It’s here: the recruitment article you’ve all been waiting for. We know it’s a struggle speaking to candidates when you’re really trying to digest the latest mind-blowing Game of Thrones episode. We know it’s hard reading job specifications when your thoughts won’t stop drifting over to Westeros and its woes. We know, we understand, and we empathise.

And that’s why we’re putting an end to the mental battle. So the recruitment world can be free of its concentration troubles, we’re finally bringing Game of Thrones and candidate assessment together. Here’s an analysis of our favourite GOT characters as job candidates…why not indulge yourself in the name of work?

Arya Stark

Arya is that plucky job candidate who wants to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company before turning 21. Although you have to admire their ambition, these candidates generally believe that they’re better than they actually are. You wouldn’t put an Arya Stark forward to your client, but you would make a mental note to watch out for their career rise over the coming years.

Cersei Lannister

Cersei is the elite, high-flying candidate who has all the right connections and all the right credentials. Despite that, you hate the Cersei with every fibre of your being. You know you need to keep them on side and you know that they’d be a great asset to your client, but… shudder. The unveiled arrogance of Cersei candidates just makes you wince, as does their ruthless approach to business. Handle the Cersei carefully – they’re candidate dynamite.

Theon Greyjoy

Theon is the candidate who threw their killer career prospects down the drain. They had so much potential, so much opportunity, but they made some poor choices and it all went badly wrong. When interviewing the Theon, you get the feeling that it all could have been so very different for them. Like Chesney Hawke’s venture into pop, the Theon candidate had a strong career start followed by a rapid fall.

Brienne of Tarth

It happens every day in the recruitment world: you come across candidates who are highly skilled but just not that appealing from a cultural perspective. Your Brienne type candidates are undoubtedly hard-working and undoubtedly good at what they do, but their communication is… amiss. When speaking to the Briennes of the world, you get a strong sense of their professionalism but little sense of character. If there’s ever a time to pull those personality based interview questions out of the bag, it’s with the Brienne of Tarth.

Jon Snow

Ever interviewed a headstrong candidate who was lacking in experience but had the exact drive and talent you were looking for?  Well, that would be your typical Jon Snow candidate. These job hunters instantly win you over with their passion and natural skill. When listening to them speak, you tend to forget that they’re relatively green in the professional scene. Hiring a Jon Snow is a fantastic exercise in choosing culture over expertise, and one which usually results in innovation.

Bran Stark

You’ll generally find your Bran Stark candidates working in IT contract jobs. They’re rolling stones, moving from place to place but doing so with a keen strategy in mind. Although you could confuse your Brans as being drifters, a closer look reveals that they’re continuously growing over the course of their job journey. Bran candidates might not initially strike you as being the strongest of the bunch, but a rigorous screening process will reveal that they’ve got a surprising wealth of knowledge hidden away in those brains of theirs.

Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys, Daenerys, Daenerys. These candidates are on fire. Every recruiter wants to work with them and every client wants to snap them up. They’ve got that irresistible je ne sais quoi, as well as a trailblazing career journey which makes other candidates look dull in comparison. The Daenerys fights a tough battle and will always, always negotiate hard and speak plainly. Don’t call at the time you said? Offer a low-ball salary? You’ve blown it. You know they’re a star candidate and they fully know it too: treat them as such or lose out.

Stannis Baratheon

Sometimes, you encounter a candidate who you really don’t want to hire even though they have strong credentials. In the Game of Thrones world, this would be your standard Stannis Baratheon. You can’t quite put your finger on it. They have the experience, the knowledge, the gravitas… they just give you a bad feeling. Since successful recruitment is often about those gut instincts, it’s probably better not to put Stannis forward to your client. Who knows what his real intentions are?

Ned Stark

Ouch. Your Ned Stark candidate is the one who’s made a catastrophic career move. They were in a great position, they were well-respected, and they had the recognition of their peers. But that one risky job change sent their career plummeting into a dark and unrecoverable descent.

Tyrion Lannister

Sometimes, you find that dream candidate who brings leadership, abundant talent, impressive experience and a likable personality to the table. These are your rare Tyrion candidates, also known as your purple squirrels. They’ve got everything you’re looking for. As well as all the skills listed in the job spec, you can always count on your Tyrions to rise above adversity and come out on top. You’d hug them if it wasn’t so darn inappropriate.

Sansa Stark

The Sansa candidate is the one who you aren’t bowled over by initially. I mean, the Sansa is okay, but they don’t jump out at you straight away as that elusive ‘it’ candidate. As you advance through the screening process, however, Sansa types increasingly grow on you. You start to realise that they’re stronger than you originally believed, and the Sansa candidate always ends up surprising you with how far they get.

Margaery Tyrell

You’d do well not to underestimate your Margaery Tyrell candidates. These types have more about them than it would first appear. If you judge them too soon, you might assume that Margaery candidates are all fluff, no substance. And you’d be wrong to do so. On the contrary, your Margaery candidates are as cunning as they are clever. They’re full of genius ideas, and their thirst for success will inevitably be quenched. These are your dark horse candidates – watch out for them.

Jamie Lannister

Ever encountered a candidate whose career has flopped unexpectedly? Meet the Jamie Lannister. It’s disappointing. Instead of rising upwards, they just went sideways along their career and never reached their full potential. That’s not to say they’re not good candidates: they’re clever, skilled and experts in their field. But you still can’t put them forward for those top roles – their ambition is sadly lacking.

So, have you come across these candidates in your daily grind? Are there more GOT characters you’d add to the candidate list? Get involved!