Candidate Screening: Top 10 Methods And Best Practices
Candidate screening is an essential part of any hiring process occurring just before the interviewing process begins in earnest.
I started my career as a recruiter in headhunting and executive search where screening was one of the most important stages because we didn’t want to send our clients poor candidates and waste their time.
So, how can you make sure that you set up the right candidates for interview and even start to think about closing them at the offer stage?
Here I’ll share my knowledge and best practices to help you develop an effective candidate screening process.
What Is Candidate Screening?
Candidate screening is the stage at the start of the recruitment process that decides who goes through to the first stage interview with a hiring manager.
This is especially common if a recruiter works with the hiring manager as the recruiter acts as a sieve and an extension of the hiring team’s needs.
The candidate screening process involves reviewing information about the candidate that is available to you (e.g. candidate’s resume, cover letter, LinkedIn profile) and deciding whether they could be a good fit.
If they seem promising, then the process would also normally involve an initial call between the candidate and someone from recruitment/HR, called the ‘screening call’, to explore their experience a little deeper and discuss the role.
Why Is Candidate Screening Important?
Hiring is extremely time and resource intensive, taking people out of their regular work to conduct interviews etc.
An effective screening process will help:
- Identify qualified candidates: Ensure only candidates with the right skills, experience, and qualifications move forward.
- Save time and resources: By filtering out unsuitable candidates early, hiring teams can focus on top prospects, reducing time-to-hire and recruitment costs.
- Improve quality of hire: Thorough screening increases the likelihood of selecting candidates who will perform well and fit the company culture.
- Reduce turnover: Proper screening helps minimize the risk of hiring mismatches, leading to higher retention rates.
- Enhance compliance: Ensure adherence to legal and regulatory standards, reducing potential risks related to discrimination or negligent hiring.
- Boost employer brand: A well-organized screening process reflects professionalism, improving the candidate experience and company reputation.
10 Candidate Screening Methods
Here’s what I typically use to assess a candidate’s validity for an interview with the hiring manager:
1. Screening while sourcing
A lot of judgment goes (or at least should go) into candidate sourcing. This could be as basic as reading a candidate’s profile on LinkedIn and noticing that they specifically say they don’t want to be contacted for new roles right now (and respecting that wish!).
Here are a few things I look out for when deciding whether I should reach out to a potential candidate:
Skills
Are there mentions of the right skills? Sounds simple, but I know so many people who receive messages every day for roles that are completely the wrong fit for them e.g. a developer who’s worked with Java exclusively getting approached for a role that requires 5 years of Golang experience.
Skills but in unexpected ways
Are there mentions of the right skills in unexpected ways? Keep in mind that not everyone describes their skills the way you want them to or expect them to, especially if you are recruiting across cultures or in an expertise domain different than your own.
For example, you may be looking for someone with project management skills, but a candidate may talk about a time when they “coordinated” a project. The skills may be the same, but the word coordination may lead you astray in thinking that they are not “managing” the project.
Can you research if they have the right skills?
Sometimes the skills aren’t visible at first glance so you need to research a bit deeper. When the information doesn’t go into detail, start looking for something that will include them on your list of people to contact rather than exclude them.
Things to look at:
- Current and past companies—do they have a similar product, size, or tech stack to yours?
- Projects or engagements outside of work—these can also be used in your outreach message as well.
- Education—things like a bachelor’s degree may be less relevant with senior candidates who already have experience, but signs of continual education in a certain area can demonstrate skills too.
- Work experience—seems simple but don’t forget to pay attention to their description of their experience, not just the keywords.
There are some specialist candidate sourcing solutions out there that will help you identify channels, post roles, and compare candidates and sourcing methods.
2. Resume screening
When it comes to applicants, the first piece of information you will see about them is their CV or resume (depending on where you are in the world).
We are so used to them that it’s actually a new thing now for companies to offer accessible applications without CVs. Here are things that I review for each job applicant's CV:
- Has the candidate stated their title and responsibilities in each role clearly?
- Is there a focus on outcomes and understanding of their work’s impact?
