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How to screen and qualify candidates

Ever experienced getting tons of applications, which of none was quite right for the job? Or maybe you didn’t get any at all? A dreamy scenario would probably be getting just a perfect bunch of quality applicants to pick and choose from, and it might sound like just a dream, but it isn’t. Hoping to make your process less of a struggle, we’d like to offer some of our tips and best practices:

Pre-work that makes the hiring dream work

It starts before your job post even goes live, according to Fredrik, Head of People at HiCareer. To receive good candidates and screen them effectively, you need to have good insight in what and who you’re looking for, when it comes to skills and experience, as well as personality and soft skills.

1. Define your cultural fit

Companies are often gladly willing to do an in-depth analysis of their target audience and make a customer persona. According to Fredrik, we should put the same effort into hiring. Evaluate your needs, your culture, their profile, their needs, their triggers and make a candidate persona.

— I definitely have learned that just because someone is an expert in their field and possibly one of the sharpest in the area - it doesn’t mean they are the right fit, says Fredrik Johansson, co-founder of HiCareer

Questions to ask yourself:

– What role will the candidate play in the team? – What can you offer? – What are your strengths? – Your weaknesses? – How can you adapt to the candidate?

The more effort you put into researching your needs as well as who you truly are, and the cultural fit, the better. The clearer your definition of who you are searching for is, the more efficient and right your recruitment aim will be.

2. Make awesome job ads

Top talent will get attracted to top job ads (and top job ads only). Make sure your job ad and description are matching what you expect from your applicants. If you’re not looking for just any candidate, it can’t be just any job ad, according to Josephine, Marketing Specialist at HiCareer.

— No one is intrigued by deep diving into a wall of text about specifics. The job ad is an opportunity to pitch the role, your company, and your vision, but make sure to do it briefly and keep your copy tight and to the point, says Josephine Andersson, Marketing Specialist HiCareer.

A few general copy statistics:

– 73% of people skip reading the full content and prefer to read short copies. (HubSpot) – Pages under 200 words have the highest average conversion rate. (Unbounce) – Readers spend an average of 37 seconds on an article. (Newscred)

Writing job ads is much similar to writing copy that sells. Remember who you are communicating with, how they speak, and their needs and desires; don’t be scared to get personal and communicate emotional values.

— You can’t just write straight up and down what and who you are looking for, you need to put some thought into conveying what the awesomeness of your opportunity is. Skip all the boring frameworks and conventions, if you’re not looking for conventional candidates, then why make a conventional job ad?, says Josephine Andersson, Marketing Specialist at HiCareer.

3. Content is win

Since you’re now keeping your job ads to the point, sleek and precise, make sure to offer valuable content related to your opportunity. Your top candidate is a person with values, wishes, interests, and probably a strong will. Offering the opportunity to read more about related topics and people is a great way of giving the candidate a chance to form a better opinion about the job.

And content as such is also a great way to reach and communicate with your prospects on social media.

Efficient screening and qualification

Now let's dive down into the actual screening and qualification process! By now you hopefully have a delightful bunch of good candidates that might just be the perfect fit for your opportunity.

1. Learning who they are

Never underestimate a candidate by judging them on their current title. Make sure to check the things that actually matter first - who they really are, what they are really doing today, and how they can contribute to the journey you are on.

— Since we are working with fast-growing companies, it’s important for me to get a sense of whether the candidate has experience in- or should feel comfortable in such environments, says Fredrik Johansson, co-founder of HiCareer.

It doesn’t necessarily mean they must have been in similar positions before, but the journey of the candidate can offer clues about her/his capability to be light-footed and work in a lot of self-ownership.

— I also look at the way the person writes. Not necessarily if they are good at writing or not, but what the main focus is and what they emphasize on their LinkedIn profile or resume, for example, Fredrik Johansson says.

2. Learning what they’ve done

Smartness and the ability to solve problems are something to look for. Like concrete and specific achievements or actions the candidate has taken or been a part of, that show a certain ability, which directly relates to the competency you're trying to find. Examples of these accomplishments could be successful product launches, sales numbers, or results of various campaigns.

