
In my nearly three decades of work (some positions which required me to do the hiring and firing) I have repeatedly seen candidates hired simply because they had experience with a certain software or office tool, but lacked other big-picture skill sets. I have also repeatedly seen these hires fail.
We are all aware that the job market is excruciatingly competitive these days, and a new hire is a critical investment. It is tempting to hire the candidate who implies the least amount of up-front training, but it might be better for your organization to engage a bigger-picture strategy. As your business grows, your needs will change—and ambitious thinkers and gifted motivators or leaders will likely serve your organization better in the long-run.
There are loads of good articles on how to find the perfect hire. Some might even contradict my musings above. Erica Benton has written a nice article on 5-steps to hiring you can find here. And Redfish’s blog has a very keen article with some further suggestions here.