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Aptly is a Candidate Intelligence Platform for recruiters. You upload CVs, Aptly ranks them against your job spec, flags the best candidates, generates a ready-to-send email for every applicant, and produces a shareable shortlist for your client — all in under two minutes.

The three things Aptly solves

• Screening admin — ranked shortlist with evidence-based reasoning in under 2 minutes, no matter how many CVs.
• Client visibility — a live branded shortlist link your hiring manager can view and comment on, in real time.
• Candidate ghosting — every applicant gets a personalised, reasoned response. Nobody is ignored.

Basic workflow

1. Create a job (paste your spec or let AI build one for you)
2. Upload CVs — up to 50 at once, PDF or Word
3. Get a ranked shortlist with scores, reasons, and draft emails
4. Move candidates through the pipeline as the process progresses
5. Share the live shortlist link with your client

Every screening in Aptly lives inside a job. Jobs keep your candidates, pipeline, interview logs, and client share link all in one place.

Option 1 — Use my own spec

Paste your existing job description, give the role a title, optionally link a client, and you're ready to screen. Takes about 20 seconds.

Option 2 — Build with AI

Answer a short questionnaire (role title, seniority, must-haves, optional context) and Aptly writes a complete, professional job spec. It also flags any issues — unrealistic requirements, conflicting criteria, missing information — before you screen a single CV. This produces noticeably better screening accuracy than a rough paste.

One scan = one CV processed against a job spec. If you upload 10 CVs, that costs 10 scans. Scans are used at the point of screening — not when you create a job or view results.

Scan limits by plan

• Trial (free) — 50 scans total, 2 active jobs
• Starter — 250 scans/month, 5 active jobs
• Pro — 750 scans/month, 15 active jobs
• Agency — 3,000 scans/month, unlimited jobs

Monthly scans reset on your billing renewal date. You can see your usage and reset date on the Home screen and in My Profile.

Top-up packs

If you need extra scans without upgrading, you can buy a one-time top-up pack (50, 150, or 500 scans) from My Profile → Personal tab → Plan & billing. Top-up scans never expire and carry over indefinitely. They are drawn on only after your monthly plan allowance is exhausted.

Open a job, click + Add candidates, and drop your CV files into the upload zone. Aptly accepts PDF and Word (.docx / .doc) files.

Limits

• Maximum 50 CVs per screening batch
• CVs are processed in parallel batches of 8, so larger uploads are significantly faster than sequential tools
• A typical 20-CV batch takes 60–90 seconds

Adding more CVs later

You can screen additional CVs into the same job at any time by dropping files into the drop zone at the bottom of the job page. Each new batch is scored against the same job spec and merged into the existing pipeline.

Every hiring manager weighs candidates differently. The What this client values tags tell the scoring engine what to prioritise when two otherwise similar candidates are compared.

Available tags (select up to 2)

• Exact technical match — penalise candidates who lack specific required technologies
• Culture & personality fit — weight soft skills and communication style indicators more heavily
• Sector credibility — prioritise candidates with direct industry or domain experience
• Budget-sensitive hire — favour candidates likely to accept a modest salary range
• Speed over perfection — weight availability and shorter notice periods more heavily
• Leadership & gravitas — look for signals of management presence and stakeholder credibility
• Growth potential — favour candidates with strong trajectory even if slightly underqualified today
• Niche credential required — treat the specific credential or certification as near-mandatory

Every CV you screen is automatically added to your candidate database. The AI Database Search lets you match any of those existing candidates against a new role — without using any scan credits.

1. Open a job and click the 🔍 AI Database Search button
2. Aptly searches your full candidate pool for the best matches
3. Review the results — each match shows a score and a brief reason
4. Click + Add to job to bring a candidate into the job's pipeline

Every candidate receives a score from 0–100 and a verdict. The score reflects overall fit against the job spec. The verdict is a category recommendation:

• Strong shortlist — Recommend progressing. Strong match on the criteria that matter most.
• Borderline — Possible. Meets some criteria but has notable gaps. Two email options are generated — one to progress, one to decline.
• Do not progress — Does not meet the requirements. A respectful rejection email is generated automatically.

Ranking

Candidates are ranked within each verdict category. A rank of #1 means Aptly considers them the strongest overall match — not just the highest raw score.

What factors influence the score?

• Match against must-have skills and experience in the job spec
• Seniority alignment (mismatch is a hard penalty — candidates significantly over or under-levelled score below 50)
• Domain and sector credibility
• Any client values tags you have set

Aptly analyses each CV for signs that it was substantially generated by AI rather than written by the candidate. This does not disqualify anyone automatically — it is a signal for your own judgement.

