“Too Much Experience”? Not So Fast.
Clients sometimes tell me that a candidate I’ve referred “has too much experience.” This is a classic euphemism for any or all of the following:
- Too expensive
- Too old
- Too tired
- Too slow
- Will probably retire soon
- Will be a legal nightmare to fire if they don’t perform well
Setting aside for the moment the fact that age bias in employment—including hiring—is illegal, it’s a mistake to dismiss those with “too much experience” outright.
Seasoned professionals have usually seen and done more than greener candidates. They often get up to speed extraordinarily quickly and start making terrific contributions right out of the gate. And, yes, they tend to command higher rates, but the ROI often justifies those.
It’s also important to remember that no candidate, regardless of age, is guaranteed to stay with your company for any length of time. Retention depends on a variety of factors and circumstances. And should a termination ever become necessary, you don’t need to worry about running afoul of the law if you stick to business reasons for your decision.
“Too experienced” may in fact be just what you need if you’re looking for:
- Better results (e.g., revenue, profit, market share)
- Someone who can hit the ground running and deliver those results sooner rather than later
- A leader, coach and mentor for others in your company
Instead of their sum total of experience, look at a person’s history of superior results in contexts similar to yours. Look for creativity, a thoughtful point of view regarding their work, and their ideas about how they would contribute. Just give them 30 minutes or so and see what they have to say. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Oh, and energy? One of the best salespeople Applied Materials ever employed joined the company when he was 58 years old. He inherited a $5M customer and grew our business with that customer by $250M over six short years. And he had more energy and drive than people half his age.