Is Industry Experience Overrated?

More and more, companies seek employees who possess soft skills and people skills, as opposed to candidates with industry experience within a specific field. There are several reasons for this new hiring approach, and job seekers should take notice of this trend when they seek out a white-collar job at a firm.

Problem Solvers

Companies need problem solvers and people who can think independently. It's easier for a candidate to gain insights into an industry than it is for someone with industry experience to learn a set of problem-solving skills. Problem solvers typically emerge early in life during formative years and within an educational setting. On the other hand, it may take an intelligent prospect just a couple of weeks to learn industry jargon, trends facing a company and market potential for a firm's growth.

Candidates who listen to what's going on, process the information swiftly and come up with solutions are far more valuable to employers than someone who simply knows a lot of industry jargon and claims to have 20 years of industry experience. Beyond problem solving, a candidate needs to get to know the people to be successful.

People Skills

Chances are high that a candidate leveraged a network to find a job. In a survey published in April 2016, 71 percent of HR professionals said employee referrals were the best way to find a job candidate. Industry experience doesn't necessarily come into play when people leverage a network to earn a new position. Getting to know colleagues in their respective fields helps, but it doesn't take years of intense research to come up with a basic understanding of someone's niche. Great people skills gain trust, and trust points to other leadership qualities that any company needs to move forward from its current position.

Innovation

Problem solvers with people skills tend to see the larger picture. When firms hire people with industry experience, there might be a group-think mindset wherein too many individuals think alike on similar topics. This can stifle innovation because many people have the same opinions on the same concepts.

On the other hand, outsiders without any industry knowledge might hold the key to greater profits and more stable revenue streams as businesses add diversity to key departments. People with diverse backgrounds also bring fresh ideas to management that give firms an advantage over the competition.

Breaking the Mold

There are a few ways companies can break free of hiring too many people with standard industry knowledge. New hires can come from vastly different geographical, cultural, educational or demographical backgrounds than before. HR can focus on people who made different career choices from previous candidates. Instead of hiring people who say "yes" to everything because they have the same mindset as everyone else, firms should consider onboarding people who simply tell the truth and get the job done.

Traditionally, industry experience meant a lot when a prospect earned a white-collar job. However, there's too much competition from fast-moving startups that hire problem solvers, free thinkers and innovators with great people skills. Companies need people with these soft skills to grow; otherwise, newer firms may take the lead.

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