A long time ago, I heard something that has stuck
with me ever since. It was about someone who had 20 years experience–one year,
repeated 20 times. As a manager who has hired a lot of people, I could so relate
to that as being generally true. And those ads that require a certain volume of
time of experience, are missing out on a lot of potential, because potential
exists in everyone, regardless of experience.

 

A little experience can be helpful, and a lot can
also be a detriment. I know that in the auto business, I generally had an
aversion to hiring people with car business experience because in my own hiring
experience, I found it harder to untrain their previous experience in order to
instill what I wanted. It was easier, and more effective at the same time, to
hire people with no experience at all. Maybe a better way to state it is, “we
are looking for a few people who have a desire to learn and a passion to serve.
We will help with the rest!”