Sometimes a job description and request for applications yields less-than-ideal candidates. How do you evaluate someone you know isn’t exactly right for the position? How do you know which qualities are workable and which should be nonstarters? At what point should you take a leap of faith?

What the Experts Say

First things first: You’re never going to find the perfect candidate for your job opening. “The perfect candidate does not exist,” says Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a senior adviser at global executive search firm Egon Zehnder and the author of It’s Not the How or the What but the Who. Besides, “even if the candidate does exist, it’s [not a given that they would even] consider taking the job.” In that sense, every applicant you’re evaluating is inadequate in one way or another. “And they’re not really flawed — they’re just inferior to your dream candidate,” says John Sullivan, professor of management at San Francisco State University and author of 1000 Ways to Recruit Top Talent. Still, he says, all imperfect candidates are not created equal. “A bad hire can do a lot of damage.” Here are some tips on how to decide which job candidates you can work with even if they don’t fulfill all the requirements.

Be data driven.

When the HR department draws up the profile of the ideal candidate for your open req, the result is often “some combination of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man,” says Fernández-Aráoz. Since superheroes are in short supply in the labor market, Sullivan recommends being more objective and data driven in how you define what you seek in a candidate. “Look at the 10 people you have already doing the job. Then ask: What do the top three performers have in common? What characteristics do they share?” The answers will provide insight into the basic requirements of the role. “That’s what’s needed to succeed in the job, and you will assess candidates on those factors,” says Sullivan.

If an applicant lacks one of the qualifications you’ve deemed necessary, it’s an indication that they can’t do the job. The objective of this exercise is to help you see more clearly which flaws are fatal and which are constructs designed by HR. For instance, you shouldn’t automatically discount “someone who was a job hopper, or who was out of the workforce for two years, or who doesn’t have a certain job title or degree,” Sullivan says. “Some of the best web designers in the world don’t have a degree in web design.”

Assess capacity for learning.

Even some serious inadequacies are surmountable, according to Fernández-Aráoz. “Hiring managers tend to weigh knowledge and skills, but that has many limitations,” he says. Knowledge is easy to acquire and skills can be developed, so if an otherwise promising candidate lacks a particular skill, you don’t need to write them off. “You want someone who has the capacity to continue to grow and learn,” he says. The past is precedence, adds Sullivan. Because certain skills can be learned, find out whether anyone else at the organization has ever learned that specific skill on the job and done well. It’s also worthwhile to ask candidates to describe the steps they take to learn something new. “Find out if they have a network to help them learn,” says Sullivan. An inability to learn — or, worse, a lack of interest in doing so — are flaws too great to be conquered.

Measure potential.

When the drawback in question is something like a nonstandard career trajectory, your appraisal should focus on whether the candidate has the “hallmarks and predictors of potential,” says Fernández-Aráoz. These include attributes like curiosity, engagement, determination, confidence, and motivation. He recommends using structured interviews in which you ask each candidate the same set of defined questions. Of course, “you need to ask the right questions and draw the right inferences,” he says, otherwise, you risk being fooled. “Even a psychopath can be highly engaging,” he adds.

Say, for instance, you’re trying to assess the applicant’s strategic orientation. “You need to look at behavioral indicators that suggest this candidate is curious.” Fernández-Aráoz suggests asking questions like, “Tell me about a situation in which you proactively sought feedback. What did you do with the results? And what were the consequences of that?” The quality of your candidate’s response will indicate whether the flaw can be ameliorated.