What is a Purple Squirrel?

HR departments and recruiters use the term ‘purple squirrel’ (sometimes known as a ‘unicorn’),meaning the perfect, ideal candidate – not an oddly colored small mammal. It’s the type of candidate that only comes around once in a blue moon, and that fits all of the recruiter’s expectations and more.

To understand what a purple squirrel is, you must first know what goes into an ideal candidate. That varies depending on the role. If a company wants to hire a team manager, a purple squirrel would have plenty of managing experience, excellent leadership skills, managerial-focused qualifications, and values that align perfectly with the company. On top of that, employers wouldn’t need to tell them what to do – they would fit right into the team without question.

The reason it is called a purple squirrel is that these types of candidates are extremely rare. Many recruiters say they don’t even exist. If an employer spends their time searching for a purple squirrel, the chances are they waste time and resources and potentially ignore a capable candidate. Instead of ending up with a perfect employee, they end up with no one.

A purple squirrel shouldn’t occupy a recruiter’s mind, as they are too rare to expect. Instead, employers should focus on a recruiting process that allows the best of the bunch to shine through. No candidate is perfect, but that doesn’t mean they won’t make an excellent addition to the team.