How Can We Compare Candidates When Their CVs Look Completely Different?

One candidate has spent ten years with a single employer. Another has worked across several industries. A third has less direct experience but gives a convincing account of solving the problems your team faces.

To compare job candidates fairly, assess them against the same requirements and evidence. Similar-looking CVs are convenient, but the real question is how well each person could carry out the work.

Choose the outcomes you need to assess

Before the next interview, agree a small set of job-related criteria. For an operations role, these might include organising workloads, resolving delivery problems and communicating with clients.

Describe what a useful answer would demonstrate. For workload management, you might want evidence that the candidate can prioritise competing deadlines and explain the consequences of their decisions.

This makes the discussion more specific than whether someone has “good experience”. It also helps interviewers avoid changing the standard as they meet different people.

Ask for comparable examples

Give each candidate the same core questions, with follow-ups to understand their individual answers. Ask what happened, what they personally did and what changed as a result.

Someone from a different sector may have dealt with a closely related challenge. Someone with the exact job title may have had fewer responsibilities than their CV initially suggests.

Be precise about individual contribution. A strong team result does not automatically tell you what the applicant did themselves.

Use a short, relevant exercise where appropriate

If the role involves a skill that can be demonstrated, consider a proportionate exercise. An account manager could explain how they would handle a fictional client complaint. An administrator could prioritise a sample inbox.

Explain the task, timing and assessment criteria in advance. Keep it relevant to the job, make reasonable adjustments where needed, and avoid asking candidates to produce unpaid work your business intends to use.

The exercise should add useful evidence. It should not become an elaborate extra stage simply because the decision feels difficult.

Record evidence before discussing favourites

Ask interviewers to make their own notes before the group discussion. Record examples alongside a simple rating for each criterion, rather than relying on an overall impression.

Where scores differ, discuss the evidence behind them. One interviewer may have heard a relevant example that another missed. You may also discover that a requirement was never properly tested.

Get a shortlist with useful context

Kamro screens candidates for experience, motivation, availability and suitability before putting them forward. That context gives hiring managers more to work with than a CV alone.

If your interviews keep producing difficult comparisons, speak to Kamro about the role. A clearer brief and more focused screening can help you understand the differences that matter before you reach the final decision.