Profile Prioritization: Critical, Important and Useful (Essential vs. Desirable)

The Common Mistake: The Trap of Believing Everything is Critical

One of the most common mistakes when defining a profile is falling into the trap of thinking that all requirements and skills are "critical" to success in the position.

This mentality leads to creating "Person Specifications" that look for a "superhero" candidate, an idealized profile that rarely exists in reality.

The truth is that there are always aspects that can be learned along the way and others that, although beneficial, are not indispensable for daily performance.

Failing to prioritize results in vague specifications that hinder the screening and blur the interview.

Level 1: "Critical" or "Essential" (Non-Negotiable)

This category represents the foundation of the position and aligns directly with the "Essential" elements of the Person Specification.

"Critical" includes those areas or skills that, if not present in the candidate, the likelihood of failure in the role is extremely high.

These are the non-negotiable requirements.

For example, it would be unthinkable to hire a financier who does not possess strong numerical skills; this competency is therefore critical.

When creating the specification, it is vital to be "ruthless" in defining these few truly essential elements.

If a candidate does not meet even one of these criteria, they should not be hired, no matter how good they are in other areas.

Level 2: "Important" (High Impact Desirable)

The "Important" aligns with the category of high-priority "Desirable" items.

These are factors that favor and optimize good performance in the role, but their absence is not an immediate disqualifying factor.

The key difference is that, if the candidate does not possess them to the desired level, they are skills that the organization can and is willing to train or develop once the person is in the position. Therefore, they are "marketable".

An example would be an executive director with great strategic skills (critical) but who is not very adept at making oral presentations (important); the latter can be trained.

Level 3: The "Useful" (Low Impact Desirable)

Finally, the "useful" refers to those strengths that we "would like to have" in the person, but which do not really affect his or her core performance if he or she does not master them.

They are bonuses that add value, but are not indispensable. They correspond to the low-priority "Desirable" elements.

For example, a systems analyst (whose critical work is technical and detailed) who also possesses (useful) negotiation skills, could manage suppliers better, but the lack of this skill would not prevent him from performing his core functions.

Practical Application in Selection

This hierarchy (Critical, Important, Useful) is the strategic tool that defines how the selection process will be executed.

Interview Focus: By knowing what is critical and what is secondary, the interviewer can better focus his/her time.

It allows him/her to decide whether the interview should delve more deeply into the candidate's motivation, technical knowledge or behavioral competencies, depending on what has been prioritized for that specific role.

Decision Making: The process becomes clear. First, all candidates who do not meet 100% of the "Essential/Critical" criteria are filtered out.

Then, if several candidates meet all the essentials, the "Desirable" criteria (prioritized as Important and Useful) are used to find the point of difference and select the best one.

This avoids the trap of hiring the "best of the rest" when none actually meet the minimum necessary.

Summary

A common mistake is to believe that everything is critical, creating unrealistic "superhero" profiles. Failing to prioritize blurs the focus of the interview and makes it difficult to sift through.

Level 1: The "Critical" or "Essential" is non-negotiable. If the candidate lacks one of these elements, they should not be hired, regardless of their other qualities.

The "Important" (Desirable) can be trained. Useful" is a bonus. This hierarchy allows you to filter out the essential and use the desirable to break the tie.