Estimated read time: 3–4 minutes

Once your job is live and candidates are in the system, CLARA gets to work — scoring and sorting candidates so you can focus your time on the ones who matter most. This guide walks you through how to review candidate profiles, make decisions, and share your top picks with your hiring manager.

Use this guide while working directly in CLARA, or bookmark it for a quick reference during your day-to-day workflow.

What you'll need before getting started

Before you begin, make sure you have the following ready:

Access to CLARA with Admin or Recruiter permissions
At least one active job with candidates already uploaded and processed
A hiring manager assigned to the job — you'll need this in place before you can share candidates with them. If one hasn't been set up yet, your admin can assign one, or you can do it directly from the Job Details screen

⚠️ Note: If any of the above are missing, contact your admin or our Partner Success team before proceeding at success@getclara.io.

How to review and advance candidates in CLARA

Navigate to the Jobs section using the left navigation menu and select the job you'd like to review. This will take you to the candidate pipeline for that role.
Review each candidate's Match Score — a score generated by CLARA's AI based on how well their materials align with your job requirements. Scores also factor in responses to scenario-based questions and key traits like Critical Thinking and Learning Agility where applicable.

Candidates are pre-sorted into Not Qualified and Pre-Qualified buckets based on your scoring threshold settings. Click on a candidate card on the left to open a summary view of their profile.

To open the full candidate profile, click the three-dot menu in the upper right-hand corner of the candidate panel. This expands the profile into a dedicated view where you can see their complete background.

In the full profile view, you'll find their CLARA Score, Requirements Match, candidate summary, education, experience, skills, and assessment answers. Scroll down to review their full background in detail.

A full Candidate Profile walkthrough is also available here.
Scroll through the candidate's profile to read their responses to job-relevant, scenario-based questions. These give you a window into how a candidate thinks and problem-solves — going beyond what's on their resume and helping you make a more informed decision.
Once you've identified strong candidates, you can move them to the Qualified bucket and share them directly with your hiring manager. Click Share with Hiring Manager from the dropdown on the candidate card — a pop-up will let you include a personalized message before sending.

⚠️ Note: A hiring manager must be assigned to the job before you can share candidates with them. If one hasn't been assigned yet, you can do so from the upper right-hand corner of the Job Details screen.

You can also move candidates into specific interview stages — customizable by your admin — to track their progress through your hiring pipeline.

⚠️ Note: Hiring stages are one-directional — once a candidate has been moved to a stage, they cannot be moved backwards. Additionally, once a candidate is rejected, that action cannot be undone and they cannot be advanced to any stage.

If a candidate is not a good match, select Reject from the dropdown.

Best Practices

💡 Use both the Match Score and the candidate's written responses together to get the fullest picture of who they are — the score tells you how they rank, and their answers tell you how they think.
💡 Candidates cannot see when a hiring manager gives them a thumbs up or thumbs down, what stage they're in, or any internal comments made about them. Only your team can see this information.
💡 Use the notes and tags feature in CLARA to keep your team aligned and streamline internal communication as you move candidates through the process.

Next steps

Once you've shared candidates, your hiring manager will review and advance their selections — you'll receive a notification on your home dashboard when they're done
For a full walkthrough of the candidate screening process, visit our How to Screen Candidates Using CLARA guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Can candidates see their Match Score or hiring stage?

No — candidates cannot see their Match Score, which stage they're in, or any internal comments or reactions from your team. All of that information is visible only to you and your colleagues.

Can I move a candidate backwards through hiring stages?

No — hiring stages in CLARA are one-directional. Once a candidate has been moved to a stage, they cannot be moved back to a previous one.

What happens when I reject a candidate?

Rejecting a candidate is permanent — once rejected, they cannot be advanced to any stage. We recommend reviewing a candidate's full profile carefully before taking this action.

What if a hiring manager hasn't been assigned yet?

You can assign a hiring manager directly from the upper right-hand corner of the Job Details screen. A hiring manager must be assigned before you can share candidates with them.

Does CLARA notify candidates when they've been rejected?

No — CLARA does not send disposition emails or notify candidates that they've been rejected. If you're using CLARA as a standalone tool (without an ATS integration), you'll need to notify candidates of their status outside of CLARA directly.

Where can I find more information on candidate profiles?

A full Candidate Profile walkthrough is available here. You can also visit our How to Screen Candidates Using CLARA guide for the full workflow.