Weighted scoring and knockout requirements give hiring teams direct control over candidate evaluation and filtering. You can adjust how Clara AI prioritizes different skills, and set hard requirements that disqualify ineligible candidates before the interview starts.

Every hiring team values different things. So does Clara AI. Here's how.

Set the scoring priorities that match your hiring goals

Clara AI evaluates candidates across three dimensions: role responsibilities, hard skills, and soft skills. By default, the weighting is 45/45/10. That works for most roles, but not all of them.

With weighted scoring, hiring teams can adjust how much each dimension contributes to the overall match score. The controls sit in Settings under Customisation:

1. Enable weighted scoring - toggle the feature on to unlock the sliders

2. Adjust the three dimensions - drag Role Responsibilities, Hard Skills, and Soft Skills to the balance that reflects your hiring priorities. The total always stays at 100%

3. Save and apply - new roles created after saving will use the updated weights. Existing roles and their candidate rankings are not affected

If you change your mind, a ghost indicator shows where each slider started. Click it to snap back to the default. Or hit "Reset to defaults" to return everything to 45/45/10.

Filter out ineligible candidates before the interview begins

Knockout requirements are hard pass/fail criteria that Clara AI checks at the very start of the voice call, before the full interview begins.

Here's how they work:

1. Define up to five knockout questions per role during job setup. These sit above the standard requirements section. Examples: "Do you have the right to work in the UK?", "Can you start by 1 March?", "Do you hold a valid forklift licence?"

2. Clara AI asks them first - at the start of the call, before any competency or skills evaluation

3. Fail means immediate, polite disqualification - Clara ends the call respectfully. The candidate is marked as Not Suitable and moves to the Decline column

4. Zero credits consumed - if a candidate fails a knockout question, the interview credit is not charged

This is voice-based, not form-based. Candidates answer verbally, in real time. No checkboxes to game, no forms to auto-fill.

Clara AI asks, listens, and acts.

Why these two features work together

Weighted scoring and knockout requirements solve different problems, but they compound when used together.

Knockout requirements remove candidates who were never going to work out, regardless of how well they score. No right to work, no availability, no required certification: disqualified before the interview starts, at zero cost.

Weighted scoring ensures the candidates who do make it through are ranked by the criteria that matter most for the role. The recruiter opens their dashboard to a ranked list that reflects their actual priorities, not a generic default.

How to get started

Weighted scoring and knockout requirements are available to Clara Pro clients. Contact your account manager or email sales@clara.works to get them enabled.