The ideal candidate in recruitment – who is he/she?

Recruitment companies often discuss the definition of the ideal candidate with their clients when agreeing on the requirements for the position they are looking for. Sometimes employers hope to find someone as close to the ideal candidate as possible. But sometimes the ideal candidate is just what the employer is prepared to accept. This is why there are three recruitment scenarios where the concept of the ideal candidate is treated differently:

1.Only the ideal candidate is suitable

When an employer is only prepared to consider ideal candidates is a common practice in recruitment projects. In this case, the recruiter must warn the client that narrowing down the long list of candidates will result in fewer, but only ideal candidates. The flip side of this scenario is the higher financial expectations of the candidate. The recruiter must warn the employer that the remuneration budget may increase by 15-20% if the ideal candidate is found. Once these two potential drawbacks have been confirmed, such a selection scenario usually results in a low number of candidates being selected. But the majority of candidates make it to the final selection stage and the hiring manager does not have any major difficulties in selecting the final candidate.

2.Suitable candidates close to the ideal candidate

When an employer is prepared to consider candidates who meet all the necessary but not all the optional requirements. Such a scenario may offer a larger group of candidates in the long-list. Most of those candidates then translate into a larger final number of candidates on offer. Also, due to the greater diversity of candidates, their average desired salary budget is lower than in the ideal candidate recruitment scenario.

It is the broader sample of candidates that is more suitable for those employers who have enough professionals in the company who can provide the new recruit with the missing knowledge if needed. In this case, the end result can be pleasantly surprising, i.e. a highly motivated and relatively inexpensive employee. Of course, the increased risk that such a candidate will not understand the specifics of the new job must always be taken into account, and the recruiter must warn the employer of this before the search begins.

3.There is no ideal candidate in the target labour market

This critical scenario is in which the recruiter must warn the employer that the requirements narrow the supply of candidates to such an extent that there are no candidates available on the market to meet the need. This scenario can also be turned around by adapting the requirements and the need for the position to the labour market. To avoid this scenario, it is essential to work with an experienced recruiter who has a good knowledge of the labour market and can immediately indicate whether there are candidates who match the need.