Defining the Ideal Candidate: How to Create a Person Specification

Every hiring decision starts well before the interview. It starts with knowing exactly what kind of person you need for the role. That’s where a person specification comes in – a structured document that outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and personal attributes an ideal candidate should possess. While a job description tells you what the job involves, a person specification tells you who can do it best. Getting this right can mean the difference between a great hire and an expensive mistake.

What is a person specification? 🔗

A person specification is a companion document to the job description. It describes the personal attributes desired in a potential employee, including their qualifications, skills, experience, knowledge, and sometimes behavioural traits. The purpose is straightforward: to give recruiters and hiring managers a clear benchmark against which all applicants can be measured objectively.

Unlike a job description – which focuses on tasks, responsibilities, and reporting lines – a person specification zooms in on the human element. It answers the question: “What kind of person will thrive in this role?” This makes it an essential tool not just for recruitment, but also for shortlisting, interviewing, and even onboarding.

According to The Open University’s recruitment and selection course, it is important to be as precise as possible about the skills, knowledge, qualifications, and attributes required for the job when writing a person specification. Vague criteria lead to vague hiring outcomes.

Key components of a person specification 🔗

A well-drafted person specification typically covers several core areas. These components work together to paint a complete picture of the ideal candidate, and each one should be directly tied to the demands of the role.

Educational qualifications 🔗

This section outlines the minimum educational background required. For some roles, a specific degree or professional certification is legally mandatory – for instance, a medical practitioner must hold the appropriate medical degree. For other positions, equivalent experience may be acceptable in place of formal qualifications. The key is to avoid overstating qualification requirements, as doing so can unnecessarily narrow your talent pool. An experienced administrator, for example, may perform excellently without holding a university degree.

Professional experience 🔗

Experience requirements indicate the level and type of prior work a candidate should bring. This could include direct experience in the same role, related experience in a similar industry, or managerial experience. Entry-level positions may require no prior experience, while senior roles might need several years in a leadership capacity.

However, HR professionals should be cautious about specifying rigid numbers of years. Requiring “10 years of experience,” for instance, could constitute indirect age discrimination against younger applicants. Instead, focus on the depth and relevance of experience – what the candidate has actually done, not simply how long they’ve been doing it.

Skills and knowledge 🔗

This is where you list the technical and functional abilities the role demands. Depending on the position, this might include proficiency in specific software, knowledge of industry regulations, project management capabilities, or language skills. Skills should be specific and measurable. Rather than writing “good computer skills,” specify exactly what is needed – such as advanced proficiency in Excel or experience with a particular CRM platform.

Personal attributes and behavioural traits 🔗

Beyond hard skills, many roles require certain personality characteristics. This section covers traits like attention to detail, ability to work under pressure, adaptability, or the capacity to work both independently and within a team. These attributes often determine how well a person fits into the organisational culture and handles the less tangible aspects of a role. The person specification should be derived from the job description, ensuring these traits are relevant rather than arbitrary.

Essential vs. desirable criteria 🔗

One of the most important structural decisions in writing a person specification is separating essential criteria from desirable criteria. This distinction is not just a formatting choice – it fundamentally shapes how you screen, shortlist, and select candidates.

Essential criteria are the non-negotiable requirements. A candidate must meet every essential criterion to be considered for the role. These might include a mandatory professional qualification, a minimum level of relevant experience, or a legally required certification. If an applicant fails to meet even one essential criterion, they can be objectively ruled out from the process.

Desirable criteria, on the other hand, are the “nice-to-haves.” They represent qualities that would enhance a candidate’s ability to perform in the role, but their absence does not disqualify someone. Desirable criteria become especially useful when you need to differentiate between multiple strong candidates who all meet the essential requirements.

As noted by Reed’s employer guide, this separation enables employers to be transparent about their expectations and helps candidates self-assess their suitability before applying. It also provides legal protection – if a hiring decision is ever challenged, the essential/desirable framework demonstrates that selection was based on objective, job-related criteria rather than personal bias.

