You've collected 60 applications for an open role. You need to get to 6–8 people worth interviewing. Shortlisting isn't about finding reasons to reject people — it's about efficiently identifying who deserves your time and theirs in a longer conversation. Here's a structured approach that works even when you're not an experienced recruiter.
Step 1: Set Your Shortlist Criteria Before You Start
This is the most important step, and it happens before you open a single application. Define what you're looking for in three categories:
- Must-haves (dealbreakers): Things a candidate absolutely must have to be considered — required experience, specific skills, location requirements, work authorization. If someone doesn't have these, they're out, full stop.
- Strong preferences: Things you'd really like but that aren't absolute dealbreakers. Could be industry background, a specific tool, or years of experience at a certain level.
- Nice-to-haves: Bonus factors that would make an otherwise strong candidate even more attractive.
Writing this down before you start means you're applying the same standard to every applicant. It also protects against bias — the criteria are set before you know who's applying.
Step 2: Run a Fast First Pass
Go through every application quickly — 30–60 seconds each — and eliminate anyone who clearly fails the must-have criteria. Don't overthink this pass. It's binary: do they have the required experience type or not?
After this pass, you should have eliminated 30–50% of applications (often more). What's left is your working pool for deeper review.
| Candidate | Applied | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Chen | Feb 3 | Shortlisted | View → |
| Alex Rivera | Feb 4 | Reviewing | View → |
| Taylor Brooks | Feb 5 | Applied | View → |
| Morgan Lee | Feb 5 | Reviewing | View → |
| Sam Williams | Feb 6 | Applied | View → |
| Jordan Kim | Feb 7 | Rejected | View → |
Step 3: Score the Remaining Candidates
For the candidates who passed the first pass, do a more detailed review and score each one. A simple scoring system:
- Evaluate each candidate against your 3–5 strong preference criteria
- Score each criterion 1–3 (1 = weak, 2 = adequate, 3 = strong)
- Add up the scores
You don't need a spreadsheet for this — a mental note of "strong / medium / weak" on each candidate works if you take brief notes. The goal is to have a comparable, documented basis for your decisions rather than relying purely on gut feeling.
Step 4: Factor in the Application Quality Signals
Beyond the resume, look at how candidates applied:
- Did they answer optional questions? Candidates who voluntarily provide more information typically care more about the role.
- Are their answers specific and thoughtful, or generic? A specific answer to "Why are you interested in this role?" reveals real motivation. A generic one reveals copy-paste effort.
- Is the resume clearly tailored, or is it a one-size-fits-all generic resume sent to 100 companies?
- Was there a cover letter? And if so, is it actually about you, or is it a template with your company name swapped in?
Step 5: Determine Your Shortlist Size
How many people should you shortlist for phone screens?
- For most roles: 5–8 is the right number. Enough diversity to have real choices; few enough to move quickly.
- For senior or rare roles: 3–5 may be all you find, and that's okay — every candidate pool has a natural ceiling.
- Don't shortlist to have options "just in case." If you know 3 candidates are clearly stronger than the rest, interview those 3. Adding 5 more creates noise without improving your decision.
Documenting Your Decisions
Keep brief notes on why you shortlisted or rejected each candidate. This protects you legally if a rejected candidate questions the process, and it helps you make better decisions when you're comparing candidates at the interview stage.
"Rejected — doesn't have required B2B sales experience" is all you need. You don't need detailed explanations — just enough to remember your reasoning if asked.
What to Do With Candidates You Didn't Shortlist
Send rejection emails. Yes, to all of them — especially if you have more than 10 applicants who didn't make the cut. A brief, professional rejection takes five minutes to batch-send and leaves every applicant with a positive impression of your company's hiring process.