Write scoring criteria that hold up
Write scoring criteria Tandem can score consistently and you can stand behind, with do and avoid examples for each rule.
Scoring criteria are what you tell Tandem the role needs: the must-haves in your prompt and in the role's chat, which become the criteria behind each candidate's Talent match, and the questions Tandem asks in screening and the AI interview. Good criteria describe what the job needs, in terms Tandem can check from what a candidate actually says or writes.
Criteria that hold up do three things. They put the right people at the top. They leave fewer good candidates waiting in Needs review. And they are easy to explain if anyone asks why a candidate was scored the way they were.
The examples below are for a restaurant shift manager role.
1. Score the work, not the person
Start from the tasks in the job. Ask what someone must be able to do in the first month.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Has opened or closed a restaurant as the person in charge |
| Avoid | Mature and dependable |
Why: Tandem can find evidence for a task. A personality label means something different to everyone who reads it, and can stand in for age.
2. Ask for evidence a candidate can give
Tandem scores screening from written answers and the AI interview from what the candidate says. Write criteria an answer can prove.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Describes a specific time they handled a customer complaint, and what they did |
| Avoid | Comes across as confident and professional |
Why: If the evidence is not in the candidate's words, Tandem has nothing to score.
3. One requirement per criterion
Split anything joined by "and".
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Has managed a team of five or more. (separate criterion) Has built a weekly staff schedule. |
| Avoid | Experienced team leader with scheduling, inventory and cash handling skills |
Why: A candidate who meets two parts out of four is hard to score. Separate criteria also show you exactly where candidates fall short.
4. Say what a strong answer looks like
Replace quality words such as "good", "strong" and "excellent" with the thing you would accept.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Can explain the steps they take when a food safety check fails |
| Avoid | Strong knowledge of food safety |
Why: Specific criteria are scored the same way for every candidate.
5. Describe the skill, not the route to it
Years of experience, degrees and job titles are routes. Ask for the skill unless the route is a real requirement.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Has run a shift during peak hours without a senior manager on site |
| Avoid | 5+ years of experience, bachelor's degree preferred |
Why: Routes screen out people who can do the job. Long experience requirements can also work against younger candidates, and degree requirements against others, without the role needing either.
6. Turn circumstances into job requirements
If you care about where someone lives or when they are free, write the requirement behind it.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Can reliably work the 6am opening shift at this location |
| Avoid | Lives within 5 miles. No gaps in employment. Native English speaker. |
Why: The second list scores people on details that track protected characteristics. Tandem doesn't block criteria like these for you, so leave them out yourself.
7. Write a reason you would say out loud
For every criterion, name the job-related reason behind it. Use it as a test.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Criterion: Holds a current food handler certificate. Reason: Required by law for anyone supervising food preparation at this location. |
| Avoid | Reason: Nice to have. Reason: We always ask for this. |
Why: If you cannot name the task the criterion supports, it probably does not belong in the role.
8. Keep the list short
Use the few criteria that decide the hire. Leave out the ones you would overlook for a good candidate.
| Example | |
|---|---|
| Do | Four to six criteria, each one a reason you would not hire if it were missing |
| Avoid | Fifteen criteria copied from the job description |
Why: Every extra criterion is another way for a suitable candidate to land in Needs review.
After the role goes live
- Read Needs review early. Tandem never rejects a candidate. Anyone below your bar waits in
Needs reviewfor you. If people you would interview keep landing there, a criterion or a question is too narrow or too vague. - Change the criterion, not the candidate. Fix the wording in the role's chat instead of making the same exception again and again.
- Keep the decision yours. Scores tell you how candidates measured up. You make every hire and reject decision, one candidate at a time.
Related: What Tandem decides and what you decide
Check before you go live
- Each criterion names something the job needs, not a kind of person.
- A candidate could prove each one in a written answer or an interview.
- No criterion contains "and".
- No criterion mentions age, background, location or anything that tracks them.
- Every reason names a task, a duty or a legal requirement.
- You would be comfortable showing the full list to a candidate.