There are many reasons why employers should hire people who are overqualified and a “perfect fit” for the job. What most employers don’t realize is that this is a scenario which is set to fail. A recent post detailed on why many top executives leave their jobs, and it’s almost never about money.
The number one reason why hiring someone that doesn’t exactly fit the job description, but has the potential to do great things, is growth. Hiring should be a two-way street, if you want to be happy with what you are doing, you should never be a 100% fit into your role, at any time. If you are 100% fitting into your role, you have reached a tipping point.
The ideal hiring positions is to be in a position where you have personal and professional growth, but the position grows with you, something where the employee-employer combination is dynamic, and always moving. Smart people don’t want to be tied down, they want to be challenged.
Let’s take a look at why people leave:
Top talent leave an organization when they’re badly managed and the organization is confusing and uninspiring.
Three keywords here: management, organization, and inspiration.
Great hiring is almost a pun in itself. The words Great Fit are far from accurate. Cutting to the chase, the reasons for “hiring for growth”:
- Room for growth: Employees who are able to grow into their positions are always up for the challenge, they know they have landed the right job and won’t waste their personal time. They wouldn’t have taken the job if they didn’t want it, especially with the expectations that come with it. A new hire that “fits” the position very well, will have low expectations for themselves.
- Learning Opportunity: Simply put: capacity to learn, no bad habits to break, only good habits to learn.
- Fresh Ideas: Someone who has not been in the industry long will see their new industry in new dimensions. “Break the mold” etc..
If you want to hire great employees, hire the ones that set goals for themselves. Those who are ambitious, with the right attitude, and those who are always looking for the next challenge. Ever heard of the common saying “diamond in the rough”?
(Source: forbes.com)
