Step 1 - What do you need?

Having two great candidates for a job role means they both have strong points; however, they can’t be skilled in the same way. Before choosing a suitable candidate, you have to weigh the importance of all the necessary skills for a job role. For instance, if work experience is more important than qualifications for a position, go for the candidate that possesses such skill.

In addition, it is best to consider the future potential of the candidates. You will want to go for candidates that can work independently and build capacity while growing with your company.

Step 2 – Who is the best fit for your work culture?

As much as the qualifying candidates possess the necessary skills that fit the job description, they may not fit into your company’s culture. Evaluating previous work experiences can let you know if a candidate has worked in a place with a similar or dissimilar work culture. Although it relies on gut feeling, a practical test for finding the right fit is the beer test. The test requires you to consider which of the candidates you’d love to have a drink with after work. In addition, you may carry out social interviews where you take candidates out with some of your team members to find out how they socialize and fit into your work culture.

Step 3 – Who is more enthusiastic?

Although skills are necessary to carry out a job function, passion is more important. If you are stuck between two candidates after the hiring process, you have to look back at the interview process to determine who was most enthusiastic about joining your company. Comparing how engaging both candidates were and the type of questions they asked during the interview can give you an idea of the more passionate candidate. Also, consider the candidate that followed up after the interview and what they said that made them stand out to you.

Step 4 – Who fits better into your future plans?

Understandably, you can’t wait for your new hires to fit in and start working. Nevertheless, you have to consider what happens after they must have settled in. During the interview, ask the candidates about their short and long-term goals regarding your company and their professional lives. It is best to go for candidates whose goals align with your organizational goals.

Step 5 - Why not hire both?

Although it is good to remind yourself that the choice of either candidate is the best, why not hire both? Top talent is hard to come by, and finding two is phenomenal; therefore, you won’t want to leave your prospective hires to your competitors. If it is feasible for your company, you can hire both candidates. Together, they can make more than enough impact to cover the costs of an additional hire. Nevertheless, if you can’t hire both candidates, it is best to keep in touch with the candidate who wasn’t hired should you have any open positions in the future.