Rejected applicant's convinced he's the most qualified

Hiring decisions are rarely easy — they often come down to trying to pick the best out of two or more similarly qualified candidates. Having that choice is great, but it can make it tough to prove some decisions were made objectively without bias.
In one case, an applicant was turned down for a job he thought should have been his. He was African American, and the hired applicant was Caucasian.
He claimed he was more qualified and “mature” than the guy who got the job. The company said both were qualified, but the other applicant was a better fit.
The rejected applicant sued for bias. In court, he gave no specific reason why his qualifications were better — his experience and education weren’t any more impressive than the successful applicant.
So the judge threw out the case. He said it isn’t a court’s job to second guess employers’ hiring decisions. Companies are free to decide who’s the best candidate for a job, as long as the decision doesn’t include discriminatory factors.
The lesson: When two or more applicants appear equally qualified, a manager will often have to use some subjective reason for choosing one over the others. That’s OK, as long as there’s no appearance of bias.
Cite: Spell v. Connecticut, Office of Chief State’s Attorney