As a recruiter it is very difficult to predict the candidate an employer will select. So often a candidate who “ticks all the boxes” loses out to somebody with inferior experience and skills. Lets examine why this could be.
The employer provides a job description (or wish list) to the recruiter detailing the necessary skills and experience he is seeking along with details of salary range and personal qualities.
Lets say the recruiter finds 5 people who fit the bill in some way. Two fit the criteria exactly though one is a little above the salary range. Two are less experienced and would need some training to fulfil all elements of the role and one has the basics but will take a while to get up to speed.
In my experience those who fit the bill exactly will fail to secure the job, one because the salary is too high perhaps but both may well be seen as a threat by the employer who realises they are better than him.
Invariably of the remainder it will be the weakest candidate who wins, could that be because he is cheapest?
It is a fact of life that all businesses are constrained by budgets (accountants have a lot to answer for!). As a result businesses lose out on the best staff for the sake of a couple of thousand pounds a year. Not only that by taking those on a low salary they often find that member of staff moves on very quickly meaning they again have to employ somebody new. It can be a false economy.
The best managers are often those who surround themselves with the best people, by introducing such tight budgetary constraints accountants are threatening the profitability of the very business they work for.
