Candidate Shortlist Template
A confidential shortlist a recruiter sends to a hiring manager, comparing final candidates side by side with a fit score, experience, and evidence from interviews. Pre-filled with three product-designer candidates.
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Halden Talent
Confidential shortlist
Ref. BWH-0417
Candidate shortlist
Senior Product
Designer shortlist
Prepared for Brightwater Health · Hybrid, Manchester · £68–75k
3
candidates
recommended
from 5 screened
AL
TA
PR
JM
SK
92 87 81 — —
Every shortlisted candidate has passed a 60-minute competency interview, a portfolio review and a salary and notice check.
Client
Brightwater HealthHiring manager: Daniel Hughes
Role
Senior Product DesignerPatient & clinician apps
Date
14 Oct 2026Version 1
Consultant
Ruth OkaforDigital & Design practice
Halden Talent Senior Product Designer · Brightwater Health
02 — Comparison at a glance
Three strong options,
one clear lead.
Scores come from our structured interview on 6–8 October, a portfolio review and two references per candidate.
Fit score / 100
Weighting
Craft 30% · Design systems 25% · Research 20% · Healthcare 15% · Logistics 10%
92Fit
01 · Recommended first
Amara Lindqvist
Lead Product Designer,
Tessellate Health
87Fit
02 · Systems specialist
Tom Achterberg
Senior Product Designer,
Lumen Payments
81Fit
03 · Research specialist
Priya Raman
Product Designer,
Patchwork Clinical
ExperienceYears in product design
9 years4 as a lead, manages 3
7 yearsSenior IC since 2021
6 yearsIncl. 2 as a UX researcher
Design systemsBuilt, owned or scaled
Founded “Tide”, 96 components
Owns 140-component library + tokens
Contributor, not owner
ResearchPlans and runs own studies
42 nurse interviews in 2025
Usability testing, works with a researcher
Ex-researcher, NHS trust
Healthcare domainClinical or patient products
4 yrs, DCB0129 and DTAC evidence
6-month NHS contract only
3 yrs, GP booking for 310 practices
Notice period
1 month
2 months Longest of the three
4 weeks
Salary expectationBand £68–75k
£74kTop of band
£72kOpen to £70k + L&D
£68kBottom of band
Earliest start
17 Nov 2026
5 Jan 2027
10 Nov 2026
Strong Solid Limited Best of the three
Why not the other twoScreened, not shortlisted
JM
Strong visual craft, but no hands-on research and no work in a regulated sector. Portfolio is mostly marketing sites.
SK
Good fit on paper, but expects £88k and has a 3-month notice period. Not open to 3 office days a week.
Halden Talent · Confidential — for the Brightwater Health hiring panel 02 / 06
Halden Talent Candidate 01 of 03
01 · Recommended first
AL
Amara
Lindqvist
Lead Product Designer at Tessellate Health
92Fit score
Location
Didsbury, Manchester
Notice
1 month
Salary
£74,000
Earliest start
17 Nov 2026
Experience
9 years
Strengths Evidence from interview, 6 Oct
-
Research with clinicians, not just about them
Ran 42 contextual interviews with district nurses for Tessellate’s visit planner. She walked us through the synthesis board and the change it drove.
2. #### Builds design systems that teams adopt
Founded “Tide”: 96 components, adopted by 4 squads in 9 months. WCAG 2.2 AA checks are part of every component review.
3. #### Grows designers
Line-manages 3 designers; 2 were promoted in 2025. Started fortnightly crits that the engineering leads now attend.
4. #### Talks to clinicians and to the board
Presented DTAC and DCB0129 clinical-safety evidence to an NHS trust panel. Tessellate won the 3-year contract.
Consideration
She is at the top of your band and in final stage with one other health-tech company. Expect a short decision window — about one week after interviews close.
“
Accessibility is not a feature. In healthcare it is the difference between a patient taking their medicine or not.
Amara, interview 6 Oct
Score breakdown
Craft 94
Systems 90
Research 92
Healthcare 95
Logistics 85
Career
- 2022 — NOW
Lead Product Designer
Tessellate Health, Manchester - 2019 — 2022
Senior Product Designer
Kinto Bank, Manchester - 2017 — 2019
Product Designer
Arlo Travel, Leeds - 2015 — 2017
UX Designer
Halyard Studio, Leeds
Portfolio highlights Reviewed 7 Oct
−18%missed visits
Visit Planner
Scheduling app for district nurses. 2,400 daily users across 3 NHS trusts.
96components
Tide design system
One token source feeds iOS, Android and web. Adopted by 4 squads.
+11%adherence
Medication reminders
Co-designed with 12 patients aged 70+. Result from a 3-month pilot.
Halden Talent · Confidential — for the Brightwater Health hiring panel 03 / 06
Halden Talent Candidate 02 of 03
02 · Systems specialist
TA
Tom
Achterberg
Senior Product Designer at Lumen Payments
87Fit score
Location
Stockport
Notice
2 months
Salary
£72,000
Earliest start
5 Jan 2027
Experience
7 years
Strengths Evidence from interview, 7 Oct
-
Deep design-systems ownership
Owns Lumen’s 140-component Figma library and token pipeline. His engineering lead says it cut UI build time by about a third.
2. #### The strongest visual craft of the five
Dense data screens that stay calm and readable. He was our panel’s top scorer on the 45-minute craft exercise.
3. #### Works close to code
Writes Storybook stories and opens his own token pull requests. Our engineer rated the pairing session 5 out of 5.
4. #### Used to regulated sign-off
Designed FCA Consumer Duty flows for 3 product lines. He knows how to work with compliance reviews and audit trails.
