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Reports and decision

What is role fit (suitability for the position)

A short definition of role fit: how closely a candidate matches what the position needs. Kokoro's selection glossary, with no performance guarantees.

3 min read By Equipo Kokoro · Updated June 2026

Role fit is how closely a candidate’s profile matches what a specific position needs: competencies, style, and knowledge. It’s not a quality of the person in the abstract, but a relationship between the person and a defined role. The same candidate can fit one position well and another less so.

Quick definition

  • What it is: the closeness between a candidate’s profile and the criteria for the role.
  • What it isn’t: a grade for the person or a guarantee of performance.
  • What it depends on: the criteria defined for the position before evaluating.

How it’s used in selection

Fit serves to order candidates by the same yardstick: when the role’s criteria are defined, comparing profiles becomes fairer and more traceable. That’s why it’s worth starting from how to choose competencies by role and reading it within a common criterion for comparing candidates.

When fit is expressed as a percentage, that number always comes with its explanation: it indicates closeness to a criterion, not a grade for the person.

See how the criteria for a role are built in the library.

Explore the library

In short

Role fit measures how closely a candidate matches what the position needs, not an absolute quality of the person. It depends on role criteria defined before evaluating and is an input to order the decision, not a forecast of performance. At Kokoro it supports the team’s criteria: browse the library or learn how Kokoro supports the decision.

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