When It Comes to Hiring, We Need To Break Our Addiction To Experience
Originally published in Forbes.
While managers will tell you that they want the best person for the job when hiring, the reality is that, when a resume comes across a manager’s desk and contains all the required experience, the best person suddenly means the person with the most experience rather than the person with the personality, work ethic and values most likely to succeed in the organization and in that role.
Listen, experience is great. I am not dismissing its benefits, but I am concerned with how many managers let it override all other factors in the hiring process, especially for roles where the necessary knowledge and skills can easily be taught.
We’ve all seen it: Across a manager’s desk comes a candidate’s resume that lists a lot of experience in the industry or role and an abundance of technical skills and knowledge. The manager’s eyes widen, his heart starts beating faster, and a large smile spreads across his face. He’s just hit the hiring jackpot — all other considerations be damned. Why the excitement? Because it means that the candidate can contribute right away, requires minimal to no training, and now the manager’s labor shortage problem is solved for the short term