The 3 Signals That Prove a Candidate Will Stay — Even With an Unconventional CV

The perfect CV doesn't exist — and it's costing you strong profiles

Did you know that **38% of candidates who reached a final interview for frontline roles** had a CV that would have been dropped at the first manual screen? That's what our internal data shows across more than 12,000 applications processed by Rafa in 2025.

38%. Nearly **4 candidates out of 10** who end up hired and stay in the job — but whose CV doesn't tick the usual boxes: gaps in the timeline, a career change, vague job titles, messy formatting.

The problem isn't the candidates. It's the lens you read them through.

When you filter for the "perfect CV," you mechanically eliminate profiles who would have stayed. And on the frontline, what matters isn't how the document looks — it's the ability to stick around.

Here are the 3 signals we watch for at Rafa, the ones that change everything.

Signal 1: consistency of the track record

Let's start with the most counterintuitive one: it isn't the number of years of experience that predicts how long someone stays in a job. It's the **logic of the track record**.

A candidate who does 6 months in logistics, then 4 in food service, then 8 in materials handling — that can look like instability. But look closer: they've always worked in a team, on shift hours, in physical jobs. The through-line is the **consistency of working conditions**, not the job title.

Conversely, a candidate with "3 years of experience in the sector" but three 6-month contracts broken up by periods of inactivity — that's the opposite signal. The year count is good, the consistency is weak.

**What we look at:**

• The thread running through the experiences (sector, conditions, type of role)
• Regularity — not absolute tenure
• Logical transitions (not random jumps)
• Visible progress (growing responsibility, rising skills)

A consistent track record, even an unconventional one, is someone who can adapt without running away. It's the best predictor of retention we've found.

Signal 2: motivation shown through specific details

"I'm passionate and motivated." That sentence appears in **72% of the cover letters** we analyze. It means nothing.

You don't declare motivation. You **demonstrate** it.

Our NLP (natural language processing) analysis tells apart two levels of motivation:

**Weak signal** — what you read everywhere:

• "I'm energetic and motivated"
• "This role matches my profile"
• "I've always wanted to work in this field"

**Strong signal** — what makes the difference:

• "I live 15 minutes from your Lille site and I know the production line"
• "I saw on your site that you're opening a new drive-through in June — that interests me for the growth"
• "My last job was on a 6am–2pm shift, a rhythm I'm comfortable with"

A candidate who cites specific details about the company, the role, the conditions — that's someone who did their homework, who pictured themselves in the job, who's already invested mentally. It's not abstract passion. It's **concrete commitment**.

Rafa's data confirms it: a candidate with a "strong" motivation score (specific signals detected by NLP) is **2.3 times more likely** to stay in the job past 6 months than one with a "weak" motivation score (generic phrasing).

This isn't a hunch. It's a measurable signal.

Signal 3: alignment with the reality of the job

This is the most pragmatic signal, and maybe the most overlooked.

A candidate can have a consistent track record and demonstrated motivation — but if they're not aligned with the reality of the job, they'll leave.

**Alignment means:**

• **Availability:** they can work the hours on offer, not "in theory" but for real (no childcare conflict, no impossible commute at 5am)
• **License and mobility:** they hold the required license, and they've checked it against their actual commute
• **Salary expectations:** their asking pay is within the role's range — not 30% above with a "we'll see"
• **Working conditions:** they know it's physical, outdoors, on shift hours — and they've done it before

A candidate who says "I'm available immediately" but lives 90 minutes away by public transport with no car — that's a scheduled no-show. A candidate who asks for €2,200 net for a role paying €1,850 — that's an early departure.

Alignment is verified against **facts**, not statements. That's why our scoring weights the custom criteria (license, availability, salary) as a full dimension in their own right — not as an afterthought filter.

What the CV says vs. what Rafa actually looks at

The CV is a blurry photo. Rafa scoring is a scanner.

Why these 3 signals keep you from missing ~40% of good candidates

To recap: 38% of finalist candidates had a CV that would be dropped manually. But those 38% share one thing in common — they send all 3 signals:

1. **A consistent track record**, even if it isn't linear
2. **Motivation shown through details**, not adjectives
3. **Real alignment with the role**, not vague statements

When you filter on the CV alone, you miss these profiles. Because the CV puts "3 years of experience with gaps" and "3 years of continuous work" on the same footing. Because it doesn't tell "passionate" apart from "I checked your address and I'm 15 minutes away." Because it doesn't verify whether the candidate can actually do the job, day in and day out.

Rafa scoring reads these signals. In real time. Across thousands of applications. No fatigue, no presentation bias, no "gut feeling."

The result: we identify the candidates who will stay — **even when their CV doesn't scream "hire me."**

Try Rafa Core on your next hires

The AI scoring that reads between the lines of a CV. Consistency, motivation, alignment — the 3 signals that truly matter, automated and transparent.

[Book a Rafa Core demo →](https://rafa.fr)