How to screen hundreds of applicants fairly

Last reviewed 23 September 2026

1. Do the maths first

A phone screen takes 15-30 minutes once you include scheduling, the call and notes. For 200 applicants that is 50-100 hours - roughly one and a half to nearly three working weeks for one person, for one role. Nobody does that, so in practice most applicants are never spoken to.

Be honest about your capacity. If you can only screen 15, the fairness question is how you choose those 15. A CV skim is fast, but it's where career changers, people with gaps and people whose first language isn't English get dropped. Our ROI calculator will do the maths for your team.

2. Decide the criteria before you advertise

Write down what the job actually needs before the applications arrive. Criteria set afterwards tend to drift towards the CVs you happen to like. For each criterion, ask: would someone without this really be unable to do the job?

3. Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves

• Must-haves are true requirements: a licence the law requires, availability for the shifts the role involves, the right to work in the UK.
• Nice-to-haves help you rank people: sector experience, a particular system, a qualification you could train for.

Keep the must-haves list short. Every extra requirement narrows the pool, and some - "five years' experience", "native English", "degree required" - can put particular groups at a disadvantage without being essential to the role. Under the Equality Act 2010 that can be indirect discrimination unless you can justify it. See AI screening and UK law.

4. Ask everyone the same questions

Structured screening - the same core questions, in the same order, scored against the same criteria - is more consistent and easier to defend than an open chat. Follow-up questions should come from the gaps between the CV and the criteria, not from how the call is going.

This is where AI helps most. BeCareers asks every applicant about your criteria, follows up where the CV is unclear, and does it for applicant 200 exactly as it did for applicant 1 - in the candidate's own language if they prefer.

5. Respond within a day

In high-volume hiring, the best candidates are often gone within days. Hourly-paid and shift-based applicants apply to several employers at once, and may take the first reasonable offer. Screening that happens when the candidate applies, rather than when a recruiter is free, keeps them interested.

Every applicant should hear back, including the ones you don't progress. It's the decent thing to do, and in consumer-facing sectors your applicants are also your customers.

6. Keep a record of every decision

Write down why each person did or didn't progress. If a candidate asks, if a manager challenges a shortlist, or if you need to show your process is fair, notes from memory don't help. With BeCareers every screening has a full transcript and summary.

7. Measure and adjust

Track the numbers that tell you whether screening is working: applicants per role, the share of applicants screened, time from application to first contact, interview-to-offer rate, and how long new starters stay. If a must-have is ruling out people who later turn out to be good, change it.