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Shortlisting Candidates: The All-In-One Guide...

Shortlisting Candidates: The All-In-One Guide (+ Matrix Template)

Written by Shani Jay

9 minutes read

Organizations are beginning to recognize that recruiting and retaining top talent is essential for meeting business goals and maintaining a competitive advantage. Shortlisting is arguably the most challenging and lengthy step in the hiring journey. Although marketing and employer branding practices can help in sourcing candidates, successfully screening and shortlisting candidates still presents a challenge for most companies. But shortlisting effectively is essential for finding (and hiring) the right person for the right role.

In addition, research has found that 50% of applicants surveyed turned down a job offer because the hiring process took too long, so shortlisting at speed is equally important to ensure you don’t miss out on your best candidates.

In this article, we’ll explore what candidate shortlisting is and how to design an efficient shortlisting process.

DOWNLOAD SHORTLISTING MATRIX TEMPLATE

Contents
What is shortlisting in recruitment?
When does shortlisting take place in the recruitment process?
The shortlisting process in 5 steps
Shortlisting matrix template
Avoiding bias in shortlisting

What is shortlisting in recruitment?

The criteria for shortlisting candidates is a crucial part of the recruitment process, where recruiters and hiring managers must identify which candidates from their talent pool are best suited to the role in question and a good cultural fit for the organization.

The aim is to narrow down the list and determine a set of qualified candidates who will progress to the next stage of the hiring journey. Typically, organizations will have a list of essential skills and experience and desirable skills and experience for each role. If candidates tick all these boxes and look like a good cultural fit, they will be shortlisted for the position.

During the shortlisting process, other important considerations include DEIB, objectivity, and fairness. Rising unemployment levels mean that most employers are dealing with larger volumes of applicants with a variety of skills and experience. Plus, with more remote working options, geographical limitations have been removed, thus increasing the talent pool. This puts even more pressure on the recruitment, shortlisting, and selection process.

When does shortlisting take place in the recruitment process?

Shortlisting happens at multiple stages in the recruitment process. There is resume shortlisting, skills test shortlisting, and interview shortlisting (including at the phone, video, and in-person stages).

In the table below, you can see the different screening types and the stage they occur during the hiring process.

Shortlisting process	Explanation
Resume shortlisting	This is the first stage of the recruitment process where resumes are looked through to see if a candidate has the unique mix of qualifications, skills and experience for the role they have applied for. If a candidate’s resume does match the predetermined criteria, they will be shortlisted for the next round.
Aptitude/Skill tests	Some recruitment processes include an aptitude or skills test (e.g., a skills test or personality assessment) to determine if a candidate has the desired skills and behaviors for the role and organization. Those who pass the test will move on to the next stage.
Phone screening	The candidates who make it to the phone screening round will complete a telephone interview which usually goes through a series of questions related to the information on their resume and how well they would perform in the role. This stage also gives recruiters a good idea of the candidate’s communication skills and enthusiasm for the position and the organization. Those who are successful will be shortlisted for the next stage.
Video interviews	Sometimes a video interview will be conducted rather than moving straight to an in-person interview, especially if it’s for a remote position. These can occur on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams. There may be one or more interviewers, and candidates will be asked a series of questions that help to evaluate their skills, experiences, and suitability for the position. Candidates who are successful will usually be shortlisted for a face-to-face interview.
In-person interviews	At this stage, candidates will typically arrive at the organization’s head office and have a face-to-face interview with 2-3 people (including a hiring manager and someone from recruitment). They may have been given a presentation to prepare which they will present at this interview. They will also be asked questions about the experience on their resume, situational-based questions, and questions to see how well they would fit into the team and wider organization and what their career ambitions are. Face-to-face interviews allow for more detailed questioning and observation of the candidate. Depending on the level and nature of the role, a job offer may be made after this stage to the most suitable candidate(s).
Interview shortlisting	If the role is more senior and requires a complex set of skills, candidates may be shortlisted after the first interview stage for a final interview (and potentially another assessment).
Reference & background checks	Recruiters will commonly check references provided by the candidate to obtain more information on their previous performance, work ethic, and conduct. In some roles (for example, where the employee will be working with children), background checks must be carried out (for example, a criminal record check) to ensure the candidate is suitable for the role and to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
Final interview shortlisting	If another interview is required, candidates who have successfully passed all the previous stages will be shortlisted for a final interview. This will be an even more thorough interview and may involve more senior members of staff and more assessments.
Final selection	The most suitable candidate for the role will be chosen, and an offer of employment will be made. Unsuccessful candidates will usually be notified once the offer of employment has been accepted by the chosen candidate.

The shortlisting process in 5 steps

Here’s what the shortlisting process will typically look like when HR and hiring managers shortlist candidates for various positions.

Step 1: Review candidate resumes

The first step in the shortlisting process is for HR and/or hiring managers to review candidate resumes to assess the overall quality of the received applications. They will evaluate the CVs to see whether the candidates have the required qualifications, skills, and experience for the role they have applied for.

Professionalism and attention to detail (sloppy grammatical mistakes on a resume or cover letter) will often lead to a candidate being automatically disqualified, particularly if there is a surplus of candidates.

Step 2: Establish the criteria for shortlisting candidates

The next step is to determine your criteria for shortlisting candidates. There will typically be a mix of essential criteria and desirable criteria that you’ve defined at the beginning of the recruitment process.

Essential criteria are anything you consider vital for a candidate to succeed in the role, for example, a minimum qualification. Desirable criteria is something that is not essential but will give a candidate a competitive advantage, for example, the number of years of experience they have.

