01
Screening decision
What should the first pass decide?
Which candidates deserve closer human review?
Free hiring template
Resume screening rubric and recruiter intake template
Start with an explicit hiring-manager intake, then copy a practical rubric with weighted criteria, evidence rules, red flags, and human review prompts.
Blank screening rubric
Replace the bracketed prompts with evidence for your role.
| Criterion | Type | Weight | Evidence rule | Review action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Essential role requirement] | Must-have | Required | [What clear CV evidence looks like] | Review if missing; do not assume no |
| [Most important experience] | Criterion | 40% | [Relevant ownership, scope, or result] | Increase confidence |
| [Second priority] | Criterion | 30% | [Comparable work or transferable evidence] | Increase confidence |
| [Working-style signal] | Soft criterion | 20% | [Communication or collaboration evidence] | Discuss at interview |
| [Useful extra experience] | Nice-to-have | 10% | [Helpful but non-essential evidence] | Use as a differentiator |
| [Role-specific concern] | Red flag | Review | [What should trigger closer review] | Ask a follow-up question |
Start before screening
Make the hiring-manager intake explicit
A clear intake prevents the rubric from turning unstated preferences into hidden filters. Agree these prompts before reviewing a candidate pool.
02
True must-haves
Which requirements genuinely exclude someone from this role?
Keep this list short and tied to the work they will do.
03
Preferences
What improves fit without becoming an automatic gate?
Domain, tooling, or sector experience can be a differentiator.
04
Evidence standard
What would credible CV evidence look like?
Named ownership, scope, outcomes, or comparable work.
05
Missing evidence
What should happen when the CV is silent?
Mark it unknown and ask one targeted follow-up question.
06
Review safeguards
Who reviews borderline cases and how?
Record the reviewer, override reason, and rubric version.
From intake brief to reviewable rubric
Start with the screening decision
Write down what the first pass must decide, such as which candidates deserve closer human review.
Separate essentials from preferences
Keep genuine must-haves short, then distinguish helpful experience from criteria that should actually gate the process.
Describe acceptable evidence
State what credible CV evidence looks like so every candidate is assessed against the same standard.
Define what missing means
Decide whether silent evidence should stay unknown, trigger a follow-up question, or require a human review.
Add review safeguards
Use soft criteria and red flags to create interview questions or human checks, not automatic rejection rules.
Completed example for a customer success role
This example keeps genuine essentials separate from weighted evidence, which leaves room for transferable experience.
| Criterion | Type | Weight | Evidence rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS customer success | Must-have | Required | Named customer success, account management, or implementation role |
| Renewal or expansion ownership | Criterion | 40% | Renewal targets, commercial ownership, or expansion results |
| Customer portfolio management | Criterion | 30% | Portfolio size, segment ownership, or book of business |
| Cross-functional collaboration | Soft criterion | 20% | Work with product, support, sales, or implementation teams |
| Customer health tooling | Nice-to-have | 10% | Gainsight, Planhat, Vitally, HubSpot, or comparable tooling |
Keep human judgement in the process
A rubric improves consistency. It should not turn uncertain CV evidence into an automatic hiring decision.
Role-related
Every criterion connects to work the person will do.
Evidence-based
The CV can reasonably contain the evidence you request.
Consistent
Every candidate is assessed against the same standard.
Reviewable
A person can explain how the criterion affected the outcome.
Related resources
Read the scorecard guide
Learn how to turn a hiring brief into criteria and evidence rules.
Check criterion fairness
Test whether each criterion is role-related, evidence-based, consistent, and reviewable.
Estimate screening time
Compare manual review time and cost with AI-assisted bulk screening.
Explore CV screening software
See how approved criteria become explainable candidate placements.
Turn the rubric into an explainable shortlist
Marxel builds reviewable criteria from your hiring brief, then evaluates each candidate against the version you approve.
Frequently asked questions
What is a resume screening rubric?
A resume screening rubric is a structured set of must-haves, weighted criteria, soft criteria, red flags, and evidence rules used to review candidates consistently before interviews.
How many criteria should a screening rubric include?
Most first-pass rubrics work best with a short must-have list and four to seven weighted criteria. More detail can make evidence harder to apply consistently.
What should happen when a CV does not mention a criterion?
Treat absence as unknown unless the requirement is explicitly confirmed as a must-have and the process has a documented review rule. Ask a focused follow-up or route the candidate to human review instead of silently converting missing evidence into a no.
Should red flags automatically reject candidates?
Usually not. A red flag should trigger closer human review or a follow-up question unless it represents a confirmed legal or role requirement.
Can this template be used for CV screening?
Yes. Resume screening and CV screening describe the same first-pass evaluation workflow in many markets. The template works for either term.