Purple squirrel
{{Short description|Term used by employment recruiters to describe a job candidate with the right fit}}
{{about||Sciurus indicus |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. The implication is that over-specification of the requirements makes a perfect candidate as hard to find as a purple squirrel.
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, it is commonly asserted that the effort seeking them is often wasted.
{{cite news
| title =Back In The Race: Stop Trying To Hire The Purple Squirrel
| first =
| last =
| url =http://abovethelaw.com/2015/09/back-in-the-race-stop-trying-to-hire-the-purple-squirrel/
| newspaper =Above the Law
| publisher =
| date =September 23, 2015
| accessdate = 2016-06-18
}} 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.{{cite news
|title = Stop searching for that elusive 'purple squirrel'
|url = http://www.computerworld.com/article/2502406/it-management/it-management-stop-searching-for-that-elusive-purple-squirrel.html
|newspaper = Computerworld
|date = April 9, 2012
|accessdate = 2016-06-18
|archive-date = 2017-06-07
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170607083556/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2502406/it-management/it-management-stop-searching-for-that-elusive-purple-squirrel.html
|url-status = dead
}}
Origin and history
While it is unclear when exactly the term was coined, it was in use by 2000. In 2010, CBS published material using the term, writing that "businesses are looking to do more with fewer workers, so they want [purple squirrels] who are able to take on a wide range of duties." In 2012, Google recruiter Michael B. Junge published a popular job search and career book Purple Squirrel: Stand Out, Land Interviews, and Master the Modern Job Market, which helped popularize the term. Elon Musk tweeted in 2012, "Do not search for purple squirrels! Giving them attention only makes them want to be more purple."; this is likely also a reference to this term.{{cite tweet|number=168060414398177281|user=elonmusk|title=Do not search for purple squirrels! Giving them attention only makes them want to be more purple. |date=10 February 2012}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-08-04/big-tech-wants-you-to-believe-america-has-a-skills-gap | title=Tech Companies Want You to Believe America Has a Skills Gap | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=4 August 2020 }}
See also
{{Portal|Business}}
References
{{Reflist|2|refs=
| title =Need to fill jobs? Don't hunt the 'purple squirrel'
| first =Mary
| last =Kramer
| url =http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130407/NEWS/304079992/publishers-notebook-need-to-fill-jobs-dont-hunt-the-purple
| newspaper =Crain's Detroit Business
| publisher =
| date =April 7, 2013
| accessdate = 2016-06-10
}}
| title =Purple Squirrels and the Reserve Army of the Unemployed
| first =Paul
| last =Solman
| url =https://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/purple-squirrels-and-the-reser/
| newspaper =
| publisher =PBS
| date =August 15, 2012
| accessdate = 2016-06-10
}}
| title =Don't Hire the Perfect Candidate
| first =Lance
| last =Haun
| url =https://hbr.org/2013/01/dont-hire-the-perfect-candidat/
| newspaper =Harvard Business Review
| publisher =
| date =January 14, 2013
| accessdate = 2016-06-10
}}
|title = Sendouts.com Ad Capitalizes on Absentee President; Rodgers Townsend Has A Projected Winner with Its Topical Ad Campaign
|url = http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sendouts.com+Ad+Capitalizes+on+Absentee+President.-a066896003
|newspaper =
|publisher = PR Newswire
|date = November 13, 2000
|accessdate = 2016-06-10
|archive-date = 2016-08-08
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160808221526/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sendouts.com+Ad+Capitalizes+on+Absentee+President.-a066896003
|url-status = dead
}}
Richard Perrin, Real world project management: beyond conventional wisdom, best practices, and project methodologies, John Wiley and Sons, 2008 {{ISBN|0-470-17079-4}} page 215
|url=http://bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-27/finding-retail-talent-in-twitter-era-adds-to-challenges.html
|title=Finding Retail Talent in Twitter Era Adds to Challenges
|publisher=Bloomberg
|date=2012-04-27
|accessdate=2013-11-17}}
|last1=Junge
|first1=Michael B
|title=Purple Squirrel
|url=http://www.michaelbjunge.com/purple-squirrel/
|website=michaelbjunge.com
|accessdate=29 November 2014}}
| title ='Purple Squirrels' Now In Demand
| first =
| last =
| url =http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/10/11/purple-squirrels-now-in-demand/
| newspaper =
| publisher =CBS
| date =October 11, 2010
| accessdate = 2016-06-10
}}
| title =Hiring the purple squirrel - Portland Unemployment
| first =
| last =
| url =
| newspaper =Examiner
| publisher =
| date =July 23, 2009
| accessdate =
}}
}}