Person specification
A person specification is a profile of the ideal candidate for the job
What is a person specification?
A person specification is a profile of the ideal candidate for the job. It lists the criteria necessary to carry out the job. A well-crafted person specification has several benefits:
- it enables potential applicants to determine whether they are capable of meeting the requirements of the job, filtering out unsuitable candidates at an early stage
- it helps employers to identify what qualities are required to do the job
- it can be used as a guide when devising job advertisements and application forms
- it provides recruiters with a tool to systematically judge whether candidates meet the requirements and to compare one candidate with another
- it can reduce bias in the recruitment and selection process by ensuring candidates are judged against criteria which are relevant to the job, and all candidates are judged systematically on the same criteria
- it helps to ensure that your selection decisions can be justified using objective criteria should they be called into question at a later stage
- once you have appointed a new employee, the person specification and job description can be used as the basis for staff development, appraisals, or promotion
What should be included in the person specification?
Skills, knowledge and aptitudes
Include any skills, knowledge or aptitudes that the candidate needs – for example, oral, IT or written skills, or expertise in a particular field such as tort law or paediatric medicine. Make sure that these criteria are directly relevant to the job, i.e. will possessing these skills/knowledge/aptitudes enhance the candidates performance of this job?
Experience
You may want candidates to have prior experience of performing particular skills or tasks. This is a problematic area as experience requirements have the potential to discriminate. In particular, asking for a certain number of years' experience is likely to indirectly discriminate against younger employees (as they are likely to have been employed for less time) or those who have taken career breaks for any reason. However, there are ways round the problems created by experience requirements:
- think about why you want to see evidence of previous experience. If it is to demonstrate that the candidate is capable of carrying out particular tasks, could this be demonstrated in alternative ways, for example through training or qualifications?
- is experience really necessary, or merely an added bonus? It may be that prior experience is a desirable rather than necessary criterion that could be used to choose between very good candidates rather than a necessary criterion that will immediately rule out those who don't have it
- do you need a certain number of years of experience? Rather than asking for, for example, '3 years experience in a HR role', you are more likely to recruit a suitable candidate if you ask for experience of carrying out particular tasks. For example, 'experience of drafting contracts and co-ordinating disciplinary procedures'. Otherwise you may overlook a candidate who has gained experience of a wide variety of tasks in 6 months in favour of a candidate who has spent 2 years in a much more limited role
- if a candidate cannot demonstrate relevant experience through their professional life, they may be able to show that they have gained this experience through voluntary work or even through their personal life
Qualifications, education and training
Required qualifications must be necessary for satisfactory job performance. In some professions it will be a legal requirement that the candidate has certain qualifications in order to practice. In other cases it may be that it would be impossible to carry out certain tasks without having been trained to do them.
However, graduate recruitment schemes may be an exception. In this case a degree may not be an essential qualification to carry out the tasks that the candidate will initially have to perform, but can be used as evidence of future potential where this is the basis of recruitment.
As above, think about whether qualifications are the only way that a candidate could demonstrate that they are able to do the job. For example, a candidate who has no formal qualifications may instead have worked previously in a relevant sector and developed the necessary skills and knowledge. This can be harder to quantify.
Personal characteristics
If you want candidates to demonstrate particular personal qualities or circumstances you need to think carefully about the following questions:
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are these characteristics directly relevant to the job?
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is this requirement potentially discriminatory?
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if the answer to the first two questions is yes, is the discrimination justifiable?
For example, the candidate may need certain personal qualities such as the ability to work in a team, or to take on a leadership role. Personal qualities to avoid including in a person specification are those that cannot be objectively tested or are not relevant to the job, for example ‘a good sense of humour.'
Personal characteristics included in the person specification may also relate to the candidate's personal circumstances, for example a willingness/ability to travel, to work unsociable or irregular hours, or to relocate. These requirements could potentially constitute indirect discrimination as they may disadvantage those with caring responsibilities, who are in turn disproportionately likely to be women. Indirect discrimination is not illegal, provided it can be objectively justified. Think carefully about whether these requirements are really necessary.
