Why you should consider Candidates from outside your Industry: Blog

Why you should consider Candidates from outside your Industry

{by John Smith Partner at Kellen James}

Many organizations unnecessarily handicap themselves by subscribing to the time honored conventional wisdom of, “we must get someone with x years of industry experience”.  When recruiting for a new or vacant role, many managers fail to focus on the key attributes or skill sets necessary for success, instead they focus on intangibles or generalized characteristics (i.e., high energy, self-motivated, plug-and-play, etc.). When asked what their ideal candidate would look like, many hiring managers respond with statements like, “I would love to get someone from XYZ Company.” The assumption is that industry experience = guaranteed success.

The problem with this tactic is that at some point you begin to recycle candidates as no one is willing to hire from outside their defined universe. Each day we encounter this issue. We try to shift the focus away from generalities and assumptions and zero in on the key attributes that will make a candidate successful in their organization. Typically these skills are not unique to one industry or market. We work with managers to identify the key elements of the role. What do they expect the candidate to accomplish in their first year? Then working backwards we begin to identify the key attributes or skills necessary to accomplish these goals. Only then do we focus on prior background and experience. Managers that allow themselves to think outside the box are not only securing some of the best talent for their organizations, their departments are enjoying higher success rates in the process.

Recently I represented a candidate who was interested in investigating opportunities outside of their current industry. They had been with their current employer for a number of years and were the Top Sales Rep in the company. They were not being forced to make a change and were in no way dissatisfied with their current employer. This candidate had been in their current industry for a number of years. Their territory consisted of one major metropolitan area. They were compensated by a 100% commission plan and were making over $200k annually. Most of this was from renewals. I submitted this candidate to several clients in a completely different industry. Most declined to speak with them saying “They won’t be able to sell in our market”, or “I need someone who can hit the ground running. Perhaps I’d speak to them for a less critical role in the future.”

 I did have one client who agreed to an interview. My client informed me that there were several finalists for the role and that the other finalist had industry experience. During the interview process each candidate met with seven different Managers. My candidate was the only one that all seven were equally impressed with. My candidate was offered and accepted the job.

I followed up with the client after several months to see how things were going. VERY GOOD I was told. They informed me the candidate had made two sales towards a $2M first year quota. One sale was for $1.6M the other for $1.4M! The candidate managed to exceed plan in their first quarter on the job in an industry they knew nothing about.

This example is not unique. Time and time again Companies are missing out on acquiring Top Talent by not thinking outside the box. So, the next time you have a vacancy to fill, look beyond the boundaries of your defined universe. You’ll be amazed at the Talent that exists.