Startups | Hiring Talent vs Experience
Anyone who has had to recruit new team members will know only too well the massive difference between a candidate who has a wealth of experience versus one who has a light shining so brightly that you have to put your sunglasses on 😎!
Only 18% of experienced managers are considered to have a unique set of skills needed to lead their team towards improving company performance. Looking at that from a startup perspective, this data is worrying considering that even one bad hire in a lean team can be the difference between success and failure. It’s common knowledge that most startups have limited resources, and often budgeting for staff is at the bottom of a very long list. This is often an excuse for lazy hiring, just getting bums on seats and filling roles according to expected KPIs, without taking into consideration the long term impact that a new employee might have on the overall team.
Of course there are startups that have been fortunate enough to secure funding, where in many cases a sizable chunk is usually allocated to hiring experienced staff ‘necessary’ to achieve over ambitious growth projections. Experienced employees are then expected to hit the ground running, meet unrealistic objectives…basically pull a rabbit out of a hat!
In both cases there are inevitable pitfalls, and often it is the new employee who suffers the most as they likely rejected other employment offers, so they could work on something that they believed in enough to take a leap of faith. It is possible to avoid this catch-22 situation, firstly by understanding that each startup has a unique set of requirements based on many contributory factors (such as budget, timelines, product, management style etc). Expectation management is critical, by outlining your desired results you have more control over the outcome, simply by being aware of your expectations.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.” — Shunryū Suzuki
It is essential to decide whether you need someone experienced or want someone talented, before you even begin the recruitment process. There is nothing worse for a candidate than being in an interview where the hiring team don’t even know what they are looking for, and the candidate has to try their best to tick an endless list of contradictory boxes, in the futile attempt to come across as a ‘unicorn’. Once you establish what is most important to you, it will help you define your recruitment process and inevitably the approach you take in getting the most out of your new hire. So, what’s the difference between having an experienced candidate and one who is talented?
Experience is like a well established oil rig, you know how many barrels to expect each day and can set your KPIs according to that. Talent, someone with raw potential, is similar to an untapped land that oozes ‘black gold’, there is no limit to what can be achieved. There are particular roles where experience is necessary, such as a leadership position, requiring the kind of confidence that only come from years of problem solving and overcoming challenges. It is interesting to see that a recent survey showed that 74% felt talent is more important now than it was a year ago (DHI Group’s Hiring Survey (2016).
“I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.” — John Wooden
You shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that past experience guarantees future success, in many cases success is circumstantial and most of your efforts never deliver immediate or tangible results. It is very easy to be captivated by an over embellished, yet impressive, CV that seems to come with all the bells and whistles. Do you remember Karthik (UK Apprentice) saying “Give me a laptop and I’ll make you a billion dollar company,” just before Lord Sugar said “You’re Fired!” Sadly this is often the reality with many experienced candidates who were successful in a company, but didn’t actually learn any transferable skills that would make them suitable for other companies.
Some experienced candidates are inclined to be stuck in their ways, and can develop an over inflated sense of confidence (bordering on arrogance) which creates a very difficult work environment. However hiring a talented, but less experienced candidate will be forever grateful for the opportunity and experience, and they have a tendency to be more adventurous and think outside of the box when it comes to creativity. Without the limitations learnt through years of experience, their minds are free to explore exciting ideas that might have been overlooked.
Helping to uncover someone’s true potential is like finding a rare gem, and knowing that you helped empower someone to achieve more than perhaps they thought possible is very rewarding. So, all that’s left is for you to decide what your company actually needs. And for those who are wondering where or how you find someone with raw talent, the honest answer is a wee of intuition combined with years of experience. Well, isn’t that ironic 😂!
