# Comparing applicants, Excel, Statistics **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698 "2019-06-18T18:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698/1 "2019-06-18T18:04:22Z")
(I feel like I should know this but everything feels overly simplified or overly complicated) We have 50 applicants for a job and a 5 person hiring team. Everyone on the team looks at the applicant’s resume and cover letter and scores all of the applicants between 0-5 on 20 different metrics for a total of 100 points possible for each applicant. HR wants to use the top cumulative scorers to bring in for interviews. The problem I see is that some people on the hiring team have a mean of around 30 and some people have a mean around 80. Using a cumulative score weights the decision toward scorers with a larger mean. Possible Solution 1: Rank the applicants 1-50 for each person on the hiring team prior to comparing. (Seems too simple, but if it’s pretty standard I’ll do it) Possible solution 2: (I know just enough stats to get me in trouble) Use z-scores? Can I sum the applicants z-scores based on each team members individual mean and SD? Possible solution 3: _ **???** _\_\_ I’d love something simple and defensible but not dumbed down to the point of uselessness. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698/2 "2019-06-18T18:40:25Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Possible solution 2: (I know just enough stats to get me in trouble) Use z-scores? Can I sum the applicants z-scores based on each team members individual mean and SD? That’s what I’d do. This is the 1-dimensional case of [the Mahalanobis distance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahalanobis_distance). Instead of using these “z-scores” on a judge’s totals, you might do this independently for each of the 20 metrics. Then you could have a 20-Dimensional Mahalanobis distance. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698/3 "2019-06-19T17:36:34Z")
Thanks \*\*septimus \*\* I decided to wait on the 20-Dimensional Mahalanobis distance until HR really pisses me off. The z-scores did a much better job of representing what everyone was “feeling” about the applicants. A huge improvement over the cumulative totals. I just hope HR doesn’t give any pushback, they aren’t the brightest bulbs. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698/4 "2019-06-20T01:59:17Z")
I did the equivalent of this in a different context, where I had 70 judges, each scoring a subset of about 400 items, with a total of 4 judges for each item. It was really important to normalize the scores as you did. I compared rank ordering and Z scores. The results were very similar, which gave me enough confidence to not worry about it and use either one. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comparing-applicants-excel-statistics/835698/5 "2019-06-23T04:02:32Z")
That’s good to know JWT. I chose to use the Z scores because it limited any issues with ties. Rank ordering was getting a lot of ties with the low variability.