12 Essential Considerations When Selecting From A Group Of Strong Job Candidates

You’re hiring for a new position, and throughout the process, several of the candidates have been impressive. It’s a good problem to have, but how do you solve it? 

When presented with a slate of strong candidates who all have the skills and experience you’re looking for, it can seem like there’s no “wrong” answer. However, there are other vital factors to consider—factors that can help recruiters narrow the field to find the candidate who’s truly a fit for their organization’s unique needs.

So when considering a group of strong applicants, what traits, abilities or circumstances should be considered as giving someone an extra edge? Below, 12 experts from Forbes Human Resources Council share their best tips for pinpointing the best candidate from a field of strong contenders.

1. Mission Alignment And Learning Agility

When choosing from among a field of highly qualified candidates, let the tiebreakers be their long-term alignment to the mission and their learning agility. Are they a “mission-ary” or a “mercenary”? Will they have high engagement with the company over the long term, and are they open enough to learn and pivot with the company? - Robin Kirby, Benefitfocus

2. Growth Mindset

A growth mindset would be the one attribute that I would focus on to differentiate between one candidate and another. The more curious and open to learning and taking on new challenges they are, the more coachable, agile and adaptable they will be. - Terese Lam, Wind River

3. Candidates’ Personal Brands

Hiring managers should consider candidates’ personal brands. Though several applicants may meet the position’s requirements, one’s online behavior may stand out over the others, proving he or she not only understands the importance of personal branding but also employer branding. By hiring someone who will become a brand ambassador, employers can boost retention and future recruiting efforts. - John Feldmann, Insperity

4. Fit With Your Diversity Goals

If they are truly equal, consider how the candidates fit with your diversity goals. Making diversity a requirement for your new hires is a sensible business decision—diverse teams perform better. We talk a lot about how capability should come first—and it should—but there is nothing wrong with considering how a new hire complements the perspectives of your team and your strategic objectives. - Karla Reffold, Orpheus Cyber

5. Cultural Add

When you have multiple candidates who are each a great fit for an open role and you can’t find a spot for all of them, look at the one who will bring the most “cultural-add” to the organization. Who will bring something new to the team to help raise their game or thinking? Who will bring a new perspective that will add value to the organization? That person will bring the most impact. - Ben DeSpain, Velocity, a Managed Services Company

6. Cultural Fit

I would tell the interviewers to ensure they remove any biases they may have to make sure they have narrowed down the candidate pool correctly. From there, I would ask the interviewers which candidate would be the best cultural fit. The interviewers want to select the candidate who would fit in best in the organization, get along with all team members and embody the mission, vision and so on. - Erin ImHof, Circadence

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7. Passion For The Mission

Although having many people to choose from is one of the best problems to have, it can also be a headache. You want to make sure to zero in on the candidate who’s the most natural in your conversational flow and who is really passionate about your mission. This will ensure more buy-in from the candidate for, ideally, a long-term partnership. - Kelly Loudermilk, BuildHR, Inc.

8. A Third-Party’s Opinion

I’m a firm believer in “bar-raiser” interviews. If you’re lucky enough to have two or three strong candidates at the end of your recruitment process, send in a bar-raiser—someone on your team who can act as an objective third party. Bar-raisers are great for feeling out whether the candidate is a good cultural fit and if they’re aligned with your company’s values. - Andrew Hunter, Adzuna

9. Predictive Analytics

I am a huge fan of predictive analytics in recruitment. What I have found is that hiring managers sometimes lose sight of what they truly require in an open position when all the candidates are stars. In these instances, predictive recruitment analytics allows for proper alignment between what the organization needs and which candidate can provide it. - Nakisha Griffin, Virtual Enterprise Architects

10. Longevity Potential

While every company wishes for this situation, as the war for talent continues, it doesn’t happen that often. But at the end of the day, it comes down to longevity. You want to choose the individual you think will stay with your organization the longest—at least three years, because that’s how long it will take to ramp up and get good at their job. - Kristen Fowler, JMJ Phillip Executive Search

11. Each Candidate’s Negatives

List out the negatives against each candidate to help decide by process of elimination. Since nobody is a perfect fit for a job (just as there’s no perfect job or employer), you should be able to compile a short list of concerns about each candidate to help decide who is the best hire. Consider items such as culture fit, deliverability, compensation, succession planning and retention. - Bryan Passman, Hunter + Esquire

12. References

This is where checking references can make a big difference. People may come across well in interviews, but the best way to find out how your new hire will actually show up in the role is to talk to people who have worked with them over the years. Reference checks have become a tick-the-box exercise, but they shouldn’t be; use them to help you find and support the best person for the role. - Tracy Cote, Zenefits