It’s often said that selecting a candidate from a pool of applicants is a process similar to buying a house. Managers start by narrowing the contenders down and removing all of those who don’t meet the basic requirements or who submit resumes with too many obvious red flags. When the pool has been reduced to short list of those who are all essentially equally qualified, managers need to choose between the one who lives nearby, the one who will probably be more affordable, the one who offers one specific skill that the others don’t, or the one who’s especially personable. Here are a few considerations that can help employers move forward.

Organize your list of criteria.

Homebuyers very rarely find the house that’s perfectly located, inexpensive, well-maintained, and perfectly designed. But they find several houses that offer one two of these qualities. Success will usually mean letting go of the less important qualities in favor of the more important ones, so rank your list of qualities from most to least essential.

Let go of perfectionism.

The most common mistake made by home buyers and managers alike comes from the root of almost all corporate obstacles: perfectionism. Perfect is the enemy of good, and it’s also the enemy of progress, productivity, and hiring success. If you dismiss every candidate who offers less than the complete package, you’ll simply dismiss every candidate. Meanwhile your position will go unfilled and one talented candidate after another will slip through your fingers.

Learn from experience.

The biggest similarity between successful hiring and successful home buying has to do with experience. Those who have gone through the process a few times in the past have usually learned to scale back their perfectionism and hone in on the candidate they actually need, not the imaginary one they THINK they need. Each time you hire a candidate, keep clear records on how the decision was made, and keep track of the candidate’s general happiness, contributions, learning curve, and overall success during the following year. Draw conclusions from these results and factor these conclusions into future hiring decisions.

For more on how to overcome the barriers of perfectionism and paralysis during the hiring process, reach out to the experienced Houston staffing professionals at Expert.