Northwave Recruitment AI Screener
A Sydney RPO staffing AU and NZ clients processed 4,400 monthly CVs against 21 active reqs with an AI screener.
Impact
What changed.
Throughput
100% of inbound CVs now get a structured assessment within four hours of receipt. The 48-hour client SLA is met on 98% of requisitions, up from 33%.
Quality and diversity
Recruiters report seeing more qualified candidates per shortlist. Structured rejection capture supports clean monthly diversity reports for every client.
Headcount avoided
The firm took on six new enterprise engagements without adding screening headcount — extending margin without breaking quality.
The challenge
Before
Northwave Recruitment runs RPO engagements for AU and NZ enterprise clients, with roughly 21 active requisitions across engineering, sales, and operations roles at any given time. They were receiving about 4,400 inbound CVs a month and a five-person screening team was only getting through a third of them within the 48-hour client-promised window. Quality candidates were dropping out of process before recruiters could engage. The firm was either going to add headcount or lose accounts.
- 4,400 monthly inbound CVs against 21 active enterprise requisitions
- Five-person screening team processing only a third within 48-hour SLA
- Quality candidates dropping out before recruiter engagement
- Initial screening quality varying by reviewer fatigue and time of day
- Repeat applicants across multiple reqs handled redundantly
- Diversity reporting compiled monthly through manual CV-by-CV analysis
- Hiring managers waiting two weeks to see their first shortlist
- No structured capture of why candidates were rejected at screen stage
The solution
What we built
We deployed a screening agent that processes every inbound CV against the requisition's structured criteria — required and preferred skills, location and right-to-work, salary expectation, communication quality from cover material. The agent produces a structured assessment with reasoning rather than a numeric score alone, surfaces strong candidates for recruiter attention, and prepares interview-question drafts tailored to gaps in the candidate's profile. Recruiters approve or override at the candidate level — the agent does not auto-reject. Applicants who match adjacent reqs are flagged for crossover consideration. The system records structured rejection reasons for every candidate, supporting both transparent feedback to applicants and clean diversity reporting for clients. The agent operates inside the existing ATS so recruiter workflow stays intact.
Core workflow connections
How the system flows.
- CV IntakeRequisition MatchStructured Criteria Comparison
- Skills + Right-to-Work + Salary + CommunicationAssessment Generated
- Reasoning CapturedRecruiter ReviewApprove or Override
- Adjacent Req CrossoverCandidate Flagged for Other Recruiter
- Interview Question DraftsTailored to Profile Gaps
- Structured Rejection ReasonApplicant FeedbackDiversity Report
- Hiring Manager First Shortlist48-hour SLA MetClient Visibility
- Repeat Applicant DetectionHistory RecallSingle Process View
- Agent operates inside existing ATS without disrupting recruiter workflow
- Quality sampling of agent decisions against senior-recruiter judgment
Process
How we built it.
CV Intake → Requisition Match → Structured Criteria Comparison
Skills + Right-to-Work + Salary + Communication → Assessment Generated
Reasoning Captured → Recruiter Review → Approve or Override
Adjacent Req Crossover → Candidate Flagged for Other Recruiter
Interview Question Drafts → Tailored to Profile Gaps
Structured Rejection Reason → Applicant Feedback → Diversity Report
Hiring Manager First Shortlist → 48-hour SLA Met → Client Visibility
Repeat Applicant Detection → History Recall → Single Process View
Agent operates inside existing ATS without disrupting recruiter workflow
Quality sampling of agent decisions against senior-recruiter judgment
Start a project
Losing candidates to slow screening?
We build recruitment agents that augment recruiter judgment — they prepare structured assessments, your team makes the people decisions.
No retainer lock-in · Month-to-month · Full transparency
More work
Up next.
A multi-state US telehealth counseling practice automated insurance verification and intake routing with a HIPAA-safe agent.
MindBridge Counseling Intake AI
A Jakarta microfinance NGO gave 34 field loan officers an AI co-pilot for KYC, credit memos, and follow-ups.