Example #1: Shortlisting criteria for a software developer position
Education and qualifications	Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field Relevant certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified Professional, AWS Certified Developer)
Work experience	Minimum of 3 years of experience in software development Experience with programming languages such as Java, C++, or Python Familiarity with software development frameworks and tools.
Technical skills	Proficiency in object-oriented programming Knowledge of database systems and SQL Experience with web development technologies (e.g., HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
Problem-solving and analytical abilities	Demonstrated ability to analyze complex problems and develop effective solutions Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills

Example #2: Shortlisting criteria for a sales manager position
Education and qualifications	Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, mathematics or statistics Relevant certifications (within marketing, business, and sales)
Work experience	Minimum of 3 years in a sales position Managerial experience mentoring and coaching other sales reps
Technical skills	Data analysis Managing customers using customer relationship management (CRM)
Problem-solving and analytical abilities	Able to identify opportunities in sales and profits Proven ability to drive the sales process from plan to close Possess knowledge about mobilizing Sales Representatives to achieve or exceed set sales performance targets Ability to identify, recruit, and hire talented sales reps

Step 3. Create a candidate shortlisting scorecard

The next step in the shortlisting process is to create a candidate shortlisting matrix or scorecard. This scorecard will consider your essential and desirable criteria so that you can assign a numerical rating for each criterion for all screened candidates.

For example, let’s say you’re hiring for a trainee buying position. Your scorecard might include:

Education level
Buying and negotiation experience
Commercial savvy
Communication skills

For each of these criteria, the candidate will be given a score (for example, between 1-10) based on how well they fit that criteria. Each criterion can be given a “weighting” – a percentage figure to determine how important these criteria are against all other criteria.

A scorecard ensures that you assess all candidates fairly and against the criteria rather than each other. This allows for a more objective evaluation and for identifying the strongest candidates.

Here’s an example of what a candidate scorecard for a trainee buying position might look like:

Criteria	Weighting	Candidate Name
Education level	15%
Buying and negotiation experience	20%
Commercial savvy	20%
Communication skills	15%
Analytical skills	10%
Relationship management	10%
Attention to detail	5%
Technological proficiency	5%
Total	100%

DOWNLOAD CANDIDATE SCORECARD TEMPLATE

Step 4: Assess applications against the criteria

The next stage is to assess your candidates against the criteria in your matrix.

Perform an initial screening to eliminate any applications that lack your essential criteria. In cases where you have many applications, you may need to move to your desirable criteria list and use this to determine who will progress to the next round.

You may need to add an extra screening aspect, such as a short phone call before the interview stage to shortlist further. Keep doing this until your number of candidates is as close as possible to your target shortlist number.

From here, you can conduct a detailed evaluation of each candidate based on your predetermined criteria. Be sure to maintain consistency throughout the scoring process.

Step 5: Compare candidates using the shortlisting grid matrix

Once you have assessed all your applications, the final step is to create a shortlist of your top candidates using a shortlisting matrix. Take the candidates you’ve evaluated and compare them side by side to each other.

That helps you make decisions about who you want to move to the next stage of the recruitment process or who your top candidate is.

This is what a shortlisting matrix for a trainee buying role could look like:

Criteria	Weighting	Candidate A	Candidate B	Candidate C	Candidate D
Education level	15%	8	9	7	9
Buying and negotiation experience	20%	7	9	8	6
Commercial savvy	20%	9	8	7	8
Communication skills	15%	8	7	9	8
Analytical skills	10%	9	8	9	7
Relationship management	10%	8	7	9	8
Attention to detail	5%	8	9	7	8
Technological proficiency	5%	9	7	8	8
Total score	100%	8.15	8.1	7.95	7.65

Shortlisting matrix template

Using a shortlisting matrix template helps you save time in calculating candidate scores, making the shortlisting process more efficient. What’s more, such a document creates a record of how decisions were made, providing clarity and accountability, especially if hiring decisions are ever questioned.

Here’s what a shortlisting matrix template in Excel could look like:

DOWNLOAD SHORTLISTING MATRIX TEMPLATE

Avoiding bias in shortlisting

Unconscious bias and discrimination can often occur during shortlisting which is why some organizations use blind hiring (or blind applicant screening). All demographic information about candidates is removed so that the hiring manager only sees information that is relevant to the position. Your ATS may have this function; alternatively, you can export your applicant data and eliminate the demographic information.

You can use standardized assessment methods (such as multiple-choice questions, aptitude tests, IQ tests, and observation tests) to assess and evaluate candidates and remove the human element in parts of the screening process to eliminate bias.

Key takeaways

Shortlisting candidates is an important part of the recruitment process. Shortlisting is the process of identifying which applicants are most suited to a particular role based on a mix of predetermined criteria including qualifications, skills, experience and cultural fit.
Shortlisting occurs at multiple stages in the hiring journey. Shortlisting of resumes, after skills tests, phone interviews, video interviews, and in-person interviews all help hiring managers narrow down on the right candidates.
A streamlined shortlisting process will help you hire and retain top talent. An effective shortlisting process will typically involve reviewing resumes, establishing desired criteria, creating a candidate shortlist scorecard, assessing applicants against your criteria, and comparing them via a shortlisting grid matrix.
Avoid unconscious bias and discrimination during shortlisting. Blind hiring and standardized assessment methods can help you remove bias and discrimination from your hiring process and ensure all candidates are treated fairly, and that your recruitment decisions are based purely on the criteria required to succeed in the role and within your organization.

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Shani Jay

Shani Jay is an author & internationally published writer who has spent the past 5 years writing about HR. Shani has previously written for multiple publications, including HuffPost.