As always, finding top talent is the focus. Identifying a candidate who can have a positive impact on the long-term growth of a company is tricky. But, how does an employer balance hiring experience now against the idea of securing that potential rock star for the future? Obviously, there are pros and cons to both hiring strategies.
Hiring for Now
Focusing primarily on qualifications and experience can be a major hiring mistake in today’s job market.
Cons
- Whether we want to admit it or not, the 30/30/30 does not exist. What’s that you ask? The 30-year-old with 30 years of experience who agrees to work for $30K. Thus, the more experience someone has, the more they’ve earned higher remuneration packages.
- Long-tenured employees are less likely to want to leave their current employer
- Challenging to differentiate the wants from the needs when reviewing resumes
- Potentially set in their ways
- Top talent is always of interest to competitors
Pros
- Less of a learning curve
- Experience can influence growth and impact the bottom-line quickly
- Less on-boarding costs related to training
Hiring for Potential
Industry-specific skills can be trained but personality traits and character cannot.
Cons
- Longer learning curve
- Future rather than immediate impact on growth and bottom-line
- Higher on-boarding costs related to training
Pros
- Able to focus on personal competencies, soft skills, and traits – finding someone who will fit your team and has the motivation to learn
- Possible to mould them into the employee that excels with your company
- Utilize transferrable skills
- Build loyalty for long-term tenure
- Internal promotion; cultivate leaders from within
- Meaningful professional development that fits corporate plans
- Less remuneration initially to offset training costs
Hiring for potential is an ideal way to secure top talent. Instead of just reviewing previous career progression and titles, hiring for potential allows employers to also assess the competencies and personality traits that fit best within the organization.
Hiring for Future Potential Interview Points
Want to know more about hiring for Fit? Contact SmartHire today.