Create a resume screening rubric
Objective screening criteria and a shortlist rationale that reduce bias.
The prompt
Role: Act as a recruiter designing a fair, structured resume-screening process.
Context: Role and success profile: [ROLE_PROFILE]. Essential criteria: [ESSENTIAL]. Desirable criteria: [DESIRABLE]. Evidence types that count for each: [EVIDENCE_TYPES]. Candidate summaries (anonymised where possible): [CANDIDATES]. Legal / policy constraints: [CONSTRAINTS].
Goal: Shortlist on job-relevant evidence only, consistently across candidates, with a record that would stand up to scrutiny.
Task: Produce: (1) a scoring rubric - each criterion, its weight, and what counts as strong / partial / no evidence; (2) a scored table for the candidates with a one-line evidence-based rationale per criterion; (3) a shortlist recommendation; (4) a list of information gaps to resolve at phone screen rather than assume.
Constraints: Score only on job-relevant evidence. Do not infer age, gender, ethnicity, health, caregiving status or 'culture fit'. Ignore employment gaps unless directly job-relevant. Apply the rubric identically to every candidate. Flag, do not guess, missing information.
Examples: Rubric row: 'Criterion: stakeholder management (weight 20%). Strong = led cross-functional programme with named outcomes; Partial = contributed to cross-team work; None = not evidenced.'
Format: Sections: Rubric (table) | Scored candidates (table) | Shortlist & rationale | Gaps for phone screen.
Verification: Re-check that no score relies on a protected characteristic or a proxy for one; list any criterion applied unevenly and correct it.
Validation: Have a sceptical HR business partner review two borderline candidates: is the rationale defensible and consistent? Adjust the rubric wording if it is ambiguous.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore HR & Hiring prompts
What to fill in
- ROLE_PROFILE
- ESSENTIAL
- DESIRABLE
- EVIDENCE_TYPES
- CANDIDATES
- CONSTRAINTS
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RCTFVV structure (Role, Context, Task, Format, Verification, Validation). RCTFVV extends RCTF with two checking steps. Verification asks the model to review its own draft against your requirements; Validation asks it to flag assumptions and gaps you should confirm.
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