While we’ve talked about the purple squirrel in the past, its newsworthiness as a trendy recruiting term may actually be a bit dated. When we revisit the concept, however, is in fact quite timely in today’s market! As a refresher, defined in the talent industry, the term ‘purple squirrel’ is a distinctly recruiting vernacular used in talent teams to describe a candidate that’s perfect for one particular job. Perfect in terms of skills, experience, education, salary – they check every box!
While today’s market for tech employment is somewhat unpredictable, we are certain that the competition for specialized IT talent remains tougher than ever. The drive for tech innovation is still at top speeds. As our CEO, Michele Beilman recently shared, while there may be hiring hesitancy, technology innovation didn’t get the memo, so tech talent placements must keep pace or risk being left behind.
With that said, tech recruiters are continuously on the hunt for those tech professionals that have proven experience and skills to solve IT concerns better and faster than the next guy. Hence, the purple squirrel is peeking out of the tree again.
Do they exist IRL? It remains to be seen, but it also depends on how you measure up your candidates. In today’s market, if we see a resurgence in purple-squirrel-chasing, we contend that perhaps you can find a purple-esque squirrel, albeit one that may be tie-dyed to perfectly match with your clients’ needs. And that’s ok.
Looking at skill sets first, both hard and soft, is the start to capturing the purple(ish) squirrels you need today
That’s because the qualifications and experience we at one time adhered to like glue for certain roles and could find “exact” matches for have become so malleable in today’s tech market. Emerging technology appears everywhere and every day! Formal training programs and lengthy degree education programs struggle to keep up with the new skill demands that appear almost overnight.
AI and machine learning, in particular, as well as other tech specialties have thrown a wrench into how we recruit tech talent since the demand for AI skills and experience grows each month. In fact, Blockchain Counsel indicates in the last 10 years, around the globe, we have seen a 450% rise in AI job postings. However, it also claims those jobs could be met by a shortage of 15 million AI professionals just next year in 2025!
Given that it’s only recently that major universities are offering AI-specific majors to burgeoning tech pros, is there enough talent in today’s market that really does have the “perfect” resume we seek?
Clearly, if hiring for AI, the purple squirrel will remain elusive, as the demand is outpacing the available skills and the traditionally-recruited experience levels in present time. This same scenario likely applies to other tech disciplines as well, like addressing evolving cybersecurity threats, new sustainable tech skills and regulatory changes to how we manage and protect data. Ideal candidates must possess the wherewithal to be future-ready. If your job descriptions paint a very narrow box to fit into, you will lose out on qualified, forward-thinking, and intuitive candidates to the next company. That is unless we look for shades of purple for the squirrels we chase.
Chasing potential: the lilac squirrel
Instead of pursuing a “perfect” candidate, a great candidate with great potential will be your gamechanger. Your candidate may have every tech skill listed in the job description, but yet they need an extra boost in time-management skills. They might check off every box when it comes to leadership, collaboration, and communications skills, but they might not fit the years of experience requirement. There are any number of combinations of plusses and minuses for any candidate, leaving the purple squirrel relegated to its mythical status.
If you consider a lilac squirrel, though, you will still win. This is someone that has the core of what you are looking for with unlimited potential to fill in the spots that need attention as they learn and grow. Change doesn’t scare them and they live in constant state of learning in order to stay on pace and be ready for the next thing.
Don’t get foiled by that pesky purple squirrel
It could be a long journey down a rabbit hole to find that purple squirrel if you don’t take into consideration all the factors. By the time you find them, the demands will have changed. Our greatest attribute will be adaptability and the ability to pivot to manage changing times and requirements.
Recruiting is all about matching top talent with your valued client so that both get on the road to success together. If you found a really great candidate, and make a great connection, you are ahead of the game and in reality they may in fact be perfect!