— Looking at the career pattern of the candidate is also a good way to fetch more insight and further value whether the specific opening could be an interesting and relevant next chapter for the candidate, Fredrik Johansson says.

3. Stay objective and inclusive

Everyone has unconscious biases that can affect the way we choose to hire. Having a diverse team should always be the goal of your organization and recruitment. It’s absolutely crucial to equip your teams and company with diversity to trigger various unique perspectives and enable you to keep making bold business decisions.

— Always keep reminding yourself to stay objective and inclusive! Even if you might think you’re not being subjective or judgemental, you might be, Fredrik Johansson says.

Ways to boost inclusiveness in hiring:

  • Define what diversity and inclusion mean to you.
  • Use inclusive language in job descriptions.
  • Make sure your career page or job ad is accessible to everyone.
  • Expand where you advertise your openings.
  • Use the same interview process for all candidates.
  • Measure and analyze your inclusiveness.

Did you know that an inclusive culture makes a team twice as likely to meet or exceed financial goals, six times as likely to be innovative and eight times more likely to accomplish higher business outcomes?

4. Talk it out

In the end, nothing ever beats the actual conversation with the candidate when it comes to learning whether they’re the perfect fit or if the role is what they’re looking for. Especially when it’s completely honest and transparent from both sides.

That’s why the pre-work and effective screening is so important. The more insight we have pre interviews, the better and deeper the conversations we enable. Plus - saving time on qualifying, gives more time to what truly matters - getting to know that candidate who you are now offering their dream job!

5. Use helpful professionals

If you’re a kind-hearted and fast-growing company, who’d rather skip these steps and jump straight into the best part - meeting the candidates - we’d love to help you out.

HiCareer have thousands of pre-qualified candidates, who are looking to work in growth environments, waiting for your opportunities to appear. Learn more

Published: Jan 24, 2023


How to screen and qualify candidates


Ever experienced getting tons of applications, which of none was quite right for the job? Or maybe you didn’t get any at all? A dreamy scenario would probably be getting just a perfect bunch of quality applicants to pick and choose from, and it might sound like just a dream, but it isn’t. Hoping to make your process less of a struggle, we’d like to offer some of our tips and best practices:

Pre-work that makes the hiring dream work


It starts before your job post even goes live, according to Fredrik, Head of People at DoubleCloud. To receive good candidates and screen them effectively, you need to have good insight in what and who you’re looking for, when it comes to skills and experience, as well as personality and soft skills.

1. Define your cultural fit


Companies are often gladly willing to do an in-depth analysis of their target audience and make a customer persona. According to Fredrik, we should put the same effort into hiring. Evaluate your needs, your culture, their profile, their needs, their triggers and make a candidate persona.

— I definitely have learned that just because someone is an expert in their field and possibly one of the sharpest in the area - it doesn’t mean they are the right fit, says Fredrik Johansson, co-founder of DoubleCloud

Questions to ask yourself:


– What role will the candidate play in the team? 
– What can you offer? 
– What are your strengths? 
– Your weaknesses? 
– How can you adapt to the candidate?


The more effort you put into researching your needs as well as who you truly are, and the cultural fit, the better. The clearer your definition of who you are searching for is, the more efficient and right your recruitment aim will be. 

2. Make awesome job ads


Top talent will get attracted to top job ads (and top job ads only). Make sure your job ad and description are matching what you expect from your applicants. If you’re not looking for just any candidate, it can’t be just any job ad, according to Josephine, Marketing Specialist at Doublecloud.

— No one is intrigued by deep diving into a wall of text about specifics. The job ad is an opportunity to pitch the role, your company, and your vision, but make sure to do it briefly and keep your copy tight and to the point, says Josephine Andersson, Marketing Specialist DoubleCloud.

