candidate-screener

name	candidate-screener
description	Rapidly screens candidates against role fit, red flags, and must-have criteria. Returns screening-{role}-{date}.md with candidate rankings and interview recommendations.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, WebSearch
effort	low

When to activate

Post-application screening. Quickly identify qualified candidates, surface concerns, and flag no-gos before phone screen scheduling.

When NOT to use

Not for deep reference checks — that happens post-offer. Not for skill verification — that's the interview panel's role. Not as sole criterion for hiring decisions; this is rapid qualification only.

Candidate Screening Checklist

Execute in order:

1. Establish role context — Must-haves (5–7), nice-to-haves, title precedent, seniority level
2. Define red flags — Gaps, misalignments, or concerning signals that warrant deeper investigation
3. Screen resume — Parse work history, company/team scope, roles, and timeline
4. Check against must-haves — For each candidate, mark present/absent/partial
5. Assess resume quality — Grammar, clarity, format signal preparation level (minor signal)
6. Flag red flags — Multiple short stints, significant gaps, title inflation, unclear scope
7. Check cover letter — If submitted: Does it signal genuine interest and understanding of role?
8. LinkedIn validation — Cross-check resume claims; look for gaps or inconsistencies
9. Rank candidates — Green (strong), Yellow (investigate further), Red (pass)

Must-Have Definition

From job description, extract 5–7 must-haves:

Example: Staff Backend Engineer

1. 5+ years building distributed systems (Python, Go, Java, Rust)
2. Experience with database optimization (PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, or equivalent)
3. Message queue expertise (RabbitMQ, Kafka, SQS)
4. Track record owning system reliability; experience defining SLOs
5. Mentoring experience or demonstrated leadership

When screening:

• Present (candidate clearly has it)
• Partial (related experience; good transfer skills)
• Absent (no evidence; will require ramp)

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Resume Red Flags

Timeline & Gaps

Signal	Severity	What To Check	Action
3+ jobs in 5 years	Yellow	Avg tenure <2 years. Ask about growth/context. May indicate flight risk if pattern.	Phone screen question: "Walk us through your moves — what drew you to each?"
1+ year gap	Yellow	Medical, sabbatical, family care, burnout, layoff.	Ask directly in phone screen: "Tell us about the [gap]."
Very short tenure (<6 months)	Yellow–Red	Left quickly. Possible: bad cultural fit, role mismatch, or external factor.	Ask: "Why did you leave after 6 months?" Red if evasive.
Consistent 2–3 year tenure	Green	Shows stability + room for growth. Good pattern.	No action needed.

Title & Scope Mismatch

Signal	Check	Action
Job title inflation ("VP of Something" at 5-person startup)	Company size + role scope	Clarify actual scope in phone screen. Not disqualifying.
Scope unclear ("Responsible for XYZ") with no metrics	Ask for context	Phone screen: "Walk us through how you measured impact in that role?"
No management experience listed, but applying for manager role	Check for technical lead / mentoring	If absent, may be premature for manager hire (consider IC track or manager coaching).

Experience Relevance

Signal	Check	Action
10 years experience but industry unrelated (e.g., marketing to engineering)	Transfer skills	Evaluate transfer skills. May require longer ramp. Consider as Yellow.
Candidate claims expertise in 15+ technologies on 1-page resume	Depth vs. breadth	Usually indicates shallow knowledge. Phone screen deep dives on 2–3 core skills.
No recent projects/technical work (all management)	If IC role sought	Assess if candidate has hands-on chops or has drifted into pure management.

Cover Letter (if submitted)

Signal	Green	Red
References specific team/product insight	"I've used [your product] and loved [specific feature]"	Generic: "I'm excited to join a tech company"
Shows understanding of role	"You're scaling recommendation systems — my work at [X] on real-time ranking aligns"	No reference to actual role or company
Personalized	Uses hiring manager name; researched company	"To the hiring team..."
Grammar/clarity	Well-written, clear	Multiple typos, unclear intent

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Screening Grid Template

# Candidate Screening — [Role] [Date]

**Role:** [Title, Level]
**Posting date:** [Date]
**Applications reviewed:** [N]

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## Must-Have Checklist

| Must-Have | Definition | Green | Yellow | Red |
|-----------|---|---|---|---|
| 5+ years distributed systems | Python, Go, Java, Rust | Clear evidence in job descriptions | Adjacent (3 years, strong foundation) | Missing or very junior (<2 years) |
| Database optimization | PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, query tuning | Explicit experience listed | Related (some DB work, not optimization-focused) | No mention |
| Async/concurrency patterns | Message queues, RabbitMQ, Kafka, async/await | Multiple projects using | One mention or strong transfer | Absent |
| Reliability ownership | SLO definition, on-call, incident response | Led reliability initiatives | Participated in on-call rotation | No mention |
| Mentoring | Explicit mentoring or lead IC role | Mentored 2+ juniors, led design reviews | Technical lead or senior IC title | None |

