2: Sorting Results

Sorting results: full, close, and potential

TalentRiver ranks every result against your criteria — including the subcriteria settings you've added to each criterion, like timing and experience level — and groups them into three tiers.

Full match — candidates who meet all your must-have criteria, including the subcriteria. If you've set "currently working in SaaS" or "3–5 years in this title", a full match satisfies those conditions exactly.

Close match — candidates who meet the must-haves, but something in the subcriteria is slightly off. For example, they had the right title until recently but moved roles, or they meet the experience requirement but are a level more senior than specified. These are worth reviewing — often the gap is small enough not to matter.

Potential — candidates where the system has lower confidence. They may be clearly too junior or too senior, lack the industry background you've asked for, or have a skill listed in a way that's ambiguous. Useful when your full and close match lists are short, or when you're open to profiles that are less conventional.

The ranking updates in real time as you adjust criteria and subcriteria. If your full match list is too small, check whether a subcriterion is set too strictly — for example, changing "now" to "within the last 2 years" for a title often opens up the pool significantly.