THE RIGHT CANDIDATE DOESN’T ALWAYS LOOK RIGHT ON PAPER
Drive by Friday
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Drive by Friday –
Is recruitment becoming a little too much like cracking the Da Vinci Code?
You know the job.
The candidate needs:
✔️ Exactly the right number of years' experience
✔️ Exactly the right industry
✔️ Exactly the right job title
✔️ Exactly the right software
✔️ Exactly the right location
✔️ Exactly the right salary
✔️ And preferably… they started yesterday.
Miss ticking one or two of those boxes and suddenly they're “not quite right”.
Now add AI screening, keyword matching and increasingly rigid recruitment criteria into the mix and getting through the first stage can feel a little like cracking the Da Vinci Code.
And here's the thing…
People aren't algorithms.
A candidate might not have the exact job title but have spent years doing 90% of the role.
They might come from an adjacent industry and bring experience that could actually give them a fresh perspective.
Their career might not be perfectly linear, but every move may have added another layer of commercial, operational or customer experience. They might not have every single keyword sitting neatly in their CV but have the capability, attitude, and maturity to absolutely nail the job.
This is where I think recruitment needs to be careful.
AI is incredibly useful.
It can help us search faster, identify patterns, compare information, and manage enormous volumes of applications. AI can help us find people, but it shouldn't decide who deserves a conversation. Because sometimes the candidate who looks perfect on paper isn't the person who performs best in the role.
Sometimes the person who initially looks like a 70% match turns out to be the 100% right person. I've seen this happen many times.
The best recruitment conversations often happen when you move beyond the CV and start asking:
· What has this person actually achieved?
· What can they bring to the role?
· How do they think?
· How do they engage with people?
· What have they learned from their career?
And perhaps most importantly…
· What could they become in this role?
Employers: don't make your criteria so rigid that the right person can't get through the door.
Candidates: don't assume that because you don't tick every box, you aren't worth considering. Sometimes your greatest strength is the experience you bring that wasn't on the original checklist.
Recruitment shouldn't be about finding someone who can perfectly crack the code.
It should be about understanding which boxes actually matter and which ones don't.
The right candidate doesn't always look right on paper.
And the right move isn't always the obvious one.
Simpli-U - putting the “U” back into recruitment.
“We need to remember - people aren’t algorithms"
Simpli-U – Looking Beyond the Tick List
LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Follow Simpli-U or visit my blog for more recruitment insights, market observations and conversations about the world of work.
Because the right conversation can lead to the right move.
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Lorraine Singer
Director & Consultant – Simpli-U
Recruitment Solutions for the Novated Leasing, Salary Packaging & Automotive sectors
Australia-wide | Solutions all about ‘U’