Tiebreak in Recruiting: How to Choose Between Two Equal Candidates?

ayshakhatunasha

Choosing between two equally qualified candidates for the same job is a difficult task. The ideal option is to hire both, but production goals, financial capabilities, and current circumstances allow hiring only one employee.

What to do? All things being equal: exceptional work experience, skills, level of education and strong professional reputation, the choice must be made in favor of one candidate. On the one hand, you want to make an objective decision, but on the other, you are afraid of missing out on a valuable employee for the company.

Tiebreak in Recruiting. How to Choose Between Two Equal Candidates?. Photo 1
In the world of sports and competitive games, the winner of a tied game is determined in an additional game - a tie-break. If this approach is applied to recruiting, a certain algorithm of actions optimizes the process of the final choice in favor of one candidate who will receive an offer.

If both candidates are highly capable of solving the problems associated with the position, additional selection criteria will be needed. It is necessary to pay attention to finer details - nuances that would not be focused on when considering less competitive candidates.

Opinion of colleagues
An outside opinion can be helpful and can easily get you out of a "difficult situation." Share all the information you have about candidates (resumes, cover letters, applications, etc. ) with colleagues who are not involved in the hiring process but understand the requirements for a new employee. Find out who they would hire without expressing your own opinion. Discuss their choices and, perhaps, you will break the tie and make a confident hiring decision.

Tiebreak in Recruiting. How to Choose Between Two Equal Candidates?. Photo 2
Skills assessment system
Create a checklist of skills virtual phone number service and experience that a successful candidate should have, assign a score to each skill based on its importance and usefulness. For example, the most important skills are 4 points, and useful skills are 1 point. By comparing and evaluating each candidate based on the number of points received, you can determine which of the two candidates has a stronger set of skills.

Short-term impact or long-term potential
Determine what the business needs: short-term returns or strategic talent. One candidate may be more qualified and ready to dive into the process right away, while the other has additional skills and potential for development that the company needs in the long term. If the company is ready for an initial decrease in productivity and additional training costs, then the strategic candidate is a justified choice. A specialist with more experience, qualifications and achievements is not always the best candidate.

Avoid ageism. Age does not limit the acquisition of new skills, mastery of modern technologies and ambitions for professional and career growth.



Rare experience and expertise
Perhaps one of the candidates has experience working with certain applications, programs or other tools that were not specified in the job requirements due to their specificity or rarity. This "trump card" can be decisive in the final selection of the candidate.