There is a first time for everything. That includes hiring someone
to do a job.
If you're lucky, you can find an employee who is well versed with
whatever type of task you want them to perform. However, there is often the
opportunity to hire an exceptional employee who doesn't have any experience
related to your business.
But is it crazy to hire someone without experience?
You might discover that training a new employee from "the
ground up" is the best way to get what you want out of that worker. In
other words, they're not going to be approaching the job with any bad habits or
preconceptions. They are a blank slate. And that can certainly work to your
advantage.
Here are five steps to consider when hiring an employee without
relevant experience:
Spell out what is expected.
Depending on the job, there might be a training manual or "to
do list" approach to the job. This should spell out specifically what is
required of that employee. If you need to, create a guide for an employee. It's
always better to travel with a map as opposed to just a destination.
Enhance the skillsets.
There is a reason that you're considering hiring a person without experience.
They've impressed you with their attitude, prior successes and possibly related
skillsets. It has often been said that a good sales person can sell anything.
Just because you're selling cars, but are hiring a top vacuum cleaner sales
person, doesn't mean you won't come out on top. Play to that person's strengths
and build on that.
Consider their complete resume.
Someone without a lot of experience on their resume could have other
areas where they have excelled. These unique experiences can indicate how
they'll perform on your team. For instance, a person who has spent a lot of
time doing charity work could be a natural fit for customer service. Someone
who was in the military will understand how to follow orders and have
discipline. When it comes to resumes, go deep!
Put them to the test.
Captain Kirk was famous for reprogramming a "no-win"
scenario test. He got a commendation for original thinking. You should try to
find a way to put your prospective hire to the same kind of test. This doesn't
mean building a starship simulator, but you can probably come up with a
challenging test to see how they might problem solve. The best result would
have them asking for help instead of trying to do something on their own and
failing.
Put them on probation.
You're taking a risk by hiring a new employee without experience.
They should know that up front. There is nothing wrong with putting that
employee on a probationary period. Just don't make it a double-secret
probation. They should know they are being watched and their job is on the
line.
