1. Each application is analysed against the Ideal Candidate Profile, which is based on the job description and defined criteria (such as skills, experience, and qualifications).
2. All candidates receive a candidate matching score, showing how well they fit the role.
3. Recruiters can sort applications by Best Match to see a ranked list of applicants, with the most qualified candidates at the top.
4. Recruiters can automatically advance candidates who meet all must-haves in the Ideal Candidate Profile, and reach out to the most promising candidates who are missing one.
5. Recruiters can review a detailed breakdown in each candidate profile that explains how each score was calculated, offering transparency and confidence in shortlisting.

By surfacing candidates who best meet the job description and key criteria, this feature reduces manual application screening and speeds up decision-making. Recruitment teams can spend less time filtering applications and more time engaging with top talent.

Candidate matching scores are displayed differently depending on which view you're using:

List View: In List View, candidate matching scores appear as a numbered badge next to each candidate's name on the left-hand side panel. The score is displayed prominently in a coloured circle (e.g., a candidate with a score of 100 would show in a larger badge). This view allows you to quickly scan and compare scores across all candidates and sort by Best Match to rank them accordingly.

Board View: In Board View, candidates are organized in columns by recruitment stage (New, In Review, Phone Screen, Assessment, Interview, etc.). The candidate matching score still appears on each candidate's card, displayed as a numbered badge. This view gives you a visual overview of where candidates are in your recruitment pipeline while maintaining visibility of their candidate matching scores.

Firstly, you will need to create a new job in Employment Hero. The Best Match AI sorting method will only apply to roles created after 4th September, 2025. Follow the instructions in this article to create a new job. Then you can follow the numbered steps below.

1. Log in to Employment Hero.
2. On the left-hand side menu, click on Recruitment.
3. Click on Recruitment.
4. Click on the Jobs tab.
5. Click on the job whose candidates you want to shortlist.
6. On the left-hand side menu with the candidate names, click on Sort By.
7. Click on Best Match AI.
8. This will display your candidates in List View, ranked by Employment Hero. The highest-scoring candidates will appear at the top of the list with their candidate matching score displayed next to their name.

Board View is ideal if you want to see candidates organized by recruitment stage while still having access to their candidate matching scores. Follow these steps to view your candidates in Board View:

1. Log in to Employment Hero.
2. On the left-hand side menu, click on Recruitment.
3. Click on Recruitment.
4. Click on the Jobs tab.
5. Click on the job whose candidates you want to view.
6. At the top right of the page, look for the view toggle options. Click on the Board View icon to switch from List View to Board View.
7. Your candidates will now be displayed in columns organized by recruitment stage (New, In Review, Phone Screen, Assessment, Interview, etc.). Each candidate card will display their candidate matching score as a numbered badge, allowing you to quickly identify top matches within each stage of your pipeline.

By clicking on Profile, this will show how Employment Hero calculates the candidate scoring method. Candidate matching, powered by Hero AI, rates the skills, the experience and the qualifications of the candidate and how they match against your Ideal Candidate Profile. The scores are between 1-100, and the higher scores demonstrate a better match. Lower-scoring candidates may still be suitable when hiring for junior positions where on-the-job training is provided.

Click on View more to see how Employment Hero has factored in the candidate's skills, experience and qualifications.

You can also manually update the score card if you want to factor in any new information, or values that have not been factored in from the candidate's resume or cover letter.

Candidate matching, powered by Hero AI, extracts matching criteria from the Ideal Candidate Profile. The more complete and tailored the profile is for a specific role and employer, the higher the quality of matches and candidate matching scores will be.

Additionally, all candidate profiles now include a detailed breakdown of how each score is calculated. This helps users quickly understand the matched experience, skills, and qualifications of each applicant.

For new jobs, the Ideal Candidate Profile is built as part of the job creation process. To read more about it, please refer to the tab Step Two: Build the ideal candidate profile tab in this article: Create and post a job.

You can update the criteria on a job that is already live. When you save changes, all candidates already in the pipeline are automatically re-evaluated against the new requirements. You do not need to do anything extra.

1. Click Recruitment in the left-hand side menu.
2. Click the Recruitment submenu.
3. Click the Jobs tab.
4. Click the role that you want to update the Ideal Candidate Profile for.
5. Click the three dots button (...) around the upper right-hand side of your screen.
6. Click Edit ideal candidate profile.
7. In the edit pop-up, you will see the criteria generated by the platform after analysing the job description. You can:
   1. Add criteria.
   2. Change a must-have to a nice-to-have, or the other way around
   3. Delete criteria.
8. If you are already satisfied with the criteria, click the Save button.

(Optional) Add criteria

The AI works from what is in your job description. If there is a requirement you know is important but did not mention in the job ad, you can add it yourself. This may be a specific certification, a tool your team uses, or something niche to your industry.

You can add as many criteria as you need. Manually added criteria are preserved even if the job description is updated later.

1. To add criteria, click the Add criteria button. Then:
   1. Describe the requirement in plain English.
   2. Select a category (Experience, Qualification, or Skill).
   3. Choose whether it is a Must-have or a Nice-to-have.
2. If you are already satisfied with the criteria, click the Save button.

Any criteria you type yourself go through an automatic check to ensure they do not contain requirements that could be discriminatory or unlawful. If something does not pass, you will see a clear message explaining why, and you can edit and resubmit straight away.

Tip: If you are unsure how to reword a criterion, try focusing on the actual work capability rather than background attributes. For example, enter "ability to lift stock up to 20kg" rather than "physically fit".

(Optional) Change a must-have to a nice-to-have, or the other way around

Tip: fewer must-haves, better outcomes. The more must-haves you set, the narrower the shortlist. If you find very few candidates are being automatically advanced, consider whether some must-haves could become nice-to-haves. Candidates are still ranked on them; they just are not blocked by them.

1. To turn a Must-have into a Nice-to-have, click the Nice-to-have circle button.
2. To turn a Nice-to-have into a Must-have, click the Must-have circle button.
3. If you are already satisfied with the criteria, click the Save button.

(Optional) Delete criteria

1. To delete criteria, click the delete button (trash bin icon) for the criteria you want to remove.
2. If you are satisfied with the Ideal Candidate Profile, click the Save button.