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In this apparent age of ageism, many employers mistakenly prioritize hiring younger applicants. Their reasons might seem valid.
For instance in cultural concerns, they misguidedly believe they need people who can better relate to young workers. Or they might want to save on health insurance costs.
But whether you’re a young entrepreneur or a seasoned veteran, you’ll find advantages and profit in hiring employees with a rich background of experiences.
You can actually turbo charge your benefits by recruiting well.
It’s not only about benefiting from hiring a high-performing employee.
You might need a bench coach – someone seasoned enough to help you to motivate and educate your workers — or someone who can serve as a mentor to you.
Any extra expense in healthcare insurance will be more than offset by the value of experienced older workers.
You’ll also find such a candidate who will work just as hard or harder than you. And they’ll be appreciative for the opportunity to serve.
So don’t overlook a candidate over 40 years of age.
To hire for such exceptionalism, here are seven insights:
1. Negotiate pay as an adventure
With a wealth of experience, a person 40+ usually has remained unemployed because they’re mistakenly perceived as being over-qualified when they’ve applied for jobs.
So they cringe when asked to disclose their pay history.
If they’re long-term unemployed, chances are their credit ratings have suffered. Don’t automatically hold their financial situations against them.
Be prepared to negotiate salary and benefits. If what you pay is insufficient to meet their needs, remember they can always moonlight without hurting their performance for you.
Better yet, you can discourage moonlighting and encourage strong performances by offering performance-based bonuses.
2. Consider a prospect who obviously dumbs down the resume
Many candidates who have a wide breath of experience dumb down their resumes so they don’t look over-qualified.
They also know that employers mistakenly assume an older employee doesn’t have relevant skills.
So they try not to appear over-qualified.
“I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.”
-Leo Lacocca
3. Consider older entrepreneurs
While it’s true most entrepreneurs are mavericks, such independent-minded workers are often pressured into entrepreneurship because they can’t find a job.
It isn’t always true that an older worker can’t fit in your culture. Chances are that such a candidate knows how to fit in and be a high performer.
4. Scope out the self-employed on LinkedIn
Many LinkedIn members, who are self-employed, might be ideal candidates for you.
5. Prospect for employees who have more experience than you
A seasoned performer often has more relevant experience than you or your employees.
To use a Hollywood metaphor, they’re like an experienced director who has already seen all the movies. They’ve learned valuable lessons.
They more readily see opportunities and pitfalls. They provide valuable insights that you otherwise might overlook.
So put them in a director’s chair.
6. Leverage their hunger
A smart, experienced worker – suffering from unemployment, quite often is hungry – hungry to prove themselves.
Even if their skills need updating, they’re more malleable because they have strong incentives to keep their jobs and succeed.
Older persons with families are well-motivated to feed the family, which helps to account for their aggressive behavior to outperform.
8. Leave your ego at home
Sad but true, some employers are threatened by a candidate with a rich background of experience and success.
So forget your ego, and hire a person with strong qualifications.
You’re more likely to find more time to spend with your family or on the golf course to make new sales.
From the Coach’s Corner, related management tips:
Millennial Manager: Earn Respect, Get Results with 6 Tips — It can be tough to manage baby boomers. Not because they’re difficult workers. Your learning has just begun. Remember a lot of baby boomers know they have more experience than you; perhaps even in management. Maybe even in your job.
Human Resources – Slow Motion Gets You There Faster — Hoagy Carmichael’s phrase, “Slow motion gets you there faster,” is apropos in hiring the best workers for high performance. Here’s why and how to do it.
Risk Management in Hiring: Pre-Employment Screening Tips — Here are two questions about hiring: 1) what’s the biggest mistake companies make in hiring employees; and 2) what’s the biggest legal obstacle employers face in hiring? Here’s what to do about background screening.
HR Management: Think Like a Sales Pro to Recruit the Best Talent — One-size-fits-all approach to recruiting employees is not a strategy. You and your peers in human resources might be enamored with technology, but job candidates want more focus on the personal touch. That necessitates thinking like a sales professional.
13 Management Tips to Solve Employee Absenteeism — Absenteeism causes migraines for a lot of bosses. Obviously, your company will make healthier profits, if you don’t have an absenteeism problem.
“I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.”
-Leo Lacocca
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