For Managers Only: Does Experience Matter?
September 13, 2008 by Darlene McDaniel
Filed under Jobs
Does experience matter when making a hiring decision? In a word "YES!" It better matter to you if you are the hiring manager. Why? Because the cost to onboard a new employee is in the thousands of dollars depending on your organization. Part of the cost for onboarding a new employee in is their training. Whether you provide training or not, it will cost you as an organization. If you bring a new employee into your organization without providing training, it will cost you as they learn through trial and error. There is a cost associated with mistakes that employees make. Depending on the size of the mistake, it will definitely affect the profitabilty of your organization.
As a coach, I recommend that my clients evaluate job descriptions prior to applying for a job. They should evaluate their experience with what the hiring manager is looking for. If they do not have at least 90% of the skills and abilities a manager is looking for, I recommend that they look for another job. Why? Given the climate in our country today, managers do not have to risk making a bad hiring decision by hiring someone without experience, when they can find someone with experience. Candidates who apply for jobs with no experience are "hoping" they get hired. How do I know? Because most people who are interviewing for a job, are"hoping" they get hired. They are "hoping" that the hiring manager will like them so much that they overlook the fact that they do not have the necessary experience needed to do the job. Experience does matter!
For Managers Only – When I was a hiring manager, I screened the resumes and cover letters that came in. I usually selected about 20 potential candidates and then gave my team the opportunity to interview each candidate. Once my team interviewed them, they whiddled the candidates down to the top 5-6 candidates. That is when I stepped in. We set up presentations (I hired a lot of trainers/facitlitators). Once we complete the second round of interviews, I met with the top two candidates. Once I made my decision, I met with my team and we discussed each candidate in detail. We discussed their pros and cons and we discussed wther they would be a good fit on the team and in the organization. Prior to that last meeting with my team, I was looking at the candidates skills and abilities, and their experience was part of the screening.
The only time experience doesn’t matter in the hiring process is when you are willing to train people to do the job you are filling. Otherwise, it is a dis-service to the employee, if you hire them with an expectation to do a job, but you are unwilling to teach and train them to do it and you know they don’t have experience.
Tags: Interview Chatter, Hiring Manager, For Managers Only, Job Seekers, New Employee, Interview, Potential candidates, bad hiring decisions, employees, Experience matters
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Of course experience matters. All companies are looking for the person to hit the ground running, make an immediate impact and bring the company to the next level. There is an issue however your hypothesis that today’s business climate basically allows for you to find someone with the experience you need. That is not the case in most verticals. As companies are doing more with less, they are looking for people to handle more than one role and the experience of most people has not given them the ability to be as well rounded as the new market is demanding. Companies will need to figure out the core competencies of the position and be comfortable with teaching the employee the areas where they might not be as strong.
Hi Jason,
Thank you!! You are absolutely correct. I may have to revise my post. I know that so many organizations do put a demand on their people to do more than the actual job description outlined. As a result, I believe that it contributes to the lack of success that some people find in their job.
It actually can be a set up for failure for people who can not meet all of the demands their job places on them. Thank you – I honestly missed that and I know better. We agree on one thing for sure and that is that experience does matter. Thanks for the comment and insight!
Hi Darlene – and Jason!
Adding to this, the state of the economy can also play a factor in the “experience” argument. If I were a hiring manager who is pressed for time because the headcount in my department is down due to layoffs, I’d sure be looking for a low-maintenance new hire who can multi-task, essentially making my life easier.
Nice topic!
Hi Rick! Thanks for visiting Interview Chatter and adding your comment to the discussion. I find your comment VERY interesting as well. I know you are correct when you speak about the “low -maintenance” new hire who can multi-task. the problem is the people with this skill set are few and far between. Typically the hiring manager that chooses this route in my opinion, may find that they will have more problems to solve than the cost saving of having the inexperienced person. The other thing that I see, is that far too many job seekers take on positions like this – something they want to do, but have no experience and they take the job anyway – and then when they don’t perform, for lack of training, or competency, they are terminated. I talk to more people about being terminated than any other issue here at Interview Chatter. It is a dis-service to the organization and the people, to hire a person who you know does not have the experience, skills or abilities to do the job we pay them to do and then fire them when they do not perform. I would love to hear from managers on this issue.