What it is
A shortlist is the ranked set of candidates matched against a single job order. Rather than reading every CV, you see candidates scored by how well they fit the role’s requirements — banded from strong to borderline — with the match percentage and their current funnel stage, so you can focus on the people most likely to land the role.
This is where sourcing turns into selection. The ranking does the first pass for you: it weighs each candidate’s skills and answers against what the order actually needs. You stay in control — you open a match to see why they scored where they did, then decide who to advance. It’s faster than manual screening and more consistent than gut feel.
When to use it
- An order is open and you need to pick who to progress
- You have more applicants than you can read one by one
- You want candidates ranked against the role’s real requirements
- You’re comparing two strong candidates side by side
How it works
Step by step.
- 1
Open the order’s match view
From the job order, open its matches. Candidates are ranked against the order’s requirements, banded by match quality.
- 2
Read the bands
Strong, good, weak and borderline group candidates by fit. Start at the top — the strongest matches for this role.
- 3
Open a candidate to see why
Click a match to see the score breakdown — which requirements they meet and how their answers scored — so the ranking is explainable, not a black box.
- 4
Compare your top picks
Hold two or three strong candidates against each other on the things that matter for this site and client.
- 5
Advance who you want
Take your chosen candidates forward into screening or interviews. The rest stay ranked in case you need to reach deeper.
Worked example
Follow it through.
The scenario
You’re filling the three Coastline forklift seats at Docklands and have 31 matched candidates.
- 1 Open the order’s match view; candidates are ranked, with 6 in the strong band.
- 2 Open Jack Mason (94% match) — his licence is current and his availability covers the full peak.
- 3 Open Aisha Rahman (91%) — strong too, but available only four days a week.
- 4 Compare the two; Jack fits the full pattern, Aisha suits a partial seat.
- 5 Advance Jack, Aisha and the next strongest match into screening.
The result
Three well-matched forklift candidates are in screening for the Coastline order, chosen from a ranked list rather than 31 unread CVs.
Tips & notes
Good to know.
- Trust the band for the first cut, but always open the breakdown before you advance — it tells you why someone ranked where they did.
- A high percentage with a missing must-have is a flag, not a pick — read the breakdown for the gap.
- Keep the next-best matches in mind; if an offer falls through, your bench is already ranked.
- Match quality feeds your conversion analytics later, so advancing the right band pays off in cleaner reporting.
When you’re done
A focused shortlist of well-matched candidates advanced toward interview.