Transparency
How matching works
Every PairSkill score is a transparent formula over skills, industry experience and practical preferences. Employers and candidates see the same breakdown, and a person makes every decision.
Skill fit by level gap
| Meets or exceeds the level | 100% |
| 1 level below | 60% |
| 2 levels below | 25% |
| 3 levels below | 0% |
Weights
- Importance weights: nice to have ×1, important ×2, critical ×3
- Self-rated skills count at 85%; assessed skills count fully
- "Selected matches only" shows candidates scoring 70 or higher
One shared scale
Candidates rate each skill from 1 (beginner) to 5 (expert) using the same descriptions employers use to set a role's minimum level. Because both sides describe skills the same way, a profile and a role can be compared directly — no keyword guessing.
How the score is built
75% skill fit · 15% industry experience · 10% practicalities (start date, contract type, work mode). When a role lists no industries, skills carry 90% and practicalities 10%.
Skill fit
For each required skill, a candidate at or above the minimum level scores 100%, one level below 60%, two levels below 25%, and further below 0%. Each skill is weighted by the importance the employer chose, then averaged.
Must-haves
A skill marked must-have filters the list: candidates more than one level below it, or without it, are not ranked for that role. Employers are encouraged to use must-haves sparingly.
Verified vs self-rated
Short knowledge checks mark a skill as assessed, so it counts fully. Self-rated skills count at 85%. Employers can also endorse skills they have seen in real work; endorsements are shown, not scored.
Goal modes
"Selected matches only" shows an employer just the top 3, 5 or 10 candidates scoring 70+. "All relevant, ranked" shows everyone who meets the must-haves, best first. The ranking is identical in both modes.
What is never used, and who decides
Names, photos, age, gender, nationality and CVs are never inputs to the score. Anonymous candidates stay anonymous until they accept an employer's invitation. Scores order candidates; they never reject anyone. Every hiring decision is made by a person.