3: Example - Account Manager
Criteria: Account Manager example
This section walks through how to build and refine criteria using an Account Manager role as an example.
Must have, nice to have, exclude
These three levers control how TalentRiver filters and ranks results.
Must have — only candidates who meet this criterion will appear in full match. Use sparingly. Add only the things that would make you reject a candidate outright.
Nice to have — candidates with this are ranked higher, but candidates without it still appear. Use for preferences, not hard requirements.
Exclude — removes candidates who match this criterion entirely. Useful for filtering out certain industries, company types, or backgrounds that don't fit the role.
A common mistake is setting too many must-haves. If your full match list is empty or very small, move some criteria to nice to have and see what opens up.
Subcriteria: controlling timing and experience
Each criterion has its own subcriteria settings that let you be specific about when and how it applies. This is where the real precision is.
Timing controls the recency of a criterion. For company type or industry, this matters a lot:
Now — the candidate must currently match this. For example, currently working at a B2B SaaS company.
Within the last X years — the candidate matched this at some point recently. For example, worked in B2B sales within the last 3 years.
If you leave timing open, TalentRiver looks at the candidate's full history, which can surface people who are much less relevant today.
Experience level lets you set ranges for how long someone has held a title. For an Account Manager role, you might set 2–5 years in title to filter out people who are very new to the role or who have moved on to more senior positions.
Getting these right is what separates a clean full match list from a messy one.
Advanced criteria
Beyond title and skills, you can filter by:
Gender — useful when building balanced shortlists
Company type — restrict to candidates who have worked at SaaS companies, agencies, or enterprise organisations
Education — filter by degree level or institution
Industry — narrow to candidates with background in specific sectors
These are found under Advanced criteria and work the same way — each one can be set as must have, nice to have, or exclude, and has its own subcriteria for timing.
Iterating your search
Build criteria gradually rather than adding everything at once. Start with the two or three things that matter most, check where results land across full, close, and potential, then layer in more criteria. This tells you what's actually limiting your pool and where the market is thin before you've committed to a narrow search.