Should You Hire for Potential? 6 Scenarios Where the Risks Are Too High

In previous posts, we discussed hiring candidates who lack certain hard skills. We explained why companies do it and the risks they face.

Here, we’ll cover six situations where these risks are particularly high.

Scenario 1: A Significant Skills Gap

No one would obviously hire a Python developer with zero coding experience in Python. Similarly, making exceptions for hard skills is almost unimaginable in research-heavy R&D roles requiring expertise and a strong academic background.

However, exceptions do exist.

“When Golang wasn’t as popular as it is now, employers were willing to hire candidates with no prior experience and train them on the job. Experienced developers could relatively easily pick up Go after working with other backend languages,” recalls Ekaterina Veselkina, IT recruitment lead at NEWHR.

Scenario 2: A Demanding Team

Sometimes the team itself is highly skilled and has high expectations of new members. A candidate who falls behind their peers may struggle to fit in. Such teams might even refuse to collaborate with the new hire, disrupting their ability to work effectively.

Scenario 3: No Resources for Training

Developing hard skills requires mentors and hands-on practice. It’s crucial to ensure the team can train the new hire to the required level.

Scenario 4: High Stakes for Errors

Newcomers often make mistakes. If those mistakes could lead to huge losses or data breaches, it’s better not to overlook hard skill gaps. This is especially true in fields like finance, cybersecurity, and other high-stakes industries.

Scenario 5: A Critical Need for Hard Skills

If the company is currently in dire need of specific hard skills, hiring someone with gaps may not be appropriate.

Scenario 6: An Imbalanced Team

If one team member lacks the required hard skills, others must compensate. A team full of “promising” hires without sufficient competencies is unlikely to benefit the business.

However, a candidate lacking hard skills might still offer unique value to the team. Oksana Prutyanova, analysts & data scientists recruitment lead at NEWHR, shares this case:

“The company had a team of strong analysts, but it lacked someone who could effectively communicate and negotiate with the business team.

We suggested the client consider candidates with diverse profiles: those with strong technical skills and those with excellent business sense.

Ultimately, the company hired a more ‘business-oriented’ analyst. This person was able to successfully push the team’s analytical projects through the business side.”

💙 NEWHR Recruiting Agency: We help find top tech talent in Europe, the US and elsewhere. Submit a request on our website or write us at contact@new.hr