Some clients still hold fast to working with candidates within their industry, while progressive organisations understand that fresh skills and thinking can deliver high performance.
Most candidates like to move from one industry to the next, to continue learning and broadening their skill sets. This naturally lends itself to an employee who is someone that is hungry to achieve, ambitious, flexible and openminded to new challenges. It’s the perfect profile to add to your team.
It is important that both recruiters and employers can identify the transferable skills a candidate brings to the role, and for us to encourage employers to look beyond the obvious. It’s also important that any jobseeker can confidently speak about their abilities.
Here are four reasons why you should consider candidates from outside your usual network:
- Innovation – Candidates from other industries can bring innovations and best practices. Think of this as an insight into other businesses; other sectors often do things differently.
- New culture – your new staff member will affect the dynamic of the team anyway, but imagine if they are fresh, optimistic and energised by landing in a new industry. The immediate effect across the greater business and culture can be hugely positive. It can gently move a stale team to a re-invigorated way of working.
- Continuous improvement – a person from outside your industry will enter your organisation without legacy or pre-conceived ways of working. They may query a process and assist in creating changes and process improvements. Think efficiency and cost savings!
- Build your brand – by bringing on a new hire from outside your industry, you are sending a clear message to candidates and competitors while building your EVP at the same time. You’ll be known as a progressive organisation that is flexible, operating from a contemporary approach to the market and opportunities.
When you are next looking to recruit, try to look beyond industry experience and look for transferable skills – measure them against your key criteria, and add some fresh thinking to your team.