Personal characteristics may also relate to physical qualities of the candidate. For example, a nurse may require physical dexterity in order to lift patients. This would indirectly discriminate against candidates with certain physical conditions and is therefore illegal unless it can be objectively justified. Provided the physical requirements really are necessary to carry out the job, this kind of discrimination is justifiable and legal. In order to minimise discrimination in this area it is best to be as explicit as possible. Instead of saying that the candidate must be 'generally physically fit', spell out the tasks that are involved, ie lifting patients or reaching and bending to pick items from shelves.
Generally, criteria relating to personal characteristics must be applied equally to all groups irrespective of age, sex, race, nationality, religion or belief, disability, membership or non-membership of a trade union. There are limited circumstances in which it is legal to directly discriminate where it is a genuine occupational requirement (GOR) that the post-holder belong to a particular category. Examples could include ministers of religion who must practice that religion, or female members of staff at a women's refuge.
Essential and desirable criteria
It may be helpful to split the criteria listed in the person specification into 'essential' and 'desirable' criteria. 'Essential' criteria are those attributes or qualifications which the candidate must have in order to do the job. Any candidate who does not meet these requirements can be ruled out straight away. 'Desirable' criteria are not essential to carry out the job but a candidate who meets these criteria is likely to perform the job better. Desirable criteria can help you choose between good candidates who all meet the essential criteria.
Competency-based recruitment
Many employers use competencies as an indication of candidates' potential future performance. Competencies tend to be based on transferable skills rather than direct experience of performing particular tasks.
Potential problems
Terminology
The terminology you use in a person specification can reveal conscious or unconscious biases that are not relevant to the job and can subtly send messages to candidates from particular demographics that they are not welcome to apply. This will not only decrease the talent pool you have to recruit from but can also put you at risk of legal action from applicants and potential applicants who believe they were not selected because they didn't fit a particular (irrelevant) demographic.
The desire for 'like-minded' individuals
Whether explicit or unconscious, the desire for 'like-minded' individuals, or applicants who will 'fit in' to the organisation can seep into all stages of the recruitment process. The key is to be specific about what you want from candidates and why it is relevant to the job.
Legal issues
Terminology
As noted above, you could face legal action from potential candidates if you use inappropriate terminology which suggests that the job is only suitable for people from particular groups.
Direct discrimination and genuine occupational requirements
If the person specification explicitly states that the job is only open to people from a particular group (based on age, disability, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation) or is not open to people from one of these groups, this would be a case of direct discrimination and is therefore illegal. The only exception is where there is a genuine occupational requirement (GOR) that the position be filled by someone who belongs to a particular group.
Indirect discrimination
If the criteria in the person specification are likely to disproportionately affect a particular group of people (based on their age, disability, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation) this may be a case of indirect discrimination. For example, a requirement that the applicant has three years’ experience in a similar role would disproportionately disadvantage younger applicants. Indirect discrimination is illegal unless it can be objectively justified.
Dos and don'ts
don't include criteria which are not relevant to the job. Only include skills, knowledge, abilities, and education if they are directly relevant to the job, and be able to justify them. Too expansive or too limited criteria can broaden or restrict applications respectively or reduce the likelihood of certain groups applying – requiring a number of years’ experience may discriminate against applicants on the basis of age and/or gender
don't include criteria that can't be objectively assessed, such as a good sense of humour
don't overstate the requirements of the job. This may result in suitable candidates being put off or in appointing an over-qualified candidate who then becomes frustrated in the job and moves on. Giving candidates an accurate impression of what is required of them can improve staff retention
do make clear the relative importance of requirements that are essential and desirable and be able to justify them
do make clear the importance of any biographical information you request such as educational attainment and validity of certificates (ie those from abroad)
do have the person specification checked by someone else, preferably someone responsible for equal opportunities, to remove any personal preferences
do review the person specification(s) over time for potential revisions
do be explicit about what is required and why
Example person specification and templates
Person specification template (DOC, 23 Kb)
Alternative person specification template (DOC, 22 Kb)
Person specification example (DOC, 27 Kb)
