Our AI-powered recommendations help you efficiently prioritise applicants by highlighting those who best meet the criteria you define for the role.
To ensure fairness, accuracy, and legal compliance, this guide will help you write effective criteria and avoid common mistakes.
When using this feature, you must adhere to all applicable legislation, including those that prohibit discrimination against protected classes.
What makes for good criteria?
High-quality sorting criteria should be:
- Job-related: Clearly tied to the responsibilities or qualifications for the role.
- Specific: Clear enough for the AI to understand and make meaningful matches.
-
Measurable or observable: Based on objective, verifiable factors, not subjective impressions.
Examples of strong criteria
here are a few examples that demonstrate how to write effective criteria:
- "Proficient in Excel or Google Sheets": This highlights a specific, job-relevant skill.
- "Located in London or open to relocation": A clear geographic preference.
- "Has or is in progress of obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or related field": An objective educational requirement.
- "1+ years of experience in customer support": A measurable and observable qualification.
Common mistakes to avoid (with examples)
The system does not allow the following types of criteria inputs.
1. More than 10 criteria
Limit your criteria to 10 or fewer, per job.
✅ Focus on the most important requirements, such as top skills or location preferences.
2. Non-legislative compliant criteria
Avoid criteria that reference protected characteristics or could lead to discriminatory impact.
❌ Don’t write: “Looking for recent grads only,” “Must be under 30,” “UK-born candidates”
✅ Instead say: “Must have graduated by May 2025,” “Open to early career professionals,” or “Authorised to work in the UK”
Review the Equality Act 2010.
3. Subjective or vague language
Avoid criteria based on personal judgment or vague terms.
❌ Don’t write: “Must be a culture fit,” “Great attitude,” “Energetic and enthusiastic”.
✅ Instead say: “Experience collaborating in team environments,” or “Excellent written communication skills”.
4. Too little information
Single words or unclear phrases can’t be interpreted correctly.
❌ Don’t write: “Experienced” or “Ice cream”. The system will not understand what this means.
✅ Instead provide full context: “Experience working with frozen dessert products” (if relevant).
5. More than 100 characters per criteria
Limit each criteria to 100 characters or fewer, and focus on a single requirement, experience, or skill.
❌ Don’t write: “Experience in customer service, retail sales, order fulfilment, and using POS systems and CRMs”.
✅ Instead: Split into separate inputs. For example:
- “Experience in customer service”
- “Familiar with POS systems”
6. Phone number usage
Contact information is not relevant to applicant evaluation.
❌ Don’t write: “Call 020 7946 0123”.
✅ Instead: Provide an actual qualification or experience instead.
7. Email address usage
The system cannot act on contact instructions.
❌ Don’t write: “Contact me at jane@company.com”.
✅ Instead: Use the employer contact options provided in your job posting or profile.
8. URL usage
The system does not extract information from links.
❌ Don’t write: “www.example.com/requirements”.
✅ Instead: Paste in the relevant information directly from the website into the edit field.
Tips for writing strong criteria
- Start with skills, certifications, qualifications, or location preferences
- Keep each input under 100 characters and focused on a single requirement
- Ensure every criterion is job-related, objective, and non-discriminatory