A practical tip: aim for no more than 10 criteria assessed at the application stage. Too many criteria make the process unwieldy for both applicants and the selection panel.

Assessing soft skills: motivation, attitude, and interpersonal abilities 🔗

Technical qualifications and years of experience are relatively easy to verify. Soft skills are a different story. Yet, they are often the deciding factor in whether someone succeeds in a role or struggles with it.

Why soft skills matter in person specifications 🔗

Soft skills – communication, teamwork, adaptability, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution – shape how a person interacts with colleagues, manages challenges, and contributes to organisational culture. Research highlighted by Toggl’s hiring resource found that a majority of professionals consider soft skills equally as important as, or even more important than, technical abilities. A Deloitte Human Capital Survey rated building highly empowered teams with strong soft skills as a top organisational trend.

When drafting a person specification, soft skills should not be vague afterthoughts. Instead of writing “good communication skills,” specify the exact nature of communication the role demands. Does the person need to deliver presentations to senior stakeholders? Write detailed reports? Handle difficult conversations with clients? Each of these requires a different type of communication ability.

Motivation and attitude 🔗

A candidate’s motivation tells you a lot about their potential longevity and engagement in a role. Are they driven by career growth, the nature of the work itself, or the organisation’s mission? While motivation can be harder to codify than a qualification, it can be included in a person specification as a desirable attribute – for example, “demonstrates a proactive approach to continuous professional development” or “shows enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced environment.”

Attitude, similarly, is observable through behavioural indicators. A person specification might include criteria like “resilience under pressure” or “willingness to take initiative,” which can then be assessed through structured interview questions or situational judgment scenarios.

How to assess soft skills during recruitment 🔗

Including soft skills in a person specification is only useful if you also plan how to measure them. Common assessment methods include:

Behavioural interview questions: Using frameworks like the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), interviewers ask candidates to describe real past situations where they demonstrated a specific skill. This provides concrete evidence rather than hypothetical responses.

Role-plays and simulations: Placing candidates in realistic work scenarios – such as handling a difficult customer or collaborating on a team task – reveals how they apply interpersonal skills under realistic conditions.

Psychometric and personality assessments: Standardised tools can offer an objective measure of traits like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and teamwork orientation. As noted by Bryq’s HR guide on soft skills assessment, these tools help reduce subjective bias in the recruitment process and provide data-driven insights into a candidate’s behavioural fit.

360-degree feedback (for internal candidates): Gathering input from peers, managers, and subordinates provides a well-rounded view of a person’s interpersonal abilities and leadership potential.

The most effective approach combines multiple methods. Use assessments early to screen for behavioural fit, then use structured interviews to explore cultural alignment and motivation with shortlisted candidates.

Linking job description to person specification 🔗

A person specification does not exist in isolation. It must be directly derived from the job description. If these two documents are not aligned, the entire recruitment process risks going off track – you may attract candidates who look great on paper but cannot perform the actual duties of the role, or you may inadvertently screen out people who would have been excellent hires.

How the job description informs the person specification 🔗

The job description outlines the purpose of the role, key responsibilities, reporting relationships, and working conditions. Each of these elements should feed directly into the person specification. For example:

If the job description states that the role involves managing a team of eight people, the person specification should include relevant leadership experience and team management skills. If the job description mentions handling confidential financial data, the person specification should list attention to detail, data security awareness, and possibly a finance-related qualification. If the role requires frequent travel, the person specification might include a valid driving licence (only if genuinely essential) and a willingness to travel.

The Open University’s HR module recommends that when constructing a person specification, you should pick out key features from the job description and also consider the wider organisational context. This includes understanding the company culture and identifying elements of person-organisation fit that might be important beyond mere task competence.