- Does the CV clearly outline what their career path has been so far?
- Are the right skills and experience that you’re looking for contained in the CV?
- If the background (e.g., size of company, location, etc.) are important for the role, are those requirements covered?
That is all—not much, but bear in mind that for the moment we’re looking at the very top of the funnel. A CV only tells half the story, so you don’t want to look too much into it and start making assumptions that often turn out to be wrong.
For example, you may be excited that you have an applicant who has only ever worked at a very large company, but then you remember that your position is in a small start-up and you are looking for a sales director who has experience bringing a small challenger product to a new market.
You can still interview a candidate from a large company, but you have to make sure you delve deeper into how they would approach your particular situation.
Things I don’t give much importance to:
- 1-2 typos (especially if they have a long CV). Others may be a bit more strict but I prefer to focus on skills etc. The only roles where I pay attention to things like this are content marketing, lawyers, and finance.
- Career gaps. Especially with the way the current job market is going, one or two gaps do not concern me. I will cover them during a call, but they shouldn’t exclude a candidate that otherwise has the right experience.
- Formatting, unless it’s completely illegible. Also remember that sometimes your applicant tracking system (ATS) can screw up the formatting of a CV. Especially with candidates using new tools outside of MS Word to create CVs. My own is created using Canva!
If reviewing international CVs, bear in mind the following as they may contain these elements which may seem odd:
- Picture of the applicant
- Blood type, height, and weight
- Marital status
- Personal identification numbers
- Exact home address
- Immigration status
- Criminal background check status.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that while many applicant tracking systems can automate resume evaluation and save time, to quote Duffy Marie on Quora “Human recruiter judgment and review is still critical to truly identifying the strongest, most qualified candidates, especially for more senior roles. Software alone will likely result in missing some great candidates, so human review and discretion is important. A balanced, multifaceted approach is ideal.”
3. Phone/video call screening
If, after reviewing their CV, LinkedIn, etc, someone seems like a potential match, the next step of the screening process might be a quick call with someone from recruitment/HR.
This is likely the first human interaction the candidate will have with your organization as part of their application, so you want to balance assessing their skills with creating a good overall experience.
Don’t make it a conversation where it’s just checking a list of questions.
You have to give potential candidates enough information about the role and the company culture in an engaging way and also get the information you need from them.
While it may be the first proper conversation, this is actually where the “close” begins in that you’re preparing yourself and the candidate for a potential job offer.
Understanding the motivations of the candidate completes the picture that their skills and experience begin to draw, so make sure you take time to understand them truly. This will help you later on if you end up making a job offer.
For example, if a candidate mentions that they currently don’t do much frontend engineering as part of their full-stack role, but they’d really like to focus on that as a next step in their career and this is something you can offer, you can remind them of that in the offer call to reinforce the opportunity.
To ensure the call is as effective as possible, I always center the initial screening interview around an agenda—just like with internal meetings!
I start by giving them an overview of the role and then ask them to give me an overview of their experience plus answer a few questions. I then make sure there’s time at the end for any questions they have.
I’ve found that starting with information about myself, the company, and the role settles candidates better than just rattling off questions at them from the start.
But, as you want to move over to assessing their skills and motivations, be mindful of how much time you spend giving information vs how much you spend getting information from the candidate.
My screens are usually about 20-30 mins so I spend around 5-7 mins on the intro and pitch and 15 mins gathering information from the candidate. The rest of the time I try to reserve for the candidate’s questions (which at this stage may not be that many).
I usually create interview questions based on the areas I want to cover in this first call:
- Motivation. If they’re an applicant, why did they apply here? If they were sourced, why did they respond to the message?
- Goals. I want to understand the candidate’s goals for their next role and if it will match our role.
- Communication skills. This is important in most roles, so look at the communication skills of a candidate from the get-go. For example, are they able to explain something technical in simple terms? Can they be concise and keep to the time schedule as the screening call is short?
- Skills. While this is not a technical interview, you can still look for evidence for some skills that should be essential (more on this shortly).
On my side, I talk them through the company, team, role, outcomes for the position, and other essentials that they’d need to know to make a decision.
