hire talent - train skill

1. Looking for talent! –
relevant experience is a plus…
Looking to fill an important position in your organization? Have you thought about what exactly you are looking
for? For sure you have a whole list of requirements when it comes to the perfect candidate: level of education,
appropriate advanced training, years of experience, specific knowledge on corresponding processes or systems,
relevant industry experience, diverse language skills and last but not least a whole bunch of soft skills. Right?
And certainly you are looking for the perfect match - a profile that ticks all the boxes, a candidate that has seen
and done it all... Sure!
Let me help you out of this dream!
Today's search for the right candidate works differently. This is because the market is different and candidates
are as well. Good candidates have all choices. The world is getting smaller due to globalization. Good
candidates can work everywhere! And they will!
“Instead of coming up with an endless list of requirements
we should also look at what we can offer a candidate in order to achieve
a long-term work relationship.”
Organizations struggle with open positions that are hard to fill and with employees that leave the company after
only a few years. In a way these two issues have the same source. Companies tend to hire the candidate
that is the perfect fit today. They only look at what they are needing right now and try to find the one that
can fix it all tomorrow. This seems to be the perfect solution. BUT, what is the result?

2. The perfect candidate today is bored in his/her job in a year from now as there is no real possibility to grow and
to learn. Remember?: The perfect candidate knows it all and has done it already. So what's next?
Imagine you have to fill a position that you cannot find the perfect candidate for immediately. But you have a
candidate who might be a good match related to team fit, personality and potential. You think the candidate
would be able to learn what he/she needs to do within the coming months because you see some overlap. So
the candidate could be up to speed within a manageable period of time. Would you consider to hire him/her for
the position? Yes? Most hiring managers wouldn't! The reason is simple: they are afraid of taking the wrong
decision and being the one to blame if things really go wrong. Entrepreneurs in the contrary would. They are
used to taking risks in order to achieve more in the end.
Why more? Let's look at the scenario together again. The position is still open. All candidates you have seen are
not the perfect fit. So you decide to go on with your search well knowing that you have been putting quite some
effort in finding the right candidate already. And let's not talk about money and time that have been invested
so far. There could be several reasons for not finding the perfect match: maybe it is not the right time,
maybe the great candidates are not interested in the location of your company, maybe your job offer competes
with a lot of great other job openings in the market, maybe... The likelihood of this situation to change
dramatically within the next weeks is quite low, so waiting is not really a great solution!
What is the alternative? The alternative to waiting and not knowing if and when the situation will change is
taking action! Why waiting for the perfect candidate if you could work with a great potential candidate and train
him/her to be the perfect candidate in the future? You can use the waiting time effectively!

3. Let's look at the advantages of this solution:
 you hire a candidate with great potential for the future
 you invest into the development of your workforce thus into your company
 you can provide the candidate with a tailor-made training which will make him/her effective on a short-
term notice
 you can get started right away and will not be distracted anymore by the fact that you still have to fill
an open position
 you will not spend any more money for further searches or interim solutions
 you will be getting a lot of trust and dedication back from your candidate who is going to become a
loyal employee
 you will keep this candidate as an employee most probably a lot longer as a real development path is
provided
 you will be able to influence the growth and development of your employee the way you need it for the
progress of your company
So think twice before you dismiss all candidates that could be great potentials for the perfect fit in the future.
Prolonging the problem of filling a position is not always needed. Shift your mind! Take action and invest into
the future of your company!
“Hire potential - train skill!”
Source:
EclectiC blog on LinkedIn
by Stephanie Hain
November 13th, 2015