By Simon Hopes,

When hiring for your startup, it will be tempting to hire the most experienced person you can find for the position simply because conventional wisdom suggests this is the best option. However, this might not always be the case for a budding new company with aspirations of growth. Some positions will require a certain level of prior experience, but a lot of things can be taught on the job these days.  The ease and accessibility of a wide range of learning resources means that you can take on someone with raw attributes who may be lacking knowledge and help them achieve their potential. Here are a number of reasons why this is.

Type of experience is important

It’s important to consider the type of experience someone has rather than simply the number of years. Someone who has spent 10 years doing the same thing might struggle to adapt to a new positions, whereas someone who has done something different every year for 5 years could be a better fit for your company even if their skills are not quite as good a match. Finding the right kind of fit is arguably the most important factor of all.

Think about cultural fit

Many experts in the recruitment sector and wider business world are beginning to highlight the importance of finding staff who fit your company’s culture as being one of the most important than finding someone who fits skill specifications of a job description. A candidate without the right experience can grow into the role, but it’s unlikely that anyone, regardless of how much experience they have, will be able to change their personality to fit in with a company culture at odds with their style of working.

Startup expert, and founder of Rapid Formations, Graeme Donnelly said that “The personality of the person we’re bringing in is a huge factor. When you are working with someone every day, it’s important to get on well. I give equal weight to personality and skills every time we hire.”

Enthusiasm is a major asset

Someone who is less proven in their field, a new graduate for instance, will often be more eager to prove their worth to the company than someone with years of experience. With those who have been in the industry for many years, there is a possibility of issues with ego rearing their head.

In most cases, a fresh faced employee will push themselves harder to prove that you haven’t made a mistake in giving them an opportunity. Furthermore, their fresh eyes may be put forward some innovative ideas which wouldn’t have occurred to you as you are more set in your ways.

It’s much easier than luring top talent

As a new company, you’re probably on a tight budget. Trying to convince the top talent in your field to join you, rather than established companies, is very difficult. You don’t have money to throw around, and you can’t necessarily guarantee job security until you see how the business works out.

For this reason, hiring those without experience is an excellent way forward – there are lots of new graduates who have developed top skills during the studies and are eager to use them. They may need a little coaching in the specifics applying to your industry, but don’t dismiss them on that basis because with the right guidance these will be the top talent of the future, and you can get them now.