The myth of the "best candidate" is dying. Research shows that 80% of employee turnover in the first year is not due to a lack of skills, but a mismatch in values and culture. This post explores why companies need to...
Imagine the following situation: a candidate arrives for an interview with a flawless resume, ten years of experience, a degree from a prestigious university, and more certificates than the average person has notebooks. On the other side, the team greeting them looks at their notes and asks routine questions. The interview goes smoothly. In the end, the HR manager and the line manager nod their heads in agreement - we have the perfect candidate!
However, three months later, that same "perfect candidate" leaves. They didn't click with the team. They didn't fit into the culture. They say it wasn't what they expected. So, if they were "perfect" - what went wrong?
A realistic situation that you've surely had in your company, right?
For years, we in the HR world lived under the delusion that there was such a thing as the "best candidate." For years, I've had the impression that clients see the job market as a kind of Tinder for employers, where they are searching for their "top model," a person with perfect hard and soft skills, ideal education, and impeccable interview behavior. But that myth is slowly dying. And for good reason.
According to research conducted by the Harvard Business Review, as much as 80% of turnover in the first year of employment has nothing to do with the candidate's competencies - but with a mismatch of values and culture between the candidate and the company. In other words, candidates don't leave because they don't know the job. They leave because they didn't "click."
Modern companies that understand the future of work no longer look for the "best," they now look for the most suitable candidates who will fit into their culture and values. They no longer just ask what you know. Today, companies also ask how you behave, what you believe in, and how you make decisions when you're not looking at a procedure. Because knowledge is important - but it's just the entry ticket. The match is what decides the game.
A good fit isn't just about "feeling nice." A good fit is a business decision and an economic category. A bad fit - even with a highly competent employee - costs, on average, 50% to 200% of their annual salary (SHRM research).
Hiring is no longer just an HR process. It is a strategic task of recognizing shared values. If a candidate doesn't resonate with the company's mission, its way of making decisions, its attitude towards failure and development - knowledge will not help the company's mission and achieving results. An interesting example is companies like Zappos, which offer bonuses to employees to leave the company in the first few weeks if they don't feel it's their environment. OK, I know what you're thinking now - me too! We'd have plenty of candidates who would make a living out of that :)
I really like how Netflix publicly says: “We are not a family! We are a team. And we expect excellence!" They clearly communicate who fits in and who doesn't. And that immediately filters candidates. It also filters companies for candidates, because this is, after all, a two-way market; both sides are choosing. I often hear sentences from candidates like: "When we have a 'pizza day,' we know some bad news is coming," or "When I see a foosball table and other games, I know there's a lot of overtime and communication is poor."
The traditional interview is over. Instead of the candidate guessing the "correct answer," today's interviews are conducted as a mutual exploration: do we want the same thing? Do we share a worldview? Do you feel comfortable with our style of work, communication, and the way we achieve results? Questions like:
The "best choice" is not the perfect candidate. It is a person who, in that specific organization, in that specific team, with that leadership style, and at that stage of the company's development - delivers the best results. Someone who might be average in one organization could be a star in another. And vice versa. This is not a coincidence. It's a match. And if you ask me how to make a good match, here are a few examples from practice:
If you are looking for the "best candidate" today - are you sure you're looking for the right one?
Because maybe the "best" won't want you. And the "right one" won't even find you if you don't open the door to values and culture. And let's get back to Tinder. Hiring is like a serious relationship. No one wants to feel like they don't belong in a relationship. Neither the candidate nor the company. So let's start seeing selection as a search for the right partner, not as a competition for "employee of the month."
After all - if the values are wrong, then everything else is just (bad) makeup.
There is no person who has never embellished their resume at least a little or added some characteristic in order to increase their chances of getting a job during the selection process.
by Miljana Nikolić
Feb 22, 2023
•4 min read