What makes a great candidate ultimately depends on how well the individual fits within, and contributes, to the overall success of your organization after they are hired.  Looking into the future and assessing this during the interview process is a challenge and one of the reasons many companies turn to experts like us to figure this out.

While tools may help, there is no silver bullet as the variables are so great.  You have to be a master at matching ability and capability with ever changing need.  Assessing ability is about evaluating the candidate’s current knowledge, skills and experience.  Whereas capability is about understanding the degree to which the candidate is able to apply that in the framework of your company.

That framework is the dynamics of your industry, business model, growth stage (series A, B, C, IPO, mid-sized, or large), work environment, and company culture.  Within that, structure – systems & processes or lack thereof, decision making, risk appetite, values, etc.  Adding to the complexity is the fact that these conditions are constantly changing – moving from a Series B Startup to an IPO for example creates a whole new set of needs.

What makes a great candidate is someone who brings the right mix to the table.  Someone who moves the needle forward and is able to adapt to changing conditions.  Someone who has the right aptitude, intelligence and attitude to enable success.  What makes great recruiting is the ability to overlay these conditions against ALL variables in order to find the perfect fit.

Working in partnership with your talent acquisition team in referencing, in getting to know candidates, and in understanding past success, can be invaluable to looking at the full picture and making the right decision.