Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

Should You Hire Underqualified Job Candidates?

Every company wants the best and the brightest working for them, but hiring the best and the brightest isn’t always easy. Obviously, there is a lot of demand for top talent so being successful in recruiting these applicants is sometimes difficult, even impossible. That’s why recruiters and hiring managers should carefully consider hiring underqualified candidates.

Now, that may seem counterintuitive to driving the success of your business, but in many cases, these job candidates can prove just as fruitful as top talent, according to Recruiter.com.

They report that a Leadership IQ Study of 20,000 employees found that only 11% of new employees fail at their new job because of a lack of skills. The study proved that “new hire success was not dependent on qualifications but mainly down to the new hire’s: attitude, motivation, temperament, coach-ability and EQ.”

The sooner companies embrace this concept, the better. Recruiter.com references US Census Data that by 2020, about 40% of the workforce will be comprised of millennials. This means that recruiters and hiring managers may have to begin lowering their standards anyway. New hires will be lacking in skill and experience and will require more training.

However, this can literally pay off for companies. Recruiter.com points out that with less experience and minimal skills, companies will no longer have to pay top dollar for new hires. In salary negotiation talks, they will have the upper hand and be able to pay job candidates less, saving on costs with little impact on the success of the business.

Regardless of whether your company is hiring top talent or not, new hires are an investment. They require training on company policies, procedures and the daily tasks of their specific job. Putting the time and training into these employees will not only guarantee great workers regardless of their skill set but individuals who feel valued by the company and are in turn loyal.

Underqualified job candidates do not have to be counted as a loss to the business. They can have just as much of a significant impact on the success of the company as top talent. The key here lies in the hand of recruiters and hiring managers, rather than the candidates. It’s all about investing in the individuals hired in order to produce a team that acts in the best interest of the company and delivers proven results.

With time and resources, these new hires that were once deemed underqualified will become the rising stars in your company and the industry.

Would you hire underqualifed job candidates? Why or why not? Share now in our comments!

Kathryn Randolph

Kathryn is a freelance writer currently living in Chicago, Illinois. She holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and has five years experience writing for major job search and higher education websites. When she's not writing for the web, Kathryn is hanging out with her new baby girl, traveling, cooking, reading and running. She believes that the perfect job is out there for everyone and hopes to help Spark Hire job seekers discover their career passion and pursue it.

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