Purple squirrel is a term used by employment recruiters to describe a job candidate with precisely the right education, set of experience, and range of qualifications that perfectly fits a job's requirements.[1] The implication is that over-specification of the requirements makes a perfect candidate as hard to find as a purple squirrel.[2]
While in theory, this prized "purple squirrel" could immediately handle all the expansive variety of responsibilities of a job description with no training, and would allow businesses to function with fewer workers,[3][4][5][6] it is commonly asserted that the effort seeking them is often wasted.[7][8] and that being more open to candidates that don't have all the skills, or retraining existing employees, are sensible alternatives to an over-long search.[2][9]
While it is unclear when exactly the term was coined, it was in use by 2000,[10] and in 2010 CBS published material using the term, writing that "businesses are looking to do more with fewer workers, so they want [purple squirrels] who are able to take on a wide range of duties."[3] In 2012, Google recruiter Michael B. Junge published a popular job search and career book Purple Squirrel: Stand Out, Land Interviews, and Master the Modern Job Market, which helped popularize the term.[11] Elon Musk tweeted in 2012, "Do not search for purple squirrels! Giving them attention only makes them want to be more purple." which is likely also a reference to this term.[12][13]