This discovery process on both sides continues throughout the process, but the screening lays the foundation of knowledge on both sides.
I’d recommend similar approaches when it comes to phone interviews or video interviews at the screening stage. If you need some software to assist you, there are many video interviewing solutions to choose from too.
4. LinkedIn/social profiles
It’s rare for people not to have a LinkedIn profile these days. Some people use it a lot more than others, but it can be useful for getting a sense of how people are engaged with their industry and peers.
Also, for certain roles (recruiters, for example), you’d expect much more LinkedIn activity than others (developers).
5. Portfolio
This is incredibly important for certain roles e.g. designers and illustrators. In truth, you’ll probably want the hiring manager to help you analyze this as they’re the professionals here.
The developer version would be something like their personal website, Github or activity on Stack Overflow.
6. Cover/application letter
I’m not a massive fan of these but some organizations insist. Some things to look out for in a good cover letter:
- See if they have tailored their cover letter to your specific job and company.
- Motivation and Interest: Look for indications of genuine interest in the role and the organization.
- Evaluate their ability to articulate their experience and motivations clearly and professionally.
7. Social media
Social media can be a great resource to find candidates (read my article on social recruiting for more) and, since you’re there already, you can analyze their profiles a bit.
In certain professions like journalism, a lot of candidates will be highly active on Twitter/X. Designers, illustrators, and other creatives will likely hang out and post their work on Instagram or Pinterest.
However, this requires a balanced approach to avoid bias or legal risks. Some tips here:
- Transparency consent: Inform candidates if social media checks are part of the process and encourage them to share profiles (most will if relevant).
- Focus on relevance: Review job-relevant content, not personal or protected categories like religion or politics.
- Be consistent: Apply the same screening criteria for all candidates to avoid bias claims.
- Data privacy compliance: Ensure compliance with data protection laws (e.g., GDPR).
- Document findings: Keep records of how social media findings influence decisions, ensuring transparency and fairness.
8. Application stage questions
Rather than have them write a cover letter, maybe you want to add an extra step into the application process by asking 2-3 pointed questions e.g. What was it about this job post that enticed you to apply? What are you looking for in a new role?
Just this extra step might put a few people off from applying and help you pick out those who really want the role vs just applying to everything.
9. References and referrals
Sometimes applicants will include reference letters as part of their application, or perhaps they were referred by someone within your organization, maybe you even know someone they’ve worked with in the past. Specialist reference checking tools are useful for helping to confirm these.
You may also consider more thorough HR background check solutions at this stage.
10. Skills assessments
Skills assessments help evaluate candidates' abilities in real-world tasks related to the job. They ensure that candidates can walk the walk and actually possess the required technical and soft skills, reducing the risk of hiring mismatches.
However, be careful not to ask for too much upfront. It’s unlikely someone will undertake a 3-hour coding challenge before they’ve spoken to anyone, but some better examples might be a short logic or personality test.
What To Look For When Screening Candidates
As you can see there's a lot you can use to help screen candidates. Getting more granular, these are some things I look for at the screening stage specifically:
1. Qualifications and experience
Look for:
- Relevant education, certifications, and work history.
- Consistency and logical career progression.
Red flags:
- Major gaps without explanations.
- Inflated job titles or unclear responsibilities.
2. Skills and competencies
Look for:
- Technical and soft skills relevant to the role.
- Results from skills assessments or past work samples.
Red flags:
- Overstated proficiency in critical skills.
- Lack of relevant project experience.
3. Cultural fit and values
Look for:
- Alignment with your company’s mission, values, and work style.
- Evidence of teamwork, adaptability, and passion for your industry.
Red flags:
- Negative remarks about past employers.
- Rigid or inflexible attitudes.
4. Communication and presentation
Look for:
- Clear, professional communication in applications and interviews.
- Ability to explain experiences and achievements confidently.
Red flags:
- Vague or incomplete answers.
- Poor grammar or unprofessional email etiquette.
5. Motivation and interest
Look for:
- Genuine enthusiasm for your company and the role.
