Hire Youngsters or Old Folks?

judsonvoss1

Before I get sued I am just kidding about the terminology...
 
What are your opinions about the type of experience to hire for a startup.  One arguement would be bring in someone with a lot of experience in the areas I am not experienced.  The other as I see it is hire someone that is green experience wise just out of school who has the enthusiasm to make it happen.
 
Any thoughts?
 

SunnyDays

I would always prefer to hire someone who has the experience - especially in areas I am not very advanced in . It could be someone who you will take on only as part time , a work at home Mom for example with just the experience you need or someone already retired on an hourly base.
Just my 2 cents

judsonvoss1

Greg,
 
Thanks, and for me to age doesn`t matter I was more interested in the experience level.  I think that is a very good point about the podcasting being so new.  Some parts of what we do is related to old media type business models so sometimes it seems like it would be good to have someone on my side that is experienced in that arena.  Like Sunny Days said I guess I could hire them on a consultative basis as needed.

judsonvoss1

I like that line of thought.  Sometimes in a startup you don`t need someone that can just follow the set procedures because there are a limited number of procedures.  I can see where that trait would be very helpful.
 
Thanks Steve.

judsonvoss1

Craig,
 
I was just using the old folks as a catchy title to get a conversation started.  I agree that this is true when it comes to age.  Don`t you think when it comes to experience that is a different situation?  If you have been doing a particular job for 20 years don`t you bring a set of experiences that are hard to shake?  That said I fully believe if you have been working as a sales rep for 25 years in industrial parts and are now taking on a new job in internet marketing I think age doesn`t matter I think you can bring a fresh approach to the new job.   I just don`t know that you would be able to bring a fresh approach to the old job.

teddiireed

Age is the one area where people can blatantly use as a bias. I`ve worked with young people who are excellent leaders and more experienced workers who have bright, innovative ideas. Why not interview people as people and make up your mind on the individual.

Mrbusiness

I have found that hiring older folks is just easier.  You have to deal with a few minor issues, but they have already been trained on other jobs therfor you can leverage their experiences.

SandraP

Great article Patti! One thing I have noticed working in Virtual Staffing is that while the generations have different work styles, there are good and not so good workers in all of them.
I think the most important thing is to get help with the tasks you aren`t good at and/or don`t like to do. Focus on your Core Competency and delegate the rest. You will find that it is less expensive to pay someone else to do what they are good at and this allows you to work on your passion!
 
~SandraP

ErinHattaway

When I was hired to work at my boss`s startup- the interviews were, well, a little odd!  I had to make spreadsheets, pretend to call an agent and pitch a book project, engage in a discussion then write a paragraph detailing the main points, and take detailed notes as the team made an action plan.  I was being hired to fill a lot of needed positions at the time (and now get to concentrate just on the book project!) so instead of assessing my experience (which was so/ so), they took a real look at my actual abilities.  How did I hold up under pressure?  Would I go with the flow of an odd interview or would I opt out?  It was their way of making sure I fit into the company culture.  A few months later I went through and helped hire someone else- the same way.  And she fits in great, as did I.  I think it`s less about the resume and more about what you can do, right then, to show you are qualified for the job.  Here`s a link to some findings I had when hiring.