Section 01

Reading fifty CVs is slow. Reviewing Claude's summary of those fifty is much faster.

A single job posting can attract dozens or hundreds of applications. Before any interview happens, someone has to read each CV, compare it against the role requirements, and decide who moves forward — a task that takes hours and gets harder to do consistently as the pile grows.

Claude can help with the first pass. Given a job description and a CV, it can summarise the candidate's relevant experience, highlight where they match or fall short of the stated requirements, and produce a consistent summary for each applicant — so a recruiter can review more candidates in less time, while still making the final call themselves.

Key insight: Claude does not decide who gets hired. It produces a structured, consistent summary of how a CV relates to the job requirements — the shortlisting decision stays with the hiring team.

Summarise a CV against a role

Compare a candidate's experience and skills directly against the requirements in the job description.

Create consistent summaries

Produce the same structure for every candidate, making it easier to compare applicants side by side.

Prepare interview questions

Draft questions based on gaps or areas in a CV that are worth exploring further at interview.

Without Claude

Read each CV in full, hold the job description in mind, and try to remember how each candidate compared to the last one — with notes that vary in detail from person to person.

With Claude

Ask Claude to summarise each CV against the same set of requirements, producing a short, consistent overview that is quick to compare across all candidates.

Using Claude for screening works best as an early step that feeds into your normal recruitment process, not as a replacement for it.

Start from the job description

Have the final job description ready, including the essential and desirable requirements you will assess candidates against.

Share one CV at a time with Claude

Provide the job description and a single candidate's CV, and ask for a structured summary against the requirements.

Review the summary, not just the score

Read the summary Claude produces, including where it says a requirement is unclear or not addressed in the CV.

Use the same prompt for every candidate

Apply the identical prompt and requirements list to each CV in the pile, so every candidate is assessed on the same basis.

Make the shortlisting decision yourself

Use the summaries to help you compare candidates faster, but base the final shortlist on your own judgement and your organisation's process.

Note: Claude works from the text of the CV and job description you provide — it does not access your applicant tracking system or any candidate data beyond what you share in the conversation.

These prompts help produce consistent, useful CV summaries while keeping the process fair and focused on the role requirements.

Prompt 1 — Summarise a CV against role requirements

Act as a recruitment assistant. I am sharing a job description and one candidate's CV. Job description requirements: [List the essential and desirable requirements from the job description] CV: [Paste the candidate's CV text] For this candidate, provide: - A short summary of their relevant experience (3-4 sentences) - For each essential requirement, state whether the CV shows clear evidence, partial evidence, or no evidence — quoting the relevant part of the CV where possible - Any requirements that are unclear from the CV and may be worth asking about at interview Do not comment on the candidate's name, age, location, or any other personal details beyond their stated skills and experience.

Prompt 2 — Draft interview questions from a CV summary

Act as a recruitment assistant. Based on the CV summary below, suggest 3-5 interview questions that explore the areas marked as "partial evidence" or "unclear". CV summary: [Paste the summary from Prompt 1] For each question, briefly note which requirement or gap it is intended to explore. Keep the questions open-ended and focused on the candidate's experience and skills, not personal circumstances.

Use the same requirements list for every candidate

Define the requirements once from the job description, and use that exact list in the prompt for every CV in the batch.

Keep the focus on skills and experience

Ask Claude not to comment on personal details such as name, age, or location, and review summaries to confirm this has been followed.

Treat the summary as a starting point, not a verdict

A summary highlighting gaps does not mean a candidate should be rejected — read the full CV yourself before making that call.

Follow your organisation's data handling policy

Check whether your organisation allows candidate data to be shared with AI tools, and follow that policy before pasting any CV content.

Important: Claude-generated summaries are a starting point for human review, not a hiring decision. Final shortlisting and hiring decisions must be made by your recruitment team, in line with your organisation's policies and applicable employment law.