How decisions are made


decision
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Recruiting an individual should be an entirely unemotional and logic-driven exercise. Unfortunately the human condition dictates that this can never be the case. People will always allow their feelings and emotions to be influenced and to influence decisions that they have to make. For any interview candidate this phenomenon creates problems and opportunities.

You and everyone else involved in an interview may know that you are the perfect candidate in terms of skills and experience. However, other concerns of a more personal nature also have a large part to play. Many candidates fall short because they are unable to convince the interviewers of their suitability as measured by the employers' concerns. The converse of this applies as well, whereby you might not be the best in terms of skills and experience, but you are a perfect fit when it comes to the personality side of issues considered.

It often happens that the best person for the job in terms of skills and experience is never the one appointed. Other people not involved in the interview process often meet this regular occurrence in the workplace with bewilderment and disbelief. It may be that you yourself were overlooked for role or a promotion when you believe that you were the best person for the job. If you understand that the entire package represented by a prospective employee is evaluated, you may then understand why this may have happened to you.

Area of concern 1 is easily measured and tested. Unfortunately there is no objective way of measuring and evaluating how an employee will measure up against concerns 2, 3 and 4. This is purely a subjective assessment that an interviewer has to arrive at in a short period of time, by asking only a few questions. This is where the human element comes in to play and where the whole process can work for or against you. Your now being aware of this grey area of recruiting can only but improve your performance and thus greatly increase your chances of securing that job that you feel you deserve.

Don't lose sight of the fact that interviewers are people too. Everyone likes to feel comfortable with the people that they deal with. Interviewers especially have a strong subconscious need to feel that the person they have chosen "feels" right to them. They want to hire somebody like themselves because they believe this person will be more predictable, more manageable and be a "safe" choice.