Avoiding misalignment 🔗

Misalignment between job descriptions and person specifications is more common than you’d expect, and it creates real problems. If a job description emphasises collaborative project work but the person specification lists only individual technical skills, you’ll likely hire someone who can do the technical work but struggles with the teamwork the role actually demands.

Similarly, if the person specification sets the bar unrealistically high – requiring a master’s degree for a role that the job description shows is primarily administrative – you’ll deter qualified candidates and may also face claims of indirect discrimination.

To prevent this, involve relevant stakeholders when drafting both documents. The line manager who understands the day-to-day demands of the role, along with HR professionals who understand legal and best-practice requirements, should collaborate to ensure consistency.

Person-organisation fit 🔗

Beyond matching a candidate to the tasks of a specific job, modern HR practice also considers whether the candidate fits the broader organisational culture. This concept of person-organisation fit goes beyond the person specification’s traditional scope but is increasingly being incorporated into it.

For instance, if an organisation values innovation and agile working, the person specification might include desirable criteria like “comfortable with ambiguity” or “experience in rapidly changing environments.” These criteria should be stated clearly and assessed consistently across all candidates to avoid subjective or biased judgments.

Best practices for writing an effective person specification 🔗

Creating a strong person specification is both an art and a discipline. Here are some practical guidelines that can make the document more effective and legally sound.

Be specific, not vague 🔗

Replace broad statements with precise requirements. “Good communication skills” is too general. Instead, specify what form of communication is needed – written, verbal, presentation-based – and at what level.

Make criteria measurable 🔗

For each criterion, consider how you will assess it. If you cannot think of a practical way to measure or test a requirement during the selection process, it probably does not belong in the person specification. Every listed criterion should be linked to a stage of assessment – application form, interview, test, or reference check.

Avoid discriminatory language 🔗

Person specifications must comply with equality legislation. Avoid criteria that could directly or indirectly discriminate on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, or other protected characteristics. For example, requiring a “young graduate” is age-discriminatory. Requiring physical fitness must be genuinely justified by the nature of the role.

Review and update regularly 🔗

Roles evolve over time, and a person specification written three years ago may no longer reflect the current demands of the position. Review person specifications whenever a vacancy arises, and update them to align with any changes in the role, the team, or the organisation’s strategic direction.

Keep it concise 🔗

An overly long person specification can overwhelm both applicants and hiring panels. Focus on the criteria that truly matter for successful performance in the role. A well-structured document with clearly separated essential and desirable criteria is far more useful than an exhaustive list of every possible attribute.

The bigger picture: person specification in the recruitment lifecycle 🔗

A person specification is not just a one-time recruitment document. It serves multiple purposes throughout the employee lifecycle. During recruitment, it guides job advertisements, shortlisting, and interviews. After hiring, it can inform induction and training plans – if the successful candidate did not meet certain desirable criteria, those gaps can be addressed through targeted development.

It also plays a role in performance management. The skills and attributes outlined in the person specification become a natural reference point when setting performance objectives and conducting appraisals. Over the long term, person specifications contribute to succession planning by clarifying what competencies are needed at different levels within the organisation.

Furthermore, maintaining well-documented person specifications helps organisations demonstrate compliance with equality and anti-discrimination legislation. If a recruitment decision is ever questioned, a clear, objective person specification provides evidence that the selection was based on job-related criteria.

What do you think? How does your organisation currently ensure alignment between job descriptions and person specifications – and do you believe soft skills deserve equal weight alongside technical qualifications when defining the ideal candidate?

References

1. https://www.davidsonmorris.com/person-specification/
2. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/human-resources/human-resources-recruitment-and-selection/content-section-4.5
3. https://www.reed.com/articles/the-purpose-of-a-person-specification
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_specification
5. https://toggl.com/blog/100-soft-skills-questions-to-help-you-hire-top-talent
6. https://cpshr.us/blog-article/how-to-effectively-assess-soft-skills-during-recruitment/
7. https://www.bryq.com/blog/soft-skills-assessment-a-comprehensive-guide-for-hr-professionals