Hang out with HR pros, recruiters, consultants or human capital vendors long enough, and you'll find the human capital space has a language all its own.
Here's the first installment in our series of snarky definitions from the world of human capital:
"candidate crush" (k
n
d
-d
t
, -dt) (kr
sh)
1. The condition that results when a primary recruiter for an opening is too positive on a specific candidate. Rather than offering an honest assessment of the candidate's abilities compared to others in the candidate pool, the recruiter is more positive than logically reasonable, usually due to the candidate being similar to the recruiter in one of more ways.
2. The condition that results when a recruiter or hiring manager values the attractiveness of a candidate over all other factors in a search.
3. Physical discomfort resulting from shaking the hand of a candidate (male or female) with a manly grip.
Usage - "Brenda's usually good at filtering through candidates, but I think this one got through due to a candidate crush. She went to the same undergrad as Brenda." or "Didn't John separate from his wife a couple of months ago? Any chance a candidate crush is the reason the new manager looks like Britney Spears before the fall?"
What else would you expect? Human Nature - we like people like us and we like people who look better than us.
As long as their looks aren't THAT much better... That's a definition for a different day...
