Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Blocking talent


As a recent entrant into the job market I have noticed an alarming trend - companies blocking talent from working for them. And I am writing this entry from the perspective of a slightly bitter job hunter, but also from a practical approach to running a company.

The main way companies shield themselves from talented individuals is with the "Industry Experience" requirement.

Now, in all fairness, there is some value in this argument. Often specific industries have intricacies and best practices that are handy to know. So having someone with this knowledge is of great advantage.

However, you are also limiting your potential hire to a very niche market. Imagine the possible intelligent, talented candidates that you are blocking by having this as one of your top criteria in your job search. Best practices and industry knowledge are something that can be picked up by an intelligent person. Intelligence and skills are tougher to teach. I'm just saying.

1 comment:

shaEina said...

It's very true!
Most companies believe that they can only work effectively if all the employees are in the office. Because by only this way can they monitor their staff's productivity.
But personally, I am into hiring someone from a lower income country because you can hire an expert complete with lots of experience who can be pretty happy on an average pay of $5 an hour. Depending on the job.
You have to know that it's still possible to monitor your employees' work even if they're million miles away from the office. You just have to hire someone on the job sites, not just on Workopolis, that have a time tracking software that can make that possibility of monitoring happen.