SORRY, THEY HAD INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

How important is it to have specific industry sector experience when you’re looking for a new job or hiring – is it really a must have these days?

With uncertainty still out there in many sectors, some organisations can be risk adverse when it comes to their hiring decisions. With budgets tight and a general cautiousness, companies are displaying increased scrutiny with regards to whom they hire. Experience has shown us that in many instances, candidates are rejected on the basis that they don’t have enough specific sector experience. With the general anxiety around hiring, employers are looking for skilled individuals who can add immediate value and deliver ROI.

Whatever industry sector you work in, a potential employer will want to be sure that you understand their client / customer groups and will therefore view sector experience as a good sign that you’re in tune with these needs. This old school way of thinking is particularly inherent within Financial Services, Telecoms, Retail and FMCG sectors, where employers are keen for new hires to hit the ground running. Often, with many skilled candidates all vying for the same job, employers have the luxury of picking from a wealth of talent to find just the right combination of skills and experience they’re looking for. If you’ve delivered impressive results in a certain sector, there will be confidence from the employer that they can replicate this success again within the same/similar area of industry.

Playing it safe, are we all just risk averse?

By playing it safe and only recruiting within their specific industry sector, some employers are hampering development, inspiration and opportunities across their entire business. Fear of the ‘outsider’ could prove a mistake and mean that employers are losing out on highly motivated, skilled and valuable talent. Cross sector recruiting can bring with it fresh perspectives and innovation, helping teams to grow in their knowledge, expertise and outlook.

By remaining risk averse in their hiring strategy and attempting to employ failure-proof candidates, they may be stifling their own “talent pool” and restricting the scope of skills. In addition, candidates can be left feeling frustrated at their inability to shift into new roles and diversify their experience, these candidates can then begin to feel restricted and pigeonholed by their previous experience.

The benefits of looking outside your sector – build or buy?
www.theacquiregroup.com.au/promote-or- hire

New ideas and fresh perspectives are of great value and importance. Candidates with other sector experience can often inject a well-needed boost of creativity and offer a new way of thinking around problem solving and new business strategy. In addition, they may be more malleable and flexible in their approach. Employers can often train and shape these candidates so they best fit the needs of the business, rather than the candidate arriving already set in their ways.

It’s my view that in difficult trading conditions, businesses need to innovate, grow and adapt in order to survive rather than simply sticking to what they know. To truly harness the skills of talented professionals and encourage real development employers need to be more open – minded. By adopting a less blinkered approach to sector experience, companies may find that an industry outsider can actually be a breath of fresh air not only into their team but also across the wider business.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It’s an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms.” Colin Powell

At Acquire we are both trusted advisors as well as recruitment partners, we are often able to educate our candidates and clients that sector experience is not a critical requirement. Undertaking a process to look only within the sector will minimise your talent pool and more likely have the outcome of higher rates and limited skill. Our extensive network allows us to identify suitable individuals who have the required skill set or experience without coming from the relevant sector that can deliver!  We have a strong track record of successfully transitioning candidates into different sectors and do believe this is of great value to our communities and clients we support.

We welcome and encourage the recent trend of clients recognising the value of expertise from other sectors. Some of the benefits in doing so include:

• Bring a more thorough/complex project execution model (i.e. from those sectors with more mature capability).
• Bring a different way of thinking into the organisation.
• Increase capability in your organisation by recognising a skills gap.
• Improve and evolve company culture.

What are your transferable skills?

Assessing your own experience, in order to work how you can fill gaps in the sectors you want to move into, is an essential exercise if you want to stand out from the crowd. I genuinely believe that you really don’t just have to apply for jobs you can demonstrate direct experience in. The job market has changed and you should no longer be expected to remain in the same role with the same employer for the whole of your career.

If you fancy a change of direction, identifying transferable skills can help you to move across job titles and into new industry sectors. Your CV should present your experience in a way that  is directly applicable to the job you’re looking for. So, if you’re seeking a career change move away from a chronological CV and instead lead with bullet points highlighting relevant core skills and achievements, remember it’s all about ROI! Everyone has transferable skills of great use to employers in different industry sectors that are facing talent shortages and skills gaps. Think about the successes you achieved in your previous roles. How were these achieved, what steps did you undertake to reach your goals and how did you implement these?

How did you problem solve and overcome challenges that arose during the process?

What personal qualities played a part in you reaching these achievements?

Were these successes as part of a team, if so, how did you get everyone on board, supporting and motivating them to share the common goal?

Deep breath and chin up….the world is your oyster!

Walt Disney the founder of The Walt Disney Company started out as a newspaper editor, but was apparently fired because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After his performance in American Graffiti, Harrison Ford gave up acting for the financial stability of carpentry. That is, until George Lucas came calling about a little movie called & Star Wars.

Interested in navigating cross industry career moves, or hiring the best top talent? CLICK HERE