• None — No meaningful AI writing signals detected
• Mild — Some generic phrasing or structural patterns; could be natural
• Moderate — Notable AI-style characteristics. Worth a closer look at the CV
• Strong — Strong signals of AI generation. The CV may not reflect the candidate's actual writing or depth

A brief reason is shown under each flag when you expand a candidate row. Use this as context when deciding whether to probe further at interview.

Aptly sets a ⭐ Hidden gem flag on candidates who have a unique or standout credential that might not be obvious from their overall score alone. This could be a rare certification, an unusually relevant prior employer, or domain experience that exactly matches the client's niche.

The flag is designed to surface candidates who might otherwise be overlooked in a score-sorted list. When a candidate has this flag, read the reason — it often explains why a mid-range score still represents a strong potential fit for a specific type of client.

Every candidate row expands to show two evidence lists:

• Why they stand out — specific strengths from their CV that match the role requirements. These are direct references to what is in the CV, not generic praise.
• Gaps to probe — specific areas where the candidate falls short or where the CV is ambiguous. These are designed to be used as interview prompts.

These are grounded in the actual CV content — Aptly will not invent qualifications or pad the lists. If a CV is thin, the reasons will be thin too.

Each candidate in a job moves through a pipeline that reflects where they are in the process:

• Applied — Applied via your job board. Not yet screened.
• Screened — CV has been processed by Aptly. Awaiting your decision.
• Shortlisted — You have confirmed they are moving forward.
• Interviewing — Interview scheduled or in progress.
• Offered — Offer has been made.
• Placed — Role filled by this candidate.
• Rejected — Not progressing. Moved to the collapsed rejected section.

Moving a candidate

Click the stage track (the dot-and-line progress bar) on any candidate row to advance them to a new stage. You can also click the Reject button to move them directly to rejected. When you move a candidate to Shortlisted, Interviewing, Offered, or Rejected — a relevant draft email appears automatically for you to review and send.

When a role is filled, mark the job as Filled using the status dropdown at the top of the job page. A placement modal will appear where you can record:

• Which candidate was placed
• The placement fee and currency

Placed jobs and fees are tracked on your Home dashboard. The placed candidate's stage is automatically updated to Placed.

You can edit placement details at any time by clicking Edit placement details on the job page.

Expand any candidate row and click 📅 Log interview to record an interview. You can capture:

• Interview date
• Format (video, in person, phone, other)
• Outcome (progressing / pending decision / not progressing)
• Notes — key impressions, things to follow up

Interview logs are stored permanently on the application and visible whenever you reopen the candidate row.

Aptly generates a personalised, ready-to-send email for every candidate as part of each screening. The type of email depends on their verdict:

• Strong shortlist — one shortlist email, congratulating and inviting them forward
• Borderline — two options: Option A to progress, Option B to respectfully decline
• Do not progress — one personalised rejection that references their background — not a form letter

Sending emails

Expand a candidate row to view and edit the draft. Click Send email to send directly from Aptly, or Copy to paste it into your own email client.

Use the ✉ Send all emails button at the top of the results to send all generated emails in one click — useful after a large screening batch.

When you move a candidate to a key stage, a relevant draft email appears automatically at the top of their expanded row — no separate step required.

• Shortlisted — their original shortlist or progress email appears
• Interviewing — an interview invitation with placeholder date/format fields
• Offered — an offer notification with placeholder salary/start date fields
• Rejected — a context-appropriate rejection (different wording for post-interview versus initial screening rejections)

All drafts are editable inline before sending. The email appears highlighted in the context of the stage change so it's impossible to miss.

Aptly extracts email addresses directly from CV content. If a CV does not contain a clearly formatted email address, or if the address is embedded in a graphic or image-only PDF, extraction may fail.

In this case, the email preview will show No email address found in red. You can still copy the email body and send it manually from your own email client.

The candidate record in your database will also be missing an email — you can add it manually by opening their profile from the Candidates tab.

Every job can have a unique share link that lets your hiring manager view the shortlist, candidate scores, and reasoning — with no login required.

1. Open a job and click 🔗 Share with client
2. Choose an expiry (7 days up to no expiry)
3. Click Generate link
4. Copy and send to your client

What the client sees

Your agency logo, the ranked shortlist with scores and evidence, and a comment box on each candidate. They cannot see email addresses or contact details — only the professional screening information.

Managing the link

You can regenerate the link (with a new expiry) or revoke it entirely at any time from the same modal. Revoking immediately blocks all access via the old URL.

Clients can leave comments on individual candidates directly from the share page. You are notified by email when a comment is posted.

