Hiring for Passion or Experience?

Hiring for Passion

I was speaking with an employer last week, and hearing that their success in hiring was less than stellar. The people they hired had done well in the interview process, however, once in the job their performance was often a disappointment. For most hiring managers, knowledge and training are generally the areas that are considered most important. Maybe it's time for a change.

Most peoplehire based on experience rather than passion. Many hiring managers use task and experience related job descriptions when recruiting. While skills and experience are important and certainly should be considered, hiring for talent and passion will give you a far greater employee success rate. You can teach a skill, but you cannot teach passion and talent.People do their best when they are doing things that they naturally do well and truly enjoy doing.

However, you need to understand what passions are important in the job. So, let's assume that you are a winery looking for tasting room staff, and your leading candidate is passionate about good wine! A perfect fit? Not so fast... The tasting room job isn't just about wine; it's about sales and hospitality. Is your candidate passionate about sales amd customer service? I recently watched a server at a wine bar have a long and passionate discussion about wine with one group, while the rest of the room sat around with empty glasses. I guarantee she was hired because of her passion for wine, when the job was really about customer service.

Of course, passion and experience are not mutually exclusive. Someone who has a long history of success and is still passionate about what they do, is of course your ideal candidate! However, if you have to chose between hiring someone who is passionate about what they do versus someone who has years of experience, I would choose passion every time.

So be sure to ask each of your candidates "What do you really love to do? What are you absolutely passionate about?" And make sure you listen to the answer...

- Margie

Looking for passionate employees? Post jobs or check out our resume database, chock full of great candidates who are passionate about the wine & hospitality industry. In fact, I think you'll like it so much I'll give you 10 days free resume access with any paid job posting. Call me at 707-319-2500 or email me. (Sorry, this offer not available to outside recruiters).

Connect with me on WineAndHospitalityNetwork.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare or GoogleBuzz!