Mapademics DocsSkill proficiency levels
The five-level scale Careers uses for every extracted skill, and where you'll see each level in the app.
Skill proficiency levels
Every skill in Careers — whether extracted from a resume or attached to a job — carries a proficiency level on the same five-point scale.
The scale
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Novice | Initial exposure. Can recognize the skill but not yet apply it independently. |
| Beginner | Building competency through guided practice. Needs structure or supervision. |
| Competent | Can apply the skill consistently in standard situations. |
| Proficient | Applies the skill effectively in complex or non-routine situations. |
| Expert | Mastery. Can teach, coach, or set standards for others. |
The scale is identical across applicants, resumes, jobs, and the Skills Report so that comparisons stay meaningful.
Where you'll see proficiency in the app
| Surface | How it appears |
|---|---|
| Skills Overview → Table view on an applicant | A Level column you can sort and filter on. Each cell is editable — open the dropdown to override the extracted level. |
| Skills Overview → Graph view on an applicant | A horizontal bar chart with the five levels as columns. Bar colors map to levels so you can scan strength at a glance. |
| Skills Radar on a matched job | Levels are aggregated by skill domain to plot the applicant against the role's expected profile. |
| Required Skills on a job | Each row's Level column shows the level the role expects, sourced from the job description. |
How levels are assigned
Careers extracts skills from a resume — and the level for each skill — automatically when you upload a new resume version, when an applicant submits through the Resume Upload Widget, or when you re-run extraction on the Resume & Skills tab. The level is inferred from the depth and specificity of the experience described, not just the presence of a keyword.
You can override any level. On the applicant's Skills Overview → Table view, open the Level dropdown on the skill you want to adjust and pick a new level. Manual edits persist across re-extractions of the same resume version.