---

## Candidates

### [Candidate 1] — STRONG (Green)

**Resume summary:**
- Staff Engineer at [Company], 6 years; led platform scaling project; 3 direct reports
- Previous: Senior Engineer at [Company], 4 years; built recommendation engine using Kafka, PostgreSQL
- Education: BS Computer Science, [University]

**Must-haves assessment:**
- 5+ distributed systems: ✓ (6 years at platform-heavy company, led scaling)
- Database optimization: ✓ (Built rec engine, explicit PostgreSQL optimization mentioned)
- Async patterns: ✓ (Kafka expertise in previous role)
- Reliability ownership: ✓ (On-call, defined SLOs for recommendation service)
- Mentoring: ✓ (3 direct reports as Staff Engineer)

**Red flags:** None noted.

**Cover letter:** Strong — references our product, specific feature, scaling challenge alignment.

**LinkedIn:** Matches resume; good engagement profile; published 2 technical blog posts on distributed systems.

**Recommendation:** PHONE SCREEN. Very strong candidate. Priority for scheduling.

---

### [Candidate 2] — INVESTIGATE (Yellow)

**Resume summary:**
 Senior Engineer at [Company], 2.5 years; worked on payment systems, Java backend
 Previous: Engineer at [Company], 2 years; full-stack (Node.js + React)
 Senior Engineer at [Company], 1.5 years; backend systems (Python)
 [1-year gap, 2022–2023]
 Education: Bootcamp graduate, 2019


 5+ distributed systems: Partial (5 years total, but varied stack; not clear on scale)
 Database optimization: Partial (payment systems likely DB-heavy; no explicit mention)
 Async patterns: Partial (Java backend suggests some async; not explicit)
 Reliability ownership: Unclear (payment systems require it; not mentioned)
 Mentoring: None noted


 Multiple short tenures (2.5, 2, 1.5 years); pattern of ~2-year stays
 1-year gap unexplained
 Bootcamp background (not a blocker; check coding fundamentals)
 No explicit async/message queue experience

 None submitted.

 Matches resume; no technical writing or open-source contributions visible.

 PHONE SCREEN, BUT WITH CAUTION. Ask about:
 Why the pattern of 2-year tenures?
 The 1-year gap?
 Deep dive on database work at payments company
 Async/concurrency experience (Java, Python)
 On-call/reliability experience

Probe retention risk; assess fit for messaging-heavy architecture. Consider coding screen focused on async patterns.

---




 Senior Engineer at [Company] (10 years); title VP of Engineering (role scope unclear)
 Previous: Staff Engineer at [Company], 5 years
 No other roles listed
 Education: BS, [University], 1999


 5+ distributed systems: Unclear (10-year tenure but no project detail)
 Database: Not mentioned
 Async: Not mentioned
 Reliability: Not mentioned
 Mentoring: Implied (VP of Engineering) but no direct IC mentoring shown


 VP title after 10 years at one company; scope/team size unclear
 Very limited detail on technical contributions; reads as "moved into management then stayed"
 No evidence of hands-on IC work in past 5+ years
 Cover letter submitted but generic; no reference to specific role or product

 Candidate may have drifted out of hands-on technical work. IC role requires current technical chops.

 PASS. Not right fit for IC role. If manager role opens, revisit; may need technical refresh for IC return.

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| Category | Count |
|----------|-------|
|  | 3 |
|  | 5 |
|  | 2 |

 Schedule phone screens for 3 Green + 5 Yellow candidates (8 total). Aim for 3–4 interviews over next 2 weeks.

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Phone Screen Question Prompts

Once you've identified Green/Yellow candidates, use these prompts in phone screening:

Timeline & Trajectory

• "Walk us through your moves over the past 5 years. What drew you to each role?"
• "How have your responsibilities grown? What's the biggest system you've owned?"

Technical Depth

• "Tell us about the most complex distributed system you've built. What made it hard?"
• "Describe how you approach database optimization. Walk us through an example."

Reliability & On-Call

• "What's your on-call experience? What incident sticks with you most?"
• "How do you think about defining SLOs for a service?"

Scope & Leadership

• "Have you mentored or led engineers? Tell us about that."
• "Describe a technical decision you made that affected your team."

Motivation

• "Why are you interested in this role? What's missing from your current situation?"
• "What matters most to you in your next role?"

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Bad Hires: Patterns to Catch Early

Candidates who seem good on paper but often underperform:

1. All experience at 1 company: May lack exposure to different approaches; may struggle with change.
2. No failure or challenge mentioned: Everyone has hard projects. Vague answers can indicate lack of depth or reflection.
3. Overly focused on money/compensation: Risk of leaving when competitor offers 10% more.
4. Blame culture for departures: "Company culture was bad," "managers were incompetent." May not own their growth.
5. Rapid escalation without depth: "Promoted to manager after 3 years." Assess if earned or just timeline.

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