When you are hiring someone, what is the best primary reason to choose a particular candidate over others?

Introduction / Context:
When interviewers ask whether you have ever hired anyone and why you chose them, they are really testing your judgement as a decision maker. They want to see whether you base hiring decisions on clear criteria and evidence, or on personal bias and convenience. Good hiring choices reduce risk, improve team performance and protect the organisation reputation. This question focuses on the most defensible primary reason for selecting a candidate.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• You are responsible, formally or informally, for recommending or choosing a candidate.
• The role has defined responsibilities and required competencies.
• Several candidates have applied and passed early screening stages.
• You have information from resumes, interviews, references or tests.
• The organisation values fairness, diversity and strong performance.

Concept / Approach:
Effective hiring is based on job fit and values fit. Job fit means the candidate has the skills, knowledge and experience to perform the role tasks. Values fit means their attitudes and behaviours align with how the organisation expects people to work, such as collaboration, integrity and customer focus. Decisions should rely on observable evidence, such as past achievements, specific examples shared in behavioural interviews and performance in work related tasks. Choosing mainly based on personal connections, low salary or similarity to yourself increases the risk of a poor hire and may be unfair or discriminatory.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Start with a clear role profile that describes essential and desirable competencies, not just a generic job title. Step 2: During interviews, use structured questions to collect comparable evidence from each candidate about how they met challenges in the past. Step 3: Evaluate each candidate against the same criteria, focusing on skills, achievements, learning ability and behaviours that match company values. Step 4: Consider additional data such as work samples, tests or references to strengthen your assessment. Step 5: Choose the person whose evidence best demonstrates that they can perform the job well and contribute positively to the team, even if they are not the cheapest or most similar to you.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine you are choosing between two candidates. One is a relative with limited relevant experience but willing to accept a low salary. The other has strong experience, provides clear examples of solving problems similar to those in the role and shows behaviours that match company values. The second candidate is more likely to perform well, stay engaged and support organisational goals. If you were explaining your decision to a senior leader or in a legal context, a choice based on documented job fit is easier to defend than one based on personal relationships. This confirms that alignment with role requirements and values is the best primary reason.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B introduces nepotism, which can harm team morale and be unethical or against policy. Option C focuses only on cost and ignores capability, which can be very expensive in the long term if performance is poor. Option D relies on school connections rather than competence and may create unfair bias. Option E assumes that people similar to you will automatically succeed, which can reduce diversity and still produce weak hires. None of these reasons are strong enough to justify a professional hiring decision on their own.

Common Pitfalls:
Common mistakes in hiring include falling for likability over competence, overvaluing impressive talk without checking for evidence, and making decisions too quickly based on first impressions. Another pitfall is ignoring culture add, where a different perspective might actually strengthen the team. In interviews, you should show that you understand these risks and that you rely on structured evaluation and clear criteria. This demonstrates maturity and fairness, even if you have only limited hiring experience so far.

Final Answer:
Their skills, experience and behaviours are strongly aligned with the role requirements and company values, as demonstrated by evidence in interviews and assessments.