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Resumely

How to Screen Applicants

Screening is where Resumely saves the most time. You upload resumes to a job, the backend processes them in the queue, and the recruiter view updates as each applicant finishes.

Why Screening Matters

Good screening helps you compare applicants on the same job, catch strong fits faster, and focus interviews on the people most likely to move forward.

What You'll Learn

  • Uploading resumes for a job
  • Watching screening progress
  • Reading match results
  • Handling failed screenings
  • Moving strong applicants forward

Step 1: Open the Job

Go to the recruiter dashboard and open the job you want to screen.

The job page brings the applicant list, screening actions, and interview shortcuts into one place.

Step 2: Upload Resumes

Attach one or more resume files to the job.

Best results usually come from clean PDF files, but the platform is built to handle common resume formats too.

Tip: upload one resume per applicant so the results stay easy to compare.

Step 3: Wait for Processing

Each uploaded applicant moves through a simple status flow:

| Status | Meaning | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | pending | The applicant is queued and waiting for processing | | screening | The backend is extracting text and scoring the resume | | completed | The screening finished successfully | | failed | Something went wrong and the applicant may need a retry |

The recruiter page polls the backend and refreshes the list automatically.

Step 4: Review the Results

When screening completes, look at the match score, recommendation, matched keywords, missing keywords, and highlights.

The score is a signal, not a final decision. It works best when the job description is specific and the resume is clean.

Step 5: Handle Failed Screening

If an applicant fails:

  1. open the failed row
  2. read the failure reason
  3. fix the file or data issue
  4. retry the applicant

Common failure causes include broken files, unreadable formatting, or missing resume text.

Step 6: Move Forward

Once you have a shortlist, open interviews for the job, add notes, or export the list if you want to review it offline.

What's Next?