Screening

Start with the requirement

Before opening applications, separate what someone must already be able to do from what they can learn after joining. Explain how each essential requirement will be checked. A qualification required for a regulated task needs a different check from experience using a particular brand of software.

Use the same criteria for comparable applications. Record the evidence for a decision, including uncertainty that should be resolved later. A CV can leave out relevant experience without proving that the candidate lacks it.

Choose the check that answers the question

CV and application review help establish relevant experience and qualifications. Application questions can clarify a specific requirement. A screening call gives both sides a chance to resolve missing information before a longer assessment.

For example, a role may require on-site work at an advertised location. A clear question about availability can resolve that practical point. It is more useful than inferring availability from an address on the CV. This is an illustrative process, not a prescribed question for every role.

An automatic knockout question needs particular care: an inaccurate answer or poorly chosen rule can exclude someone before a reviewer sees their evidence. Check what triggers the action and how an error is corrected.

Record the outcome and the next step

Screening should produce an identifiable next action: progress, clarify or decline. Keeping an application in an unchanged stage leaves both the team and the candidate without an answer.

Join’s pipeline guide describes application stages and sorting by time in stage. Those controls help the team find work waiting for review; they do not determine whether a candidate meets the criteria. Communication also needs an owner, because a stage change alone does not notify the candidate.