Hire Talent, Not Just Skills
A skill is a learned competence. With enough training, almost anyone can be taught a particular skill. Talent, however, is much more rare. A talent, reflecting its etymological roots, is a gift. We use it in the sense of "a person who has a gift for xxx." Those are the people you should be looking to hire, whatever their skills.
With enough training, I could be taught to be a skilled salesman, but I never will have a talent for selling. Many people can read an income statement, but very few have the talent to use an income statement to identify great investment opportunities. I'm sure you know more people with good verbal communication skills than you know people who have a talent for talking to people and getting them fired up to do something. Skills are learned; talent is a natural aptitude.
Top employees are always in short supply. You can gain a competitive advantage by latching on to top prospects. To do this "Hire Talent, Not Skill."
I am impressed by your phrase “Hire Talent, Not Skill.”
I really appreciate your advice, but how to identify one’s talents?
I can’t disagree more. Many times when you go for an interview, the question is your skill set and not what you can bring to the company. I can vividly remember my first interview where an interviewer ask if I have done eCommerce – it was then the flavour of the year and not many companies were doing it. The answer ‘no’ showed me the passage to the door – exit
This really resonated with me. The skills can help meet the short & medium term while the talent is what enables the person to grow to higher levels. Great statement.
As a small business operator who is faced with having to cut costs and lay off staff, the distinction of the 2 helps me decide which staff person to keep or let go. It also prompts me to sort through my own abilities – skills vs. talents, in the effort of deciding how best to use myself. Thanks for this advise. It’s very useful.
How can we identify them? Don’t we need pick them up whenever spotted than wait for the position to be vacant?
Agreed! Though skill is important, it simply identifies one’s ability to perform a specific task. Endemic to business cultural norms, we teach employees to expect that technical aptitude and tenure are the measurements for the next rung up the ladder. It is little wonder that ambitious employees are disappointed when the “talent” wins a coveted promotion over skills. The business advantage goes to hiring talent first, vision, perceptive and then skills. For me, talent is the product; “skill” is a fringe benefit that comes with the package.