What is Candidate Quality?

Candidate quality is a measurement of how skilled, competent, and experienced a candidate is. In a perfect world, employers would always hire the candidate of the highest quality. It’s not always easy to measure, though, as there is no definite scale for defining it. Employers need to understand what makes an excellent candidate, as the quality of hire is just as (if not more) important as cost per hire.

Experience is a huge indicator of a quality candidate. If a candidate has an excellent record of experience relevant to the role they are applying for, they are already ahead of those without it. The more experience in a similar position, the more competent, confident, and skilled the candidate will be at the job.

Next, employers must evaluate the candidate’s skills to determine their quality. Some of the most popular skills recruiters look out for include communication, attention to detail, and critical thinking. Candidates must be able to prove the use of these skills to show employers how capable they are. A good way for employers to test this is by asking about past working experiences or by assigning career assessments.

Another contributor to a candidate’s quality is their cultural fit. No matter how experienced or talented a candidate is, they must fit in well with the company. Otherwise, they won’t bring as much to the table. If a candidate seems like a good cultural fit, has plenty of experience, and has an excellent set of skills, they would be considered a high-quality candidate.