Job Experience vs `The Shiny Penny`

Why An Enthusiastic Junior Staffer is Worth Their Weight in Gold

I don’t mean to be, but I’m a pain in the hiring team’s collective behinds.

There’s a long-standing argument I have with the people in charge of hiring. The hiring folks are forever asking what I think is the ‘minimum’ experience an engineer needs to be considered for our IT team.

My answer never satisfies:

If the person is a ‘Shiny Penny’, then I don’t care about how much or little experience they have.

What’s a Shiny Penny?

I’ve used this term for years in regards to hard workers, especially engineers just getting started. Hopefully it catches on.

(I’m going to speak about this from an engineering point of view, but this applies to any position in a company. Shiny Pennies work in all departments of a company given the chance)

A Shiny Penny is that gung-ho jr engineer who is hungry, eager to learn and never tires of going above and beyond. A Shiny Penny is just in love with the job they’re taking on and want to learn as much as they can and do their best to grow in the role.