1.3Screen applications & shortlisting
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Grid before CVs: weighted criteria from the description, scored by 2 reviewers — with no grid, gut feeling and bias guaranteed.
- 3-pile sort: yes, maybe, no — fast and fair, with replies to all (the employer brand is at stake here).
- 15-min call: motivation, availability, salary, mobility — before any one-hour interview.
Running case — Amira screens 300 CVs without bias
Facing 300 applications for the sales rep, Amira takes out the grid from the description (knockout required, desired as bonus) before opening the first CV. With a second reviewer, she sorts into 3 piles, replies to all, then runs 15-minute calls (motivation, availability, salary, mobility) to build an objective short list. The threshold decides, not mood.
Continues the 1.1-1.2 case — Amira moves from volume to short list.
1. The grid first, not after
Weighted criteria come from the description: knockout required, desired as bonus. Each CV is scored on the same grid, by two reviewers. With no grid, you hire on gut feeling (school, photo, first name): guaranteed bias, lost diversity.
2. Three piles, then 15 minutes by phone
The 3-pile sort (yes, maybe, no) is fast — about 2 minutes per CV — and fair: replying to all, even negatively, protects the employer brand (today's «no» candidates are tomorrow's hires). Then phone screening (4 questions, 15 minutes, scored written record) filters motivation, availability, salary and mobility: it avoids the one-hour interview with an unavailable or out-of-budget candidate.
🔎 Concrete example — 5-criterion grid
Amira's grid for the inside sales rep.
Required (knockout): 2 years B2B, CRM kept, Algiers area.
Desired (bonus): English, industry.
Threshold: interview if all required + bonus; call if 1 compensable gap.
→ the threshold decides, not mood.Result: an objective, comparable short list.
Reflex: archive grids and CVs (traceability if challenged).
Section vocabulary
- Shortlisting
- The screening step keeping a short list of profiles to meet, against the description.
Simple example: Amira's short list after grid, piles and calls.
What it is not: inviting the first 10 CVs received to interview.
Reflex: short list = written thresholds applied to all.
- Screening grid
- A tool listing weighted job-related criteria to assess consistently.
Simple example: Knockout required + bonus, scored by 2 reviewers.
What it is not: an overall impression scored after reading.
Reflex: grid written before opening the first CV.
- Hiring bias
- Automatic judgment unrelated to the position (name, age, origin, appearance, gut feeling) skewing assessment.
Simple example: Rejecting a CV over the photo or first name.
What it is not: scoring a proven skill gap.
Reflex: any off-position signal = bias to neutralize.
- Discrimination
- Unfavorable treatment based on a prohibited criterion; forbidden by law.
Simple example: Rejecting over origin, gender, age or disability.
What it is not: rejecting over a missing job-related requirement.
Reflex: decide on proven skill, never on a prohibited criterion.
- Anonymized CV
- An application hiding irrelevant data (name, age, photo) to reduce bias.
Simple example: Amira tests reading with no photo or civil status.
What it is not: a waiver from grid or double review.
Reflex: anonymizing completes the grid, never replaces it.
In practice — Screen objectively and limit bias
- Take criteria from the description (knockout required, desired as bonus) into a weighted grid.
- Score each CV on the same grid, with two reviewers, before any ranking.
- Sort into 3 piles (yes, maybe, no) and reply to all, even negatively.
- Shortlist by phone (15 min, 4 questions, written record) before the interview.
Ready-to-say script — 15-min screening call
«Hello, 15 minutes to check together: what attracts you in this position? Are you available at our date? Your salary range? Do the area and travel suit you? I note your answers and we reply within our announced times.»
4 questions, scored: motivation, availability, salary, mobility.
Copy-paste template — grid + piles + call
CANDIDATE: _______________
REQUIRED (knockout, scored /2): _______________
DESIRED (bonus): _______________
PILE (yes / maybe / no): _______________
15-MIN CALL (motivation, availability, salary, mobility): _______________
REPLY TO ALL sent? YES / NOSmall business / tight budget
One-page grid + a second opinion (partner, peer): double review costs nothing and halves bias.
Algiers SME
Amira processes volume in dated batches, replies to all and archives grids and CVs for traceability.
High volume (300 CVs)
2 minutes per CV on grid, strict 3 piles, calls grouped over 2 days: the process holds without botching.
Junior profiles
Value proven potential (internships, achievements) over years: the requirement stays job-related, never inflated.
✓ Best practices
- Write the grid before opening the first CV.
- Judge with two reviewers minimum.
- Reply to all, even negatively.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Screening on gut feeling, photo or school.
- Leaving rejected candidates with no reply.
- Running one-hour interviews with no prior call.
Key takeaways
- Shortlisting keeps a short list on criteria set in advance.
- The weighted grid makes assessment consistent and traceable.
- Bias leads to discrimination: illegal and counterproductive.
- Shared grid, double review and joint decisions reduce bias.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Score 10 real CVs on your grid (template above) with 2 reviewers, sort into 3 piles and send replies to all.
- I can explain grid, 3 piles and 15-min call in one sentence each.
- I can neutralize a bias (name, age, photo, gut feeling).
- I screened 10 CVs on grid with double review.
Frequently asked questions
Does gut feeling have no place?
Intuition is not banned, but it is a very poor main criterion: it triggers on resemblance, ease or school, not skill, and favors cloning. Base decisions on objective criteria (grids, work samples) and use intuition only as a conscious complement, never as the sole justification.
Is hiring discrimination a concrete risk?
Yes, legal (penalties, reputation) and economic (you deprive yourself of good candidates and impoverish diversity). It is often unintentional, produced by unconscious bias — hence objective methods, which protect and improve hiring. The exact list of protected criteria depends on each country's law.
Amira has 300 CVs. To avoid bias (school, photo, first name), what does she do?