When you envision your ideal candidate, are you picturing someone who can step into your open position, start contributing immediately, and occupy this role into the indefinite future? Or are you picturing a candidate who will hold this role only long enough to gain the experience and exposure she needs to reach the next level? In other words, are you looking for skilled candidates who can meet your immediate needs, or are you hiring for traits that bring greater returns in the future than they will in the present? Here are a few traits to look for in each case.

Hiring for Immediate Need

If you need a candidate who can step directly into a skilled position and contribute high returns right away, you’ll need someone who already possesses expensive certifications, training and experience that can take years to obtain. On the positive side, these qualifications can be easy to measure, easy to test, and easy to state on a resume. Either the candidate has them or she doesn’t. On the negative side, a well prepared candidate comes with a high salary premium. If you hire an untrained, high potential prospect, you can pay a discounted salary and provide the necessary training at your own expense and under your own aegis.

Hiring For Long Term Growth Potential

As mentioned above, hiring for long term potential places training costs and risk in the employers hands. But these things also become the employer’s responsibility, and if the candidate fails to live out her potential, the cost of the failure falls entirely onto the employer. A high potential candidate has skills and qualifications that can be difficult to measure.

For example, an immediate need candidate holds a degree, a state license, and four years of relevant experience. A high potential candidate holds none of these things, but her personality traits and non-relevant track record suggest that she’s smart and driven and she’ll gather these credentials in due time. Measuring certifications is easy. Measuring intelligence and drive can subjective and complex. Before you pursue this route, review data that show a clear link between the personality traits you’re targeting and success with this position over the long term.

For more information that can help you determine which hiring strategy will better meet your needs, contact the staffing experts at Merritt.