Any shortlist for interview should be drawn up by reference to criteria that are linked to the person specification (drawing up a job description ) . In some cases, no one candidate will meet all the requirements and this process will consist of finding those who are the best fit. If no candidate meets even the majority of the criteria, it may be necessary for the employer to reconsider the person specification, perhaps to look for someone with the potential to respond to training. Any 'moving of the goalposts' in this way must be done for clearly defined reasons and must involve reconsideration of all candidates against the new criteria. Otherwise it will be difficult to explain if the recruitment process is later alleged to have been discriminatory. The Data Protection Code also advises employers to ensure that personal information is used in shortlisting in a consistent way.
Where practicable, shortlisting decisions should not be made by one person alone, but should at least be checked by another person, in order to guard against conscious or unconscious bias.
The reason for rejecting candidates who do not make the shortlist should be recorded, even if only by a brief note on the top of their application form or CV, in case it later becomes necessary to defend a discrimination claim.