Reading a shortlist

A results page ranks candidates by match score, and it is easy to read that ranking as ProFinda telling you who is best. It isn’t. The score reflects fit to the specific search you ran, and a search built from three quickly chosen skills will produce a score that reflects those three skills, nothing more.

What the score is measuring

The match scoreA numeric estimate of how closely a person’s profile fits the criteria in a specific search - skills, availability, and location - not a ranking of their overall ability. combines how closely listed skills align with what you searched for, weighted by the ontology’s sense of how related near-matches are, alongside availability and location fit. Someone scoring lower may simply describe their skills differently, or have slightly less availability overlap, while being an equally strong fit for the actual work.

Look past the number

Every candidate on the results page has supporting detail beneath the score - which skills matched directly, which matched through the ontology, and their current availability window. A high score built entirely from ontology near-matches, with no direct skill hits, deserves a closer look before you shortlist someone on the strength of the number alone. Conversely, a merely decent score with several direct, current-skill hits can be a safer choice than the top-ranked name.

Sorting is a starting order

Treat the score-sorted list as where to begin reading, not where to stop. For most searches, the useful shortlist is drawn from the top six or eight results after checking supporting detail, not automatically the top three by score. Someone ranked fifth with strong direct skill matches and confirmed availability can outrank someone ranked second whose availability is tentative.

Building the shortlist

Once you have looked past the raw score, three or four names with clear, checkable reasons for their inclusion make a defensible shortlist. If you cannot state in one sentence why each name is there - which skills, which availability, which location fit - the shortlist is not ready to send to a requester yet. The next lesson covers what to do when the results page itself does not look right, before you reach this stage.