Inquire Within: How to Hire Inexperienced Staff

Job seekers, who are new to the game, often make the complaint that every job requires experience . . . and yet, one needs a job in the space, to acquire the requisite experience.  It’s a ‘Catch-22’ for them, for sure. 

 

But, it’s also no walk in the park for employers.  If a business owner wants to hire someone who lacks specific experience for the job, what exactly is the criteria one can use to judge between candidates?  You, quite literally, can’t know whether this person can do the job – until you give them the chance to do it. 

 

That all being said, there are some things that you can do, to suss out whether somebody, who’s effectively a noob, can work for you. 

 

One thing to look for is characteristics, or personality attributes.  These show up on traditional job postings, all the time.  This is when you’re trying to determine whether someone is a ‘self-starter’, or if they have the wherewithal necessary to ‘follow through’ on projects.  While not exactly experiential factors, these are attributes that are necessary for solid employees.  Drill down on this, and you can even list characteristics that are more specific to individual roles. 

 

If someone doesn’t have direct experience for a role, they may have analogous experience.  There are likely things that candidates have done in their lives and/or prior career, in a successful manner, that are related to some of the things they’ll need to do in your role.  Project management can be general or specific.  The ability to manage others shows up in all kinds of ways.  So, think about what specific undertakings this potential hire would need to engage in your workspace, and ask about whether they’ve done something similar in the past. 

 

In some cases, a job (like that of a lawyer *ahem*) requires a license to perform it; in other cases, it’s preferable to have a certificate (paralegal *ahem*).  That, at least, lets you know that somebody applying for your position: (1) showed the requisite fortitude to go out and get the necessary piece of paper; (2) has the training to do the job, at a minimum – which is not nothing.  It’s no guarantee, of course, but hiring a lawyer (for example) is a safer bet than hiring someone for a role that requires no level of training or certification at all. 

 

. . . 

 

In a service industry, like the law, growth requires hiring.  Let’s talk about how you do it right. 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate.

To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.