Before listing skills, define what the person needs to accomplish.
Ask:
What will this person be responsible for?
What problems will they solve?
What does success look like after 3 months?
What does success look like after 6 months?
What experience would help them succeed faster?
This makes the criteria more practical.
Separate must-have and nice-to-have criteria
This is one of the most important steps.
Must-have criteria are requirements that are truly necessary for the role.
Nice-to-have criteria are helpful but not essential.
For example:
Must-have:
Experience managing paid acquisition campaigns
Strong analytical skills
Ability to work with a CRM
Nice-to-have:
Experience in SaaS
Familiarity with HubSpot
Experience in a startup environment
This helps recruiters avoid rejecting good candidates for missing non-essential skills.
Avoid vague criteria
Vague criteria make screening harder.
Examples of vague criteria include good communicator, strong experience, dynamic profile, good culture fit, and technical mindset.
These may be useful ideas, but they need more precision.
Better versions include:
Can explain complex topics clearly to non-technical stakeholders
Has managed similar projects end-to-end
Has worked in fast-changing environments
Can collaborate with sales, product, and marketing teams
Clear criteria lead to clearer screening.
Define evidence for each criterion
For every criterion, ask what evidence would appear in a resume.
For example, the criterion experience with B2B SaaS sales could include:
Previous role in a B2B SaaS company
Managing outbound sales campaigns
Working with CRM pipelines
Selling subscription products
Handling demos or discovery calls
This makes resume review more concrete.
Include questions for unclear criteria
Not every criterion can be fully evaluated from a resume.
Some topics should become interview questions.
Examples include communication style, motivation, ownership, collaboration, depth of experience, and problem-solving approach.
Instead of rejecting a candidate because something is unclear, mark it as a question to review.
Keep criteria focused
Too many criteria can slow down screening.
A practical structure is:
3 to 5 must-have criteria
3 to 5 nice-to-have criteria
3 to 5 interview questions
This is enough to guide screening without making the process too heavy.
Review criteria with the hiring manager
If a hiring manager is involved, align before screening begins.
Ask:
Which criteria are non-negotiable?
Which skills can be learned?
What profiles should we avoid?
What previous experience is most relevant?
What would make you excited to interview someone?
This reduces confusion later.
Use criteria to build a shortlist
Once the criteria are clear, use them to compare candidates.
For each candidate, review which must-have criteria are matched, which nice-to-have criteria are present, what experience is most relevant, what gaps need review, and what questions should be asked.
This creates a better shortlist.
Final takeaway
Clear job criteria make resume screening faster and more consistent.
They help recruiters compare candidates, reduce confusion, and build better shortlists.
The goal is not to make the process rigid.
The goal is to make the first screening step clearer and easier to review.
Try Resume Selector
Resume Selector helps recruiters compare resumes against the criteria they define.
Add your job description, upload resumes, and build a ranked shortlist while keeping hiring decisions human-led.