Comments are visible to you inside each candidate's expanded row in the job pipeline. Jobs with unread comments are flagged on your Home dashboard with a 💬 badge.

This replaces the need for back-and-forth emails about specific candidates — the client's feedback stays attached to the candidate it relates to.

The candidate portal is a personalised, no-login page that shows a candidate their current stage, a brief status description, and their fit profile for the role. It uses your agency logo and branding — no Aptly branding is shown to the candidate.

It is designed to replace the silence that candidates typically experience — they can check their status without calling or emailing you.

What the candidate sees

• Your agency logo and company name
• The job title they applied for
• Their current stage in plain English (e.g. "Your CV is being reviewed" or "You've been shortlisted")
• A personalised fit profile describing why they are a good match for the role
• A visual progress track

Expand any screened candidate's row and click 📬 Send portal link. Aptly will email them a unique, tokenised URL that only they can access — no password required.

The button only appears if the candidate has an email address on file. If it's missing, add it to their profile first.

Each portal link is permanent for that application — the stage shown updates automatically as you move the candidate through your pipeline, so you only need to send it once.

Your job board is a public page at aptly.pro/jobs/?agency=your-slug that lists all your live jobs. Candidates can view job descriptions and apply directly — their details arrive in your pipeline as Applied candidates, ready to screen.

Setting your agency URL

1. Go to My Profile → Company tab
2. Under Job board URL, enter your agency slug (e.g. nexus-recruitment)
3. Click Save URL

Your job board URL will be confirmed once saved. Share it anywhere — your website, LinkedIn, email signatures.

Open any job and click 🌐 Post to job board. A confirmation modal explains what will be made public and shows your job board URL. Confirm to make it live.

When candidates apply

They appear at the top of the job as Applied — unscreened, in a separate panel from your screened candidates. From there you can:

• Click ✨ Screen next to any individual applicant to screen them (costs 1 scan)
• Click ✨ Screen all to process the whole unscreened queue at once

Once screened, they join your regular ranked pipeline.

Retracting a job

Click the 🌐 On job board button to retract it. The job is immediately removed from your public board. Existing applications are not affected.

The shortlist PDF is a professional, white-labelled report you can send directly to clients. It includes your agency logo, candidate rankings, scores, evidence summaries, and the interview guide.

How to download

Open a job with screened candidates and click the ⬇ Download PDF button at the top of the candidates section. Generation takes a few seconds.

What's included

• Your agency logo and branding
• Candidate shortlist — ranked, with scores, verdicts, and evidence
• AI-CV flag indicators
• Hidden gem highlights
• Interview guide (opening questions, technical questions, red flags)

You can export the job description itself as a formatted PDF — useful for sending to candidates or keeping on file.

Open a job, expand the Job specification card, and click ⬇ Download spec. The exported PDF includes your job title and the full spec text.

Pro and Agency plans include multiple seats. To invite a colleague:

1. Go to My Profile → Company tab → Team
2. Enter their email address and click Send invite
3. They receive an email with a one-click acceptance link
4. Once accepted, they appear as a team member with full access to recruitment features

Roles

• Owner — full access including billing, branding, and team management. One per organisation.
• Member — full access to all recruitment features. Cannot access billing or remove other members.

Seat limits

• Starter — 1 seat
• Pro — 3 seats
• Agency — 10 seats

To add more seats, upgrade your plan in My Profile → Personal tab → Plan & billing.

To upgrade or change your plan, go to My Profile → Personal tab → Plan & billing. Select monthly or annual billing, then click the relevant plan button. You'll be taken to a secure checkout page.

Managing an existing subscription

If you are already on a paid plan, a Manage subscription → link appears below the plan grid. This opens the Lemon Squeezy billing portal where you can update payment details, view invoices, or cancel.

Cancellation

Cancelling keeps your access until the end of your current billing period. After that, your account moves to the free tier. Nothing is deleted — your jobs, candidates, and screening history are preserved.

Top-up scans

If you need extra scans without changing your plan, top-up packs are available as one-time purchases (50, 150, or 500 scans) from My Profile → Personal tab → Plan & billing. Top-up scans never expire, carry over month to month, and are only used after your plan allowance runs out.

Your agency branding appears on all client-facing and candidate-facing pages — the share link shortlist, the candidate portal, the public job board, and PDF reports. No Aptly branding is shown on any of these pages.

What to set up

1. Go to My Profile → Company tab
2. Upload your logo (PNG, JPG, or SVG, max 500KB) under Company logo
3. Fill in your company name, industry, contact email, phone, website, and address under Company details
4. Save changes

Branding is applied to your entire organisation — all team members' jobs and outputs use the same logo and details.