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Perfect Candidates and Other Mythical Creatures

By Kathy Barton, June 18, 2008

Most of us outgrow our imaginary friends. We give up Santa Claus in elementary school, lose faith in the tooth fairy once we have our adult teeth, and stop believing in unicorns and leprechauns well before puberty. Beloved childhood fairy and fantasy tales are put away and saved for the next generation.

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Why is it, then, that so many hiring managers persist in believing that the perfect candidate is out there, just waiting for a phone call? I was with a client recently, and heard a familiar tale: the hiring manager refuses to see a candidate unless they've been doing exactly the same job for five to ten years for one of their competitors. And, of course, this person needs to be a "top performer." Oh, and the compensation can't be significantly more than what the person is making now.

Here you have your mythical perfect candidate. It's possible that a top performer may spend ten years in one job, just not likely. You do see that sometimes with sales people who consistently deliver over-quota performance, or with technical folks who love what they do, or with long-time employees who have a strong loyalty to their company. The critical question is: why would one of these people leave their well-compensated job with a group of people they like and are loyal to in order to work for you? Especially if it's going to be the same job, for not much more money, and they will be losing seniority perks like amount of vacation time by leaving?

I believe that insisting on this "perfect" candidate almost guarantees that you will get an average performer. Why? Because a top performer doesn't want to do the same job – a top performer is looking for new challenges, for job growth, and for a better career. You entice a top performer by giving them a job that's bigger, better, or more exciting than their current position. You certainly don't attract them with a job that's exactly like the one they are doing today.

I once asked a hiring manager in a class why his mythical perfect candidate would want his job. He thought for a while, and then said "I don't know, I really can't think of any reasons." We then had a conversation about who was the type of top candidate who would want his job – someone who had less experience but a strong record of achievement, for whom this job would be a great next step. He finally agreed that if he could find that top candidate, he might want to hire that person instead of the one who has been doing the same job for ten years, since the less experienced candidate was more likely to be motivated to do the job!

A variation on this is the search for the perfect resume. Recruiters quickly scan resumes for specific skills, experience, and industry background, and pass on the ones that don't fit the profile. The problem is that having the right skills doesn't mean the candidate will actually be able or motivated to do the work that needs to be done. If you are truly looking for top performers, a better idea is to search on recognition terms. Look for terms like 100%, Presidents Club, award, patent, white paper, or keynote speaker – whatever the appropriate term is for a top performer in the type of position you are trying to fill. Look at the resumes of the top people you hired in the last year and see what kinds of recognition terms they have. The trick is to change the criteria you are using to screen candidates from pure skills and experience to track record of performance. Searching purely on skills and an arbitrary number of years of experience will eliminate a number of good candidates.

The question of years of experience is always a dicey one for me. We all know people for whom ten years of experience was really one year of experience ten times. Once they know the basics of the job, they aren't motivated to continue learning and developing – they just want to get the job done with the minimum amount of hassle. Top performers, on the other hand, are driven to continually learn more about their position and about their business. They may learn more in the first year than average performers learn in five. And, really, how many of us are hiring rocket scientists? Unless it's a very technical position, or requires special certifications, smart and highly motivated people will come up to speed in a new area very quickly.

The most important thing for recruiters to do is develop the kind of relationship with their hiring managers where they trust their judgment about who the right candidates are for the job, not who the perfect candidates are. If your managers refuse to see candidates who don't have the perfect resume, then you need to have a conversation about just what makes their job the perfect job. If it doesn't pay 50% more than the candidate is currently making, with six weeks of vacation and a company car, it's probably not the perfect job! However, it's a great job for the right candidate, and finding the right candidate takes creativity, flexibility, and a willingness to give a top performer their next great opportunity, not just a repeat of their last one.