Yield ratio
Also called: stage conversion rate, funnel yield
How yield ratios are calculated
Pick any two adjacent stages, divide candidates entering the later stage by candidates in the earlier:
- Applied to screen: e.g., 100 applications, 25 screen calls = 25% yield.
- Screen to interview: 25 screens, 12 interviews = 48% yield.
- Interview to final: 12, 5 = 42%.
- Final to offer: 5, 3 = 60%.
- Offer to accept: 3, 2 = 67%.
Multiplied together, these stage yields give the end-to-end conversion (applications-to-hires) — in this example, 2%.
What the ratios reveal
The interesting thing isn’t the absolute number; it’s the comparison:
- Across roles: is one role’s screen-to-interview yield much lower than another’s? The criteria might be miscalibrated or the screening underweighted.
- Across time: is the yield trending down or up quarter over quarter? Reveals process drift before the headline metrics catch it.
- Across sources: do referrals and paid sources have different stage yields? Helps identify which sources produce candidates who actually convert.
Yield ratios are diagnostic data — they tell you where to investigate, not what to do.
What they don’t tell you
The yields don’t say what the right ratios are. A 10% application-to-screen yield could be appropriate (rigorous screen) or a sign of poor job-posting targeting (lots of off-spec applications). Pair with applications-per-hire and quality-of-hire to interpret.
Where Join fits
Join surfaces per-stage yields on each role’s dashboard and on the overall funnel view, with trend lines over the prior quarters. See the features page.