Consideration
Healthcare experience is one 6-month NHS contract (2020). With a 2-month notice period, the earliest start is 5 January 2027.
“
A design system is a product. If nobody wants to use it, that is my problem, not theirs.
Tom, interview 7 Oct
Score breakdown
Craft 93
Systems 97
Research 84
Healthcare 72
Logistics 70
Career
- 2021 — NOW
Senior Product Designer
Lumen Payments, Manchester - 2020 · 6 MO
Contract Product Designer
NHS Digital, Leeds - 2018 — 2020
Product Designer
Pebble & Co, Manchester - 2017 — 2018
Junior Designer
Fold Agency, Liverpool
Portfolio highlights Reviewed 8 Oct
140components
Lumen DS 3.0
Dark mode and one token source for 3 platforms. Used by 9 product teams.
−22%support tickets
Merchant dashboard
Redesign for 30,000 merchants, shipped in 4 phased releases.
40test users
Online triage (NHS contract)
Symptom-checker flow. Usability tests with 40 patients, 8 with assistive tech.
Halden Talent · Confidential — for the Brightwater Health hiring panel 04 / 06
Halden Talent Candidate 03 of 03
03 · Research specialist
PR
Priya
Raman
Product Designer at Patchwork Clinical
81Fit score
Location
Chorlton, Manchester
Notice
4 weeks
Salary
£68,000
Earliest start
10 Nov 2026
Experience
6 years
Strengths Evidence from interview, 8 Oct
-
Research is her first language
Two years as a UX researcher at an NHS hospital trust before she moved to design. She plans and runs her own studies end to end.
2. #### Knows primary care from the inside
Designed Patchwork’s online booking, now live in 310 GP practices. She knows the EMIS and SystmOne limits well.
3. #### Accessibility first
Led a WCAG 2.2 AA retrofit of patient forms. She tested with screen-reader users and with patients who have low literacy.
4. #### Clear, plain writer
Her case-study write-up was the clearest of the five. She explains trade-offs in words clinicians can act on.
Consideration
This is a step up in seniority. She has not yet led a design system or managed designers, so she needs a strong design lead in her first 6 months.
“
The receptionist is our real user. If she has to explain the screen to a patient on the phone, we have failed.
Priya, interview 8 Oct
Score breakdown
Craft 75
Systems 66
Research 96
Healthcare 88
Logistics 95
Career
- 2023 — NOW
Product Designer
Patchwork Clinical, Manchester - 2020 — 2023
Product Designer
Medibook, Manchester - 2018 — 2020
UX Researcher
Pennine University Hospitals NHS Trust
Portfolio highlights Reviewed 8 Oct
−27%phone queue
Online GP booking
Live in 310 practices. Phone-queue result from the 12 pilot sites.
AAWCAG 2.2
Accessible patient forms
Retrofit of 38 forms, tested in 9 screen-reader sessions.
14practices
Receptionist workspace
Research programme with front-desk staff. It set Patchwork’s 2026 roadmap.
Halden Talent · Confidential — for the Brightwater Health hiring panel 05 / 06
Halden Talent Senior Product Designer · Brightwater Health
06 — Next steps
One day, three
conversations.
All three candidates have confirmed they can attend. Please confirm the slots by Thursday 16 October.
Tuesday
21
October 2026
Brightwater Health, 4th floor
2 Hardman Square, Manchester M3 3EB
10:00TO 11:00
AL
Amara LindqvistIn person · portfolio and case study
92FIT
11:30TO 12:30
TA
Tom AchterbergIn person · portfolio and case study
87FIT
14:00TO 15:00
PR
Priya RamanIn person · portfolio and case study
81FIT
Process From panel to offer in 10 working days
01
By Thu 16 Oct
Confirm slots
Reply to Ruth with the panel names. We send candidates the brief and the room details.
02
Tue 21 Oct
Panel interview
60 minutes: portfolio walk-through (30), case discussion (20), their questions (10).
03
By Thu 23 Oct
Feedback
Send scores on our one-page form. We give feedback to each candidate within 48 hours.
04
W/c 27 Oct
Offer & references
We take two references and manage the offer and the notice period to the start date.
RO
Your consultant
Ruth Okafor
Senior Consultant, Digital & Design
Direct
0161 496 0738
Mobile
07700 900 412
ruth.okafor@haldentalent.co.uk
Office
18 King Street, Manchester M2 6AY
Terms
- Fee 18% of first-year base salary, as in our Terms of Business of 3 March 2026.
- Guarantee Full replacement or a sliding rebate if the hire leaves in the first 12 weeks.
- Introductions Valid for 6 months from 14 October 2026, for any role.
- Confidential Do not share candidate details outside the hiring panel.
Ruth Okaforfor Halden Talent · 14 October 2026
Halden Talent · Confidential — for the Brightwater Health hiring panel 06 / 06
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
What is a candidate shortlist?
A candidate shortlist is the document a recruiter or hiring manager sends once interviews are done, narrowing a role down to the final candidates. It compares them side by side so the client can make the hiring decision.
What should a candidate shortlist include?
Include the role and client, one profile per candidate with a fit score and experience, quoted evidence from each interview, a side-by-side comparison, and the next steps to book final interviews. This template has each section, pre-filled for a product-designer role.
How many candidates should be on a shortlist?
Two to four candidates is typical. Fewer than that does not give the client a real choice, and more makes the decision harder, not easier.
Is this candidate shortlist template free?
Yes. You can customize the candidate shortlist template for free and download it as a print-ready PDF. Describe the role and your candidates to the AI and it fills in every profile.
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