Dive Brief:
- Startup tech firm JumpCrew is recruiting people with little to no previous sales experience to work as sales professionals, Fast Company reports.
- According to co-founder David Patcher, the company could not afford to hire many experienced salespersons after its initial launch, so it focused instead on hiring workers talented enough to pick up the necessary skills. Eventually, Patcher said, those with no prior experience began outperforming their more seasoned peers.
- Since then, JumpCrew's recruiting focus has been on hiring fresh talent and then doubling employee training efforts. The company focuses on hiring people who are coachable and collaborative by nature: Being a team player is a plus. Each employee has 90-days to ramp up his or her sales skills on the job, but it usually takes half that time.
Dive Insight:
It's become clearer that companies need to focus efforts to hire people who are go-getters, even if they don't necessarily have the exact experience to match a given job description. Sales positions often involve soft skills and communication, which can be learned on the job.
More technical companies are turning to ways to train people, rather than hire those who have developed poor skillsets. Entry-level hiring is up now, and for good reason. This is useful in a market where tech skills are hard to come by.
Employers can develop their own entry-level training programs to teach the skills relevant to key job types. While it may be a gamble, it can also be a way to promote performance in new hires who are eager to prove themselves.
