How to build screening columns for hard-to-fill roles
A working recruiter’s guide to writing screening criteria that distinguish real candidates from string-matchers — with concrete examples for engineering, sales, and operations roles.
Most screening criteria are written for the wrong reader. They sound like notes the recruiter took during the intake meeting, not questions the recruiter can answer in 30 seconds from a resume. When you screen at scale, that gap matters.
The four properties of a good screening column
- Answerable from the resume alone. If the only honest answer is "needs a screening call", it does not belong as a column. Move it to the interview guide.
- Single-dimension. "Strong technical background and good communicator" is two columns, not one. Splitting them is the difference between a useful sort and a useless one.
- Evidence-bearing. The column should always come with the sentence from the resume that supports the answer. No sentence, no judgment.
- Yes / No / Needs review. Three-state outcomes scale; five-star ratings do not. The reviewer should be able to disagree with the answer in one click.
Concrete examples
Senior backend engineer (must-have)
Has the candidate operated a production system on-call, with primary ownership, for at least 12 months? Evidence: which system, which company, which year.
Enterprise account executive (must-have)
Has the candidate closed at least one deal of $100K ARR or more in the last 24 months? Evidence: deal context, customer segment if available.
Operations lead (nice-to-have)
Has the candidate worked at a Series A or earlier startup in the last 5 years? Evidence: company stage at the time the candidate joined.
Notice the structure: a single yes/no question, an evidence ask, a clear scope. You can run a recruiter through 200 resumes against these columns in an afternoon. You cannot do that against "good operations background".
Columns that look reasonable but quietly hurt your funnel
- "Years of experience". Almost never a true must-have. Use seniority indicators (team size led, scope of system owned, named impact) instead.
- "Top-tier school". Even when you mean it, it almost never survives a fair-hiring audit. Drop the column or convert it to a positive add-rule, not a screen-out.
- "Cultural fit". Not screenable from a resume. Belongs in the interview rubric.
Frequently asked questions
How many columns should I have per role?
We typically see 5–10 columns work best: 3–5 must-haves, 2–4 nice-to-haves, and one or two contextual columns (current title, years in current role) for sorting. More than 12 columns and the sheet stops being a recruiter tool and starts being a database project.
Should I duplicate columns across roles?
Yes for the truly universal ones (current title, location, years in current role). No for the role-specific must-haves — those should change every time the role changes, and that is the whole point of writing them per-role.
What if the resume just doesn't have enough detail to answer?
Mark it as "Needs review" and surface it to the recruiter as a single question to clarify on the screening call. Do not screen the candidate out for missing detail unless the must-have is genuinely binary.
Keep reading
Keyword matching vs semantic screening: what actually changes for recruiters
Traditional ATS parsers match exact strings. Semantic screening matches meaning — and it changes how you build your screening criteria, not just how fast you sift.
Sourcing without the bloat: a shortlist workflow that doesn't need an ATS migration
Boutique firms, staffing agencies, and small in-house teams: a four-step screening workflow that runs alongside whatever ATS (or no ATS) you already have.
Find missing requirements in a resume
Match a JD to a CV
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