Hiring for Attitude or Experience: The Answer is Clear

by Phil Gerbyshak on September 26th, 2008

After nearly 2 weeks, and 25 comments, and asking all you smart people what you would hire for, Attitude or Experience, here’s what I learned from you:

Experience wins…

If you’re hiring for a specific skill set, like a doctor, or a computer programmer.

If you’re hiring for something short term (though this can and often is contracted out)

Attitude wins…

If you’re hiring for something more general.

If you’re willing to take the time to train someone in the role.

Though some said…

It’s hard to interview for attitude.

Attitude is important…after you’ve narrowed your list to the final 2 or or 3 candidates.

A combination of the experience and attitude is what’s important!

You need to add a liberal amount of APTITUDE!

Talent is what’s important.

In the end, the answer is clear (as mud):

Attitude or Experience: It’s up to YOU to decide what to hire for. If you’re CLEAR on what you are interviewing for, if you can MEASURE what you are interviewing for, if you can ASK the right questions, then it’s up to YOU!

Any questions?

Thanks to these smart commenters for sharing their insights:

Eric D. Brown
CK
Skip Reardon
Sid Savara
Greg
Corinne
David
Tish Berge
Mike King
TomR
Miki
Susie
RD
Darth Sidious
Darlene
Bob
troy worman

Mud image courtesy of burge5000.

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Chad
Sep 26, 2008 at 6:30 am

Hey Phil,

Great post idea.

Personally I think the experience will get them in the door and the attitude will seal the deal!
Tim Brennan
Sep 26, 2008 at 5:24 pm

I agree with you that when you depend on the traditional hiring system for selection of talent for your business it can be as clear as mud. 70-80% of the workforce in North America is at some leve disengaged in their work and this is costing the economy billions$$. This was created in part by the traditional Hiring system. Checkout some videos at youtube.com/HiringSmart of companies that say resumes are B.S. and found another way.
Tim
Rod
Sep 27, 2008 at 8:48 am

I agree that we need to hire wisely. Hiring is easy, its the firing that is hard.
Corinne
Sep 27, 2008 at 11:03 pm

How about using instinct as well. A quality I do not have, so I would introduce the canditate to someone whose instincts I trusted and watch for their reaction.
Why is firing hard? I refer again to Paul Ritchies Blog on the “worst management advice ever”, I quote “The “KGB way” is used as the lazy manager’s substitute for detecting, analyzing, and correcting exceptions and opportunities.” I wish I could find someone who could tell me where I could learn to do a “root analysis” and how to choose a management course.
Donnie Darko Lives
Sep 28, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Experience can be acquired, it is a function of time and resources. Attitude is what you DO with that time and those resources.

I agree if your corporation cannot afford the time and resources to train into the position, experience becomes paramount. However, I believe that also is more a statement than a question about your corporation and its management, than the candidate.

Attitude gets you out of bed in the morning, it is the nuance between “doing your job” and “enjoying what you do”. I believe the latter determines whether the individual will be with your company for 1-3 years, and later realize they could take all that “experience” and walk out the door OR “grab the position by the horns and tame the bull”. Likewise, a poor attitude can provide you years of experience, but a lifetime of stagnancy and complacency. A poor attitude can keep you hostage to a position, even long after you have reached your “sell by date”–and that doesn’t sound like a very good “human resource”.

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