We see it all the time.  Whether it’s in the newspaper, on the internet, or in a person-to-person exchange, the requirements for a new employee always include some number of years, often in terms of specific industry or professional field, experience.  “X years experience in fast-paced, high-production office,  environment/sales/manufacturing/field work required.”

As an employer, what do you do when you get no takers, or only those with fewer than X years experience?  Or, how do workers with less experience ever get those years if employers all want some threshold number of years of experience before they are even considered?

The real question turns on the validity of “years of experience” as a measurement of a candidate’s ability to jump in and begin adding real value at the earliest possible moment.  It may be a reflection of the thought, “Well, the more experience, the more likely an employee won’t need any additional training to properly handle something that comes up.”  The employer’s goal in requiring experience is reducing the costs of initial and follow-up training.

But mere calendar years of being employed in a particular industry, field, or position may be a poor metric to use as an initial screening criterion for candidates to fill a position you need to keep your business going well.  What you, the employer, want is a worker who needs the least amount of input (cost) to get the maximum amount of output, particularly over the first weeks and months of having him or her on your payroll.  So, other than requiring some minimum (and sometimes arbitrary) amount of work experience, what can you examine or require?

One useful approach to evaluating a candidate’s readiness to contribute is what’s called the golden triangle of education, experience, and interest.  An entry-level worker may have a very small “experience” side of the triangle, but with sufficient education (or training) and interest in a position, the risk and cost for an employer is still low.  In another way, a worker with a whole lot of experience, but with little education (or training) and also little interest has little to offer an employer regarding a long-term relationship or an ability (perhaps desire) to contribute soon after hitting the ground.  Of course, there are jobs where interest or experience can’t compensate for little education or training--such as professions requiring licenses or certifications.

So what’s an employer to do?  Simply, consider carefully what it is that you need as characteristics in the person who is going to fill your position.  Try to avoid the mental short circuit of simply requiring “X years of experience” as a way to get yourself out of training, educating, and orienting a new employee.  After all, those years of experience might be in a company that does things all wrong and you have to fix it anyway!

Remember the golden triangle of education, experience, and interest.  It’s a way you can find terrific talent in an entry-level candidate, a career-switcher, or someone with rich--though short--experiences who can add value to your company right after hearing the words, “You’re hired!”

                                                                                                                             - Rich Virgilio, SPHR, Guest Author

Rich Virgilio, SPHR is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources and is owner and Principal Consultant of Intrepid HR Consulting in Batavia.  He can be reached at intrepid-hr@sbcglobal.net or at 630-879-2155.