If I were to be making the decision on which candidate to hire I would most definitely hire Jaime. But I also believe you might need more information regarding the type of work, or the culture of the team, to make a more informed decision on who is most fit for the position.Based on the information provided, I would want an employee who is consistent in the work that they provide, and is reliable. Avery sounds like an outstanding candidate, but I would not be happy to have an employee who is not producing quality work, and who is performing at a below average level. In a situation where I would need a clutch decision, I would just ensure that Jamie has great support from her manager, or coworkers to ensure that she is able to follow through with a job well done.
A job where it would be better to hire someone who has high potential, but poor consistency for example would possibly be a Sales job. These types of employees can perform at their highest level only in short spurts rather than over a long period of time. In a sales job, you are often interacting with customers, and potential customers for a short sustained amount of time. In this time, these type of employees like Avery, will be able to provide 100% of their effort in short amounts of time, and then recharge.
A job where it would be better to hire someone with low potential, and high consistency for example is a customer service job. In these types of jobs, it is important for the employee to be consistently providing the same experience to each customer that they have an encounter with. Although their performance celling is not as high as the other candidate, it is important for them to be consistent throughout their job.
