Editor’s Note: As I wind down my stint as Editor of TLNT — yes, I’m leaving in the next few months — I wanted to share some of my favorite TLNT posts. Here’s one from Oct. 11, 2013.
I’ve hired and managed a lot of people, and I always considered the experience of the candidate when making hiring decisions.
I have also been on the other side of the table and been turned down for jobs because I didn’t have the RIGHT kind of experience.
So, the importance of experience in the hiring game is something I know a little bit about.
That’s why it troubles me when I read a quote from a CEO — in The New York Times, of all places — claiming that “experience is overrated,” because I think that’s a terribly simplistic way of evaluating people when you’re looking to add someone to your workforce mix.
“Characteristics” are “far more important” than experience
Jeff Fluhr, is the current chief executive of Spreecast (a website that says it “connects you with people through video conversation”) and the former CEO of StubHub, the online ticket marketplace now owned by eBay.