Example data table
| Period | Applicants | Reviewed | Screened | Qualified | Interviews | Offers | Hires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 40 | 32 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Week 2 | 35 | 26 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Week 3 | 25 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 100 | 78 | 51 | 36 | 25 | 8 | 5 |
Formula used
Applicant Interview Rate (%) = (Interviews Scheduled ÷ Applicants Received) × 100
Optional funnel rates are calculated with the most relevant prior stage to avoid misleading percentages in sparse pipelines.
- Review Rate = Reviewed ÷ Received × 100
- Screen Rate = Screened ÷ Reviewed × 100
- Qualified Rate = Qualified ÷ Screened × 100
- Offer Rate = Offers ÷ Interviews × 100
- Hire Rate = Hires ÷ Offers × 100
- Attendance Rate = (Interviews − No‑shows) ÷ Interviews × 100
How to use this calculator
- Enter total applicants received for your chosen period.
- Fill each stage count using your ATS exports.
- Click Calculate to see rates and bottlenecks.
- Download CSV or PDF to share internally.
- Improve the weakest stage and re-check weekly.
Pipeline coverage and interview baseline
Applicant interview rate shows what share of received applications reach a scheduled interview. Track it per role family, location, and source. A stable baseline helps you spot sudden drops after a policy change, job board shift, or screening rubric update. Pair the rate with applicant volume so a small percentage on a high-volume role is not misread.
Segment by applicant source and seniority to avoid blended signals. If one channel yields 50 applicants and 20 interviews, its interview rate is 40%. Another channel might deliver 70 applicants and 10 interviews, only 14.3%. Those comparisons direct sourcing budget, recruiter focus, and messaging adjustments while keeping the overall funnel consistent across reporting periods. Document assumptions so teams interpret metrics the same way.
Stage yield diagnostics
Use the funnel rates to isolate where candidates fall out. Review rate reflects how quickly resumes are touched. Screen rate signals whether criteria are too strict or sourcing is off-target. Qualified rate highlights calibration between recruiters and hiring managers. When interview rate is low but qualified rate is high, scheduling capacity is often the constraint.
Capacity planning per role and recruiter
Interviews per role and per recruiter translate percentages into workload. For example, 30 interviews across 3 roles equals 10 interviews per role. If two recruiters support the pipeline, that is 15 scheduled interviews per recruiter for the period. Compare these values against your service-level targets to decide when to rebalance requisitions or add coordinator support.
No-show impact and scheduling efficiency
No-shows reduce effective throughput without changing the headline interview rate. Attendance rate captures how much scheduled time becomes real assessment time. If attendance is 90%, every 10 interviews scheduled yields 9 attended. Reducing no-shows via confirmations, calendar hygiene, and shorter lead times can raise hiring velocity without expanding sourcing spend.
Using trends to improve quality and speed
Run the calculator weekly and chart results by stage. Improve the smallest stage rate first, because that bottleneck limits downstream output. Test one change at a time: rewrite knock-out questions, adjust screening scripts, or revise interview availability windows. Recalculate after two to four cycles to confirm whether the intervention moved the metric and stabilized.
FAQs
What does applicant interview rate measure?
It measures the percentage of received applications that result in at least one scheduled interview. It helps you understand top‑of‑funnel efficiency and whether screening and scheduling are converting interest into real evaluation time.
Should interviews include multiple rounds?
Use a consistent definition. This calculator treats interviews scheduled as all scheduled interview slots in the period. If you prefer candidate-level interviews, enter unique candidates interviewed instead, and keep the same approach for trend comparisons.
How do I identify the biggest bottleneck?
Review rate, screen rate, qualified rate, and hire-related rates reveal where yield is lowest. Start improvements at the smallest stage rate because it limits downstream outcomes even when later stages look healthy.
Why track attendance rate separately?
No-shows consume time and slow hiring without changing applicant volume. Attendance rate shows how much scheduled interviewing becomes actual conversations, helping you justify confirmations, reminders, and shorter time-to-interview.
Can I use it for a single role or a whole team?
Yes. Enter counts for one requisition, a role family, or an entire recruiting pod. The per-role and per-recruiter metrics are most useful when the inputs represent a consistent scope and time window.
How often should we calculate these metrics?
Weekly works well for active pipelines, while biweekly fits slower hiring. Keep the same period length, review trend lines, and annotate major process changes so you can connect shifts in rates to specific actions.