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Synthetic example. The role, the applicants and the evidence are invented. This is not a customer or a result.

How a shortlist is made

A shortlist starts with the criteria for the role. Each applicant is reviewed against those criteria, and every score shows which ones were met, which were not, and the words from the application that support it.

You make every hiring decision. The score is a way to read the pile in a sensible order, not a verdict.

The role

Operations Manager at a 30-person software company. Four applicants in this sample.

The criteria you set

The shortlist, with the evidence

Applicant A

86 / 100 fit

Meets all three must-haves with direct evidence. Ask about the size of the vendor budget they owned.

  • Met Three or more years running operations at a software company. "Head of operations, 4 years, 35-person SaaS company"
  • Met Has managed vendor contracts or renewals. "Negotiated renewals for 12 tools, reduced spend by consolidating two"
  • Met Comfortable with budgets and basic finance reporting. "Owned the monthly budget review with the CEO"
  • Met Has used an HR or people-ops system. Names an HR system in the current role

Applicant B

71 / 100 fit

Strong operations background, but vendor work is not mentioned. Worth a screening call to check.

  • Met Three or more years running operations at a software company. "Operations lead, 5 years at a software consultancy"
  • Not shown Has managed vendor contracts or renewals. No vendor or contract work mentioned
  • Met Comfortable with budgets and basic finance reporting. "Prepared quarterly cost reports"
  • Partly Has used an HR or people-ops system. Mentions onboarding but names no system

Applicant C

64 / 100 fit

Relevant skills, shorter time in role than the must-have asks for. Not a rejection, a judgement call.

  • Partly Three or more years running operations at a software company. "Operations manager, 2 years" at a software company
  • Met Has managed vendor contracts or renewals. "Managed supplier agreements and annual renewals"
  • Partly Comfortable with budgets and basic finance reporting. Budget ownership implied, not stated
  • Not shown Has used an HR or people-ops system. No HR system mentioned

Applicant D

38 / 100 fit

Experience is mostly outside software operations. The gaps are listed so you can check them yourself.

  • Not shown Three or more years running operations at a software company. Experience is in retail store management
  • Partly Has managed vendor contracts or renewals. Ordered stock from suppliers, no contract work
  • Partly Comfortable with budgets and basic finance reporting. Handled a store budget
  • Not shown Has used an HR or people-ops system. No HR system mentioned

Names, age, school prestige and demographic signals are not scoring factors. Nobody is rejected automatically: you decide who moves forward.

Try it on one role

Set the criteria for a role you are hiring for, add your real applicants, and see whether the evidence is useful before you change anything else.

Try it on one role How the review is kept explainable