How Hirefathom works
A complete walkthrough of how Fathom reads resumes, extracts and matches criteria, builds the shortlist, and documents every step — so your team can explain any screening decision to a hiring manager, a candidate, or your legal team.
Five stages, fully explained
Each stage is visible and editable by your team. Nothing in the pipeline is a black box — every decision point has a documented input and a reviewable output.
Requirement ingestion
Fathom parses the job description into structured requirement types: must-have, nice-to-have, and role-context. It handles complex req language — experience ranges, stacked skills requirements, and domain-specific terminology. Before scoring begins, your recruiter reviews the extracted criteria list and can add, remove, or reclassify any requirement. What gets scored is what your team approved.
Resume parsing
Every resume in the batch is parsed into structured fields: work history (titles, tenures, responsibilities), skills, education, and role context. The parser is layout-agnostic — .pdf, .docx, and plain text formats are all handled. There is no preferred template format and no penalty for non-standard layouts. The output for each resume is a structured data record, not a raw text blob.
Criteria matching
Each structured resume record is matched against the approved requirement list. Scoring is strictly additive: each met or partially met requirement contributes positively to the score. There are no negative signals — nothing deducts points for characteristics unrelated to the job. The model does not use name, inferred gender, graduation year, school name, or address-derived attributes at any point in the matching step.
Shortlist ranking and reasoning
Candidates are ranked by criteria-match score and presented as a shortlist. Each candidate card shows the requirement breakdown: which criteria were met, which were partially met, and which were not addressed — pulled from the resume text with inline evidence. The raw numeric score is not exposed to the recruiter. What's shown is the ranking position and the requirement rationale — enough information to defend the placement or override it with confidence.
Recruiter review and export
The recruiter reviews the shortlist, moves candidates as needed, adds override notes, and exports. Every action in this stage — including which candidates were reviewed, which were moved, and the recruiter's notes — is appended to the run's audit log. The export format is ATS-compatible CSV or a structured file. Fathom does not retain candidate data after export. Your candidate records stay in your ATS; Fathom holds only the screening run metadata.
Built with EEOC adverse impact guidance in mind
EEOC adverse impact analysis asks whether a selection procedure disproportionately screens out protected groups. The honest answer to that question requires knowing exactly what the tool scores on. Here is ours.
What we screen on
Job requirements defined by the recruiter and reviewed before scoring begins — specific skills, qualifications, relevant experience, and tenure ranges stated in the job description. The criteria list is visible to your team before any resume is scored. Nothing is added by the model.
What we explicitly do not use
First and last name (a documented source of name-based racial and gender inference), inferred gender, school name or prestige ranking, graduation year as an age proxy, zip code or address-derived neighborhood demographic inference, and any signal not derivable from the stated job requirements. These exclusions are architectural — not a post-hoc filter applied after scoring.
Explainability as a documentation aid
Under EEOC guidance, employers must demonstrate that selection criteria are job-related and consistent with business necessity. Every Fathom shortlist provides that documentation: the criteria version used, each candidate's match against those criteria, and a full record of recruiter review and overrides. If your team is asked to account for a screening outcome — by a candidate, a manager, or in an adverse impact inquiry — you have a written, requirement-grounded record.
Human review is not optional
Hirefathom does not make hiring decisions. It does not pass or reject candidates. It ranks and explains, so a qualified recruiter can decide who moves to the next stage. The four-fifths rule and other adverse impact measures apply to your selection procedure as a whole. Fathom's role is to make your screening rationale visible and documentable — not to define the outcome.