Automatically score candidate responses to identify top applicants based on your requirements. Hirevire's scoring system evaluates standard question responses using must-have and good-to-have criteria, then calculates a percentage score for each application.
What you can score
Scoring works only for standard questions—text fields, numbers, dates, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdowns, and links. Video, audio, file uploads, and screenshare responses cannot be scored.
Each standard question can have one scoring rule:
Must-have criteria: Essential requirements. The candidate either meets the condition (100%) or doesn't (0%). Use this for dealbreakers like location, work authorization, or specific qualifications.
Good-to-have criteria: Desirable qualifications with tiered scoring. You can set up to 5 conditions that score 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0%. The first matching condition determines the score. Use this for preferences like years of experience or education level.
Each scoring rule awards 4 points maximum. Your overall score is calculated by averaging points across all must-have questions and all good-to-have questions separately.
Set up scoring for a job
Enable scoring
Go to Jobs and select the job you want to score, or create a new job
Navigate to the Questions tab and add at least one standard question (if you haven't already)
Go to the Scoring tab
Toggle on Enable Scoring for Standard Responses
Add must-have criteria
Find the question you want to score in the list
Click Edit criteria
Select Must-have as the criteria type
Choose an operator from the dropdown:
Equals / Not Equals: Exact match or exclusion
Greater Than / Less Than: Numeric or date comparisons
Greater Than or Equal / Less Than or Equal: Inclusive comparisons
Is Between: Range with two values (inclusive)
Contains / Not Contains: Text matching (case-insensitive; use commas to separate multiple terms)
Is Set / Is Not Set: Checks if candidate provided any response
Enter the value(s) to match against
Click Save
For "Contains" operators, separate multiple terms with commas. The system treats these as OR conditions—matching any term passes the criteria.
Add good-to-have criteria
Click Edit criteria for the question
Select Good-to-have as the criteria type
Set up to 5 conditions in priority order:
First condition: 100% score (4 points)
Second condition: 75% score (3 points)
Third condition: 50% score (2 points)
Fourth condition: 25% score (1 point)
Fifth/no match: 0% score (0 points)
Choose an operator and value for each tier
Click Save
The system stops at the first matching condition. Order your conditions from most desirable to least desirable—put your ideal criteria first.
Preview and publish
After setting criteria for all questions you want to score, click Save and preview to test your job application. Changes apply only to new applications submitted after you save.
Review candidate scores
Go to Jobs and select your job
Navigate to the Applications tab
Sort by Score (high to low) or Score (low to high) using the dropdown
Each application card displays:
A green progress bar showing the must-have score percentage
A yellow progress bar showing the good-to-have score percentage
Click any application to see the detailed scoring breakdown for each question.
Use high must-have scores to filter for qualified candidates, then prioritize those with the highest good-to-have scores to find your best matches.
How scores are calculated
Hirevire calculates two separate scores for each application:
Must-have score: (Total points from passed must-have questions ÷ (4 × number of must-have questions)) × 100
Example: You have 3 must-have questions. A candidate passes 2 of them.
Passed: 2 questions × 4 points = 8 points
Possible: 3 questions × 4 points = 12 points
Must-have score: (8 ÷ 12) × 100 = 66.7%
Good-to-have score: (Total points from good-to-have questions ÷ (4 × number of good-to-have questions)) × 100
Example: You have 2 good-to-have questions. One matches the first tier (4 points), the other matches the third tier (2 points).
Earned: 4 + 2 = 6 points
Possible: 2 questions × 4 points = 8 points
Good-to-have score: (6 ÷ 8) × 100 = 75%
Scores update automatically when a candidate submits their application. Changing scoring criteria after applications are submitted doesn't recalculate existing scores.
Troubleshooting
I can't save my scoring criteria Make sure all fields are filled in. Empty operator or value fields will show red borders and display "Please fill all the fields." Each condition needs both an operator and a matching value.
A candidate got 0% even though they answered Their response didn't match your criteria. Check the application details to see their exact answer. For numeric questions, make sure they entered a valid number—text entries in number fields automatically fail. For "Contains" operators, verify spelling and check that you're using commas correctly to separate terms.
The scoring toggle is grayed out You need at least one standard question in your job. Add a text field, dropdown, multiple choice, checkbox, number, date, or link question first. Video, audio, file, and screenshare questions don't support scoring.
I don't see score sorting in my applications list Scoring must be enabled and saved before candidates apply. Applications submitted before you turned on scoring won't have scores. You'll need to wait for new submissions.