yardstick CLI, available on every account. So instead of working the exports by hand, you can hand them to a coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, or similar): it converts each export into structured rows, runs the dry run, and brings you a row-by-row preview of exactly what will be created. You read it and approve; the agent applies it — and the apply writes exactly what the preview showed, nothing more.
That’s the same division of labor Yardstick is built on everywhere: agents prepare the work, and humans approve it. An import never emails a candidate, never merges people, and never deletes anything.
The right fit
Who should move — and who shouldn’t.
Lever gives you your data back cleanly, so switching isn't about escaping a lock-in — it's about where you land. Teams move to Yardstick when they want deeper structured interviews (job-specific plans and scorecards, AI decision briefs under human approval) and an ATS a coding agent can operate. It's also worth knowing Lever has been part of Employ Inc. — alongside JazzHR and Jobvite — since August 2022, so if you're weighing that portfolio's direction, a clean export makes it easy to try something else.
FAQ
Common questions about leaving Lever.
How do I export my candidates from Lever?
A Super Admin runs Lever Data Exports, which bundles candidates (CSV), all feedback, interview calibration and events, profile notes (as JSON), and all profile files including resumes in their original format. Only Super Admins can trigger it, but export access can be granted to other users per report.
Can I get my resumes and attachments out of Lever?
Yes — resumes and profile files are included in the Lever Data Exports bundle in their original format, alongside the candidate and feedback CSVs. Download links expire after about 7 days for the candidate-data portions, so pull them promptly.
Can an AI agent migrate my Lever data to Yardstick?
Yes. Yardstick's importer is part of its public API and the yardstick CLI on every account, so a coding agent can take your Lever export, convert it into structured rows (including the JSON notes), run the dry-run, and show you the preview. You approve it; the agent applies it. The agent does the work; the approval stays with you.
Can I still export my Lever data after my contract ends?
Per Lever's own documentation, a Super Admin can still download the data export even after the account is deactivated — you'll see a “Trial Expired” screen, but the link still works. Even so, it's safest to pull your export before you cancel, while everything is live.
Bring your Lever pipeline with you.
Create your account and dry-run your first import — see the row-by-row preview of exactly what will be created before anything is written.
Want the full picture first? See how importing into Yardstick works.