Should You Hire for Experience or Train the Right Person?

When you have an open position, it is easy to focus on finding someone who has already done the exact job you need. If you are hiring a heavy equipment technician, you may look for someone who has spent years working on heavy equipment. If you need an RV service technician, you may want someone who already has RV experience. If you are hiring a diesel mechanic, you may immediately pass over anyone whose background does not look like a perfect match.

Experience is valuable, and there are plenty of situations where it should be a major factor in your hiring decision. An experienced employee can often get up to speed faster, require less training, and bring knowledge that takes years to develop. But experience is not always the same thing as ability.

That is where employers can sometimes miss good candidates.

Does the Candidate Really Need the Exact Experience?

One of the first things to consider when hiring for skilled trades is whether the experience you are asking for is truly necessary or simply preferred.

A technician may not have worked on your exact equipment, but that does not mean they do not know how to troubleshoot a problem. Someone coming from heavy truck repair may already have strong diesel, electrical, mechanical, and diagnostic skills. A technician from automotive, powersports, marine, or another equipment industry may have a similar foundation that can transfer into the position you are trying to fill.

The equipment may be different, but the way a good technician approaches a problem can be very similar.

They know how to diagnose an issue instead of guessing. They understand how different systems work together. They know how to use tools and service information, and they have experience finding the cause of a problem instead of simply replacing parts.

Those skills are not easy to teach. The specific equipment, software, procedures, and systems your company uses usually are.

Some Experience Is Easier to Teach Than Others

When deciding whether to hire for experience or train the right person, it helps to look at what you can realistically teach after someone joins your team.

A new employee can learn your equipment, manufacturer-specific systems, diagnostic software, service procedures, paperwork, and the way your shop handles repairs. With the right training and support, those things can become familiar relatively quickly.

What can take much longer to develop is good technical judgment.

You cannot simply give someone a few weeks of training and expect them to suddenly have years of troubleshooting experience. You also cannot easily teach someone to care about the quality of their work, take ownership of a repair, or think through a difficult problem when the answer is not obvious.

That is why the strongest candidate is not always the person with the longest resume. Sometimes it is the person who already has the foundation you need and is willing to learn the rest.

Look Beyond the Job Title

Job titles can also make candidates look less qualified than they really are.

A technician may have spent most of their career working on heavy trucks, while your opening is for heavy equipment. Another candidate may have worked on boats and marine engines but has strong diesel and electrical experience. Someone else may have spent years working in automotive repair and developed excellent diagnostic skills.

If you only compare job titles, you may miss the connection. Instead, look at what the person actually did.

What systems have they worked on? How much troubleshooting have they handled? Have they diagnosed electrical or mechanical problems? Are they comfortable using diagnostic tools? Can they work independently? Have they dealt with complicated repairs where the problem was not immediately obvious?

Those questions can tell you much more about a technician's potential than a job title alone.

When Experience Really Matters

There are certainly positions where hiring an experienced person makes the most sense.

If you need someone who can walk into the shop or field service environment and work independently right away, you may not have the time to train someone who is completely new to the work. Some positions also involve complicated equipment, safety concerns, or customer-facing responsibilities that require a higher level of technical knowledge.

A senior field service technician is a good example. If that person is going to travel to a customer, diagnose a piece of equipment, determine what is wrong, and complete the repair with limited supervision, proven experience matters.

The important thing is making sure your experience requirement matches the actual needs of the position.

If the job truly requires someone who can independently diagnose complex equipment from day one, say that. If the person simply needs to learn a different equipment brand after being hired, that may be a much more flexible requirement.

When Training Can Be the Better Choice

Training the right person can make a lot of sense when experienced candidates are difficult to find or when the position has skills that can be learned on the job.

This does not mean lowering your standards. It means looking at candidates differently. Instead of asking whether someone has every qualification today, ask whether they have the foundation to become successful in the role.

A candidate with several years of related technical experience may need some training when they join your company, but they already understand the basics of mechanical repair, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and working with equipment.

That is very different from hiring someone with no relevant experience at all. It also gives employers a much larger candidate pool to work with.

Be Careful With the "Perfect Candidate"

It is understandable to want a candidate who checks every box. In a perfect world, you would find someone with the exact experience, certifications, equipment knowledge, and background you are looking for, and they would be available at exactly the right time.

The problem is that those candidates are not always easy to find.

The more requirements you add, the smaller your candidate pool becomes. You may end up rejecting people who could have been successful because they are missing one specific piece of experience that could have been taught.

At the same time, the search continues and the position remains open. This is where employers should take a closer look at which requirements are truly necessary and which ones are simply preferences.

A Simple Way to Evaluate Candidates

Before you decide what kind of candidate you need, separate the position into three areas.

First, identify the skills someone absolutely needs to bring with them. These could include mechanical troubleshooting, electrical diagnostics, diesel experience, hydraulic knowledge, or the ability to work independently.

Next, identify the skills your company can teach. This could include specific equipment, manufacturer systems, software, internal procedures, or your company's way of handling service work.

Finally, think about what would make someone a great candidate but should not automatically disqualify them if they do not have it.

This simple process can change the way you approach hiring. Instead of looking for someone who already knows everything, you can focus on finding someone who knows the things that matter most.

So, Should You Hire for Experience or Train the Right Person?

The answer is usually not one or the other.

Experience matters, especially when you need someone who can immediately handle complex work without much supervision. At the same time, being too focused on exact experience can cause employers to overlook candidates with strong transferable skills and the ability to learn.

The better question is not always, "Who has done this exact job before?" It is, "What does this person already know, and how much of the rest can we teach?" That shift can make a big difference in skilled trades hiring.

A technician who has never worked on your specific equipment may become an excellent employee if they already know how to diagnose problems, understand mechanical and electrical systems, take pride in their work, and want to learn.

On the other hand, someone with years of experience may not be the right fit if they are unwilling to learn your processes or do not have the approach your team needs. The goal is not to hire the person with the most experience.

The goal is to hire the person who has the right experience, the right foundation, and the ability to succeed in the role.

Sometimes that person is already an expert in exactly what you need.

Sometimes they just need the opportunity to learn.

About SourceLine

At SourceLine, we understand that the right candidate does not always come from the most obvious background. We are a recruiting partner specializing in recreational and heavy equipment industries, with experience supporting hiring across heavy truck, RV, marine, powersports, and skilled trades.

Our approach is focused on finding people with the skills and experience that actually match the role, including candidates who may have transferable experience from another industry or type of equipment.

When a company is hiring for a technical position, the goal is not simply to find someone who looks good on paper. It is to find someone who can do the work, fit the team, and grow with the company.

That starts with knowing what experience truly matters and where there is room to train.