Intelligent CXO Issue 16 | Page 72

FINAL WORD
To help you make the right decision , here are three questions to ask when considering hiring someone without the required experience but who shows plenty of potential :
1 . Are you limiting your candidate pool and overlooking the best fit ?
2 . Does experience equal performance ?
You may assume that if a candidate was able to accomplish ‘ XYZ ’ somewhere else , they can just as easily do it for your company too . However , this isn ’ t necessarily true , as prior experience doesn ’ t always guarantee a certain level of performance .
Karien Spencer , Talent Acquisition Lead at Decision Inc
When you reject candidates simply because they don ’ t fit the skill and experience parameters you ’ ve initially set for an open position , you could be missing out on the perfect candidate . Let ’ s say a candidate applies for a position requiring three years ’ experience . The candidate has only been in their job for eight months , so you disqualify them without further consideration .
Yet , had you looked further , you may have found that they check every other box , are passionate and excited about your company and would have been a perfect culture fit . While there are no guarantees , a phone screening or initial interview might have yielded results . Never discount the effort you ’ ve put into drafting your job requirements but be open to considering the candidate holistically .
While traditionally recruiters have focussed primarily on experience and certifications , Gartner research shows that ‘ 43 % of candidates today are self-taught in one or more of their role ’ s requirements .’
This means that while they may not have the traditional experience or certification hirers have previously looked for , on the job they may be as competent or even more so than a traditional hire .
It ’ s easy for an employee to become stagnant and stuck in a rut after doing the same job or working in the same industry for a long period . While they may have years and years of experience , those could be years without any truly significant change , results or personal growth .
One of the major benefits of hiring someone with limited or even no previous experience in the role is that they have a fresh perspective and tend to be more willing to ask questions and challenge the status quo . Higher motivation , passion and curiosity can make all the difference .
Making a new hire isn ’ t just about whether they have the right skills to fill your needs right now – it ’ s also whether they ’ re willing and able to keep learning new ones . This will push your business to grow and keep providing better value for customers .
3 . Hard skills can be taught but what about attitude ?
You ’ ve seen it before : a candidate who seems to be the perfect fit and ticks every box on your skills and experience wish list , comes into your workplace and interacts with the team and the chemistry is off .
Why is this such a big problem ? It ’ s certainly possible to teach an employee new hard skills – such as how to use your software , send a professional email or deliver a presentation to a client . However , trying to teach someone some of the softer skills , that require a level of emotional intelligence isn ’ t quite so simple . If an employee ’ s personality quirks don ’ t align with your culture code or mesh well with the current team , this creates hidden costs that can affect the whole staff .
If the motivation isn ’ t there for an employee to succeed in your company and they aren ’ t a good culture fit , it doesn ’ t matter if they have 30 years or 30 minutes of experience under their belt .
Embracing less experienced but highly motivated employees with the potential to do great things may well be worth the risk . x
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