Purple squirrel

For Sciurus indicus, see Indian giant squirrel.

Purple squirrel is a term used by employment recruiters to describe a job candidate with precisely the right education, set of experience, and range of qualifications that perfectly fits a job's requirements.[1] The implication is that over-specification of the requirements makes a perfect candidate as hard to find as a purple squirrel.[2]

While in theory, this prized "purple squirrel" could immediately handle all the expansive variety of responsibilities of a job description with no training, and would allow businesses to function with fewer workers,[3][4][5][6] it is commonly asserted that the effort seeking them is often wasted.[7][8] In addition, being open to candidates that don't have all the skills or retraining existing employees are each sensible alternatives to an over-long search.[2][9]

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  8. ^ "Back In The Race: Stop Trying To Hire The Purple Squirrel". Above the Law. September 23, 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  9. ^ "Stop searching for that elusive 'purple squirrel'". Computerworld. April 9, 2012. Retrieved 2016-06-18.