The state of today’s workforce is changing rapidly. In the past, many employers have based their hiring decisions on competence and a veritable laundry list of skills and educational achievements in their quest to find the “perfect candidate.”

There are no perfect candidates, though, and as companies struggle to recruit the candidates they need, being a “good fit” has become more critical. Managers are now asking themselves, “Which is more important: experience or potential?”

Let’s look at some of the benefits of hiring candidates for their potential rather than their experience and education.

Benefits of Hiring for Potential vs. Experience

If a candidate applies for your advertised job opening and doesn’t have the three years of experience you require, you may write them off before even looking at their resume. They may have checked every other box, though, and would be an excellent fit for your company.

Hiring for potential means being open to considering more than years of service as a measurement of what the candidate has to offer.

Sometimes hiring for experience doesn’t equal successful levels of performance. While they may have years of experience, those years may be without any significant results or growth. Knowledge is excellent, but passion is essential, too.

Fresh Perspectives

One of the significant benefits of hiring someone with more potential than experience is that they bring a fresh perspective to the table. Candidates with less experience are more likely to ask questions and challenge the status quo, both of which are necessary to stimulate higher levels of passion, motivation, and curiosity. When you’re hiring someone new, you want a candidate that is willing and able to learn new skills that will push your company to grow and provide better service and value to your customers.

Soft Skills and Attitude

The hard skills necessary to perform a job can be easily taught to anyone. Attitude, however, and the personality traits and coping abilities that are known collectively as “soft skills” cannot be so easily learned. If an employee’s personality doesn’t mesh well with the workplace culture of the current team, it can have a costly effect on the whole staff.

 

If you’re still looking to hire, get in touch with our team at Beacon Staffing today!

Every job seeker has their own set of quirks and perks. Opening your job search to include candidates with more potential than experience improves your chance of finding the elusive “perfect candidate” and enriching your company with fresh perspectives, bold ideas, and renewed enthusiasm for your company’s culture and goals.