Should I hire the highly skilled older woman or young go-getter?

This article first appeared on August 4, 2010.

Dear Aunty B,

Help! I am in the unbelievable and enviable position of having two great candidates for one job in my management team and I can’t decide who to hire. One is a woman (late 40s), who is highly skilled, has done the position I need filled in another company with excellent results, is very familiar with our industry and is very professional. The other candidate is 35-years-old and is a real go getter. His references are excellent but this job would be a step up for him and he has not worked in our industry. He is, however, a whiz at IT.  Help me Aunty B!

Torn,

Vic

Dear Torn,

I am pondering your question and the first thought that came to mind is this: Where are you in your growth cycle? Are you consolidating? Are you emerging from a turn-around? Are you recovering from a tough few years? Or are you in growth mode and seeking to grow faster?

And then I thought, what the hell. It makes no difference. In each of those situations, I would still go with highly skilled woman who has a great track record and experience in your industry. She is less of a risk than the go-getter (actually that gets a big tick.) But she also has knowledge of your industry, which is hugely important.

Imagine six months time. You have hired the woman and every day you think: “Phew. She’ll take care of that. She’ll  know what to do. She’ll know who to call.” She will hit the ground running and you, my friend, will pat yourself on the back as you go off to work on strategy.

And if you hire the young bloke? You would have moments of rejoicing in his fresh, aggressive approach but other times you would be left cringing at the gaps in his knowledge, uncertain whether he is making the right calls and wondering why you have to spend so much time keeping an eye on things when you should be working on strategy.

Of course there is a third option: you could hire both. Have a look at your senior team. Is there any way you can jiggle things about to get both of them in the door?

Good luck,

Your Aunty B

Aunty B is kicking back on holiday, but her advice is timeless, as evidenced by this Aunty B classic from August 2010. To read more Aunty B advice, click here.

Email your questions, problems and issues to  auntyb@smartcompany.com.au.