- Personalized cover letters and thoughtful questions during interviews.
Red flags:
- Generic or mass-produced applications.
- Limited knowledge about your company.
6. Referrals, references and background checks
Look for:
- Positive referrals or references emphasizing suitability and achievements.
- Verified credentials and employment history.
Red flags:
- Hesitation to provide references.
- Inconsistent stories between the candidate and their references.
7. Essential employment criteria
- Legal work eligibility
- Salary expectations vs. company budget
- Willingness to relocate if required.
Candidate Screening Challenges
Screening candidates is challenging when there’s a deluge of applicants or you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Volume
In reality, this is a bigger issue in larger, prestige organizations that everyone wants to work at or in high volume recruiting situations.
If this is the case, many staffing tools can be programmed to automatically filter out and reject unsuitable candidates that don’t meet certain requirements such as salary expectation, location, or visa status.
Lack of knowledge
Unfamiliarity with the roles you’re screening or lack of professional insight e.g. when being asked to assess a designer’s portfolio.
Lack of consistency across reviewers
If multiple people are working the same role are they all consistently screening the appropriate candidates for the right skills and competencies?
Getting an answer from hiring managers
While recruitment should be near the top of everyone’s priority list, it can sometimes be tricky to get feedback from hiring managers. This can slow down the process and might even mean you miss out on in-demand candidates.
Candidate Screening Best Practices
With the above challenges in mind, here are some best practices to ensure an efficient, consistent screening process:
Develop clear job descriptions
Clearly outline the required skills, experience, qualifications, and other criteria in the JD e.g. Python developer with 3+ years of experience to 1) ensure more suitable candidates apply and 2) give screeners a clear guide to evaluate against.
More in my article on how to write a job description.
Use technology wisely
Make use of ATSs and other forms of recruiting software such as resume screening tools to help filter candidates. However, as mentioned above, use these with caution and always review your database of candidates to look for one that may have slipped through the cracks.
Training
Screening is an essential recruitment skill, so ensure everyone involved is appropriately trained on how to screen and what to look out for when screening candidates for their roles.
You might also want to include some bias training in this.
Blind CV review
Blind resume reviews (also known as “blind hiring”) anonymizes the personal and demographic details on someone’s resume that could potentially invite bias
This is something that most modern ATS can provide to different degrees of “blindness”.
What I mean by that is hiding the names and generating either a number or a character of some kind (some generate an adjective and an animal e.g. Curious Panda, which is quite cute).
Others go further by parsing the CV, extracting only the experience, and blanking out things like company history and education.
You can make this applicable to hiring managers only or recruiters as well. Many studies have made the headlines that “ethnic-sounding names” got more rejections than “white” sounding ones.
This has the benefit of getting people to focus solely on the experience and will likely increase the diversity in the pipeline going to the interview stage.
Form close collaboration between hiring managers and screeners
Most will get it, but some hiring managers will need to be educated on the importance of speed in hiring. Close collaboration will result in a faster process and better feedback to help hone it. More on this in the next section.
Setting Up Your Recruiter For Success
If you’re a hiring manager working with a recruiter, you play a key role in ensuring that your talent acquisition partner understands what you need.
They will be conducting the screen on your behalf, so it’s crucial they understand how you think about the role.
An easy way to give guidance is to think about what information you need to consider a candidate suitable for the role, what information isn’t present in the candidate’s CV that you’d like to know, and what information the recruiter can realistically assess e.g. it’s unlikely the recruiter will be able to assess the quality someone’s code.
This ensures the recruiter has the knowledge and screening tools needed to turn talented applicants into qualified candidates to progress through the interview process.
The Art And Science Of Candidate Screening
Candidate screening is part art, part science but a well-designed screening process will ensure that you set the tone for skills testing early on and understand the candidate's goals and motivations.
If you take anything away from this, remember to anchor the screening on objective criteria and primarily look for evidence of the candidate’s skills. This is important as unconscious bias can creep in during these early stages.
And don’t forget that, especially on that first call, you have the opportunity to set the tone for the kind of candidate experience you want to create—make it excellent!
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