A few general copy statistics:


– 73% of people skip reading the full content and prefer to read short copies. (HubSpot)
– Pages under 200 words have the highest average conversion rate. (Unbounce)
– Readers spend an average of 37 seconds on an article. (Newscred)


Writing job ads is much similar to writing copy that sells. Remember who you are communicating with, how they speak, and their needs and desires; don’t be scared to get personal and communicate emotional values.

— You can’t just write straight up and down what and who you are looking for, you need to put some thought into conveying what the awesomeness of your opportunity is. Skip all the boring frameworks and conventions, if you’re not looking for conventional candidates, then why make a conventional job ad?, says Josephine Andersson, Marketing Specialist at DoubleCloud.

3. Content is win


Since you’re now keeping your job ads to the point, sleek and precise, make sure to offer valuable content related to your opportunity. Your top candidate is a person with values, wishes, interests, and probably a strong will. Offering the opportunity to read more about related topics and people is a great way of giving the candidate a chance to form a better opinion about the job.


And content as such is also a great way to reach and communicate with your prospects on social media.


Efficient screening and qualification


Now let's dive down into the actual screening and qualification process! By now you hopefully have a delightful bunch of good candidates that might just be the perfect fit for your opportunity.

1. Learning who they are 


Never underestimate a candidate by judging them on their current title. Make sure to check the things that actually matter first - who they really are, what they are really doing today, and how they can contribute to the journey you are on.

— Since we are working with fast-growing companies, it’s important for me to get a sense of whether the candidate has experience in- or should feel comfortable in such environments, says Fredrik Johansson, co-founder of DoubleCloud.

It doesn’t necessarily mean they must have been in similar positions before, but the journey of the candidate can offer clues about her/his capability to be light-footed and work in a lot of self-ownership.

— I also look at the way the person writes. Not necessarily if they are good at writing or not, but what the main focus is and what they emphasize on their LinkedIn profile or resume, for example, Fredrik Johansson says.

2. Learning what they’ve done 


Smartness and the ability to solve problems are something to look for. Like concrete and specific achievements or actions the candidate has taken or been a part of, that show a certain ability, which directly relates to the competency you're trying to find. Examples of these accomplishments could be successful product launches, sales numbers, or results of various campaigns.

— Looking at the career pattern of the candidate is also a good way to fetch more insight and further value whether the specific opening could be an interesting and relevant next chapter for the candidate, Fredrik Johansson says.

3. Stay objective and inclusive


Everyone has unconscious biases that can affect the way we choose to hire. Having a diverse team should always be the goal of your organization and recruitment. It’s absolutely crucial to equip your teams and company with diversity to trigger various unique perspectives and enable you to keep making bold business decisions.

— Always keep reminding yourself to stay objective and inclusive! Even if you might think you’re not being subjective or judgemental, you might be, Fredrik Johansson says.

Ways to boost inclusiveness in hiring:


– Define what diversity and inclusion mean to you.
– Use inclusive language in job descriptions.
– Make sure your career page or job ad is accessible to everyone.
– Expand where you advertise your openings.
– Use the same interview process for all candidates.
– Measure and analyze your inclusiveness.


Did you know that an inclusive culture makes a team twice as likely to meet or exceed financial goals, six times as likely to be innovative and eight times more likely to accomplish higher business outcomes?

4. Talk it out


In the end, nothing ever beats the actual conversation with the candidate when it comes to learning whether they’re the perfect fit or if the role is what they’re looking for. Especially when it’s completely honest and transparent from both sides.


That’s why the pre-work and effective screening is so important. The more insight we have pre interviews, the better and deeper the conversations we enable. Plus - saving time on qualifying, gives more time to what truly matters - getting to know that candidate who you are now offering their dream job!

5. Use helpful professionals


 If you’re a kind-hearted and fast-growing company, who’d rather skip these steps and jump straight into the best part - meeting the candidates - we’d love to help you out. 


We have thousands of pre-qualified candidates, who are looking to work in growth environments, waiting for your opportunities to appear. Let us know you’re eager to get to know them!