Hiring glossary
What is candidate screening?
Candidate screening is the stage of hiring where applicants are checked against the role’s minimum requirements, to decide who is qualified to move forward.
It usually runs in steps: a knock-out check on hard requirements such as right to work, location or licences; a review of the résumé or application against the must-haves; and often a short phone screen or an assessment. Screening removes the people who cannot do the job. Shortlisting then chooses the strongest of those who remain.
Because screening handles the most people, it is where inconsistency does the most damage. A written checklist of pass criteria, applied to every applicant in the same order, keeps decisions fair and quick. A short job-relevant assessment at this stage gives a direct signal of ability, where a résumé mostly shows how well someone writes about themselves.
Also called: applicant screening, pre-screening.
Example
For a warehouse supervisor role, screening removes applicants without forklift certification or weekend availability. A recruiter then holds a 15-minute call with each remaining applicant, covering shift patterns and how they would handle a missed delivery.
Related terms
Cohesyve · Skill assessments for hiring
Screen candidates on the real work for your next role
Cohesyve takes a job description, finds candidates, reaches out to them and runs an AI job simulation of the real work, then returns a ranked shortlist.
1,500+
assessments completed
50%
faster time-to-hire
5 min
from JD to assessment
No credit card · 10 free candidates · Plans sized to your hiring volume