Two competing facts about hiring.
For every role:
- You need someone ready to do the job.
It can be tempting to think "oh they are close, or I can help
them" - and some of that is true if you have the ability to teach
them. (And it's definitely true that anyone you hire; you will help
them grow.)
BUT it's not always the right move to do expect too much here. You
don't always have the time and attention to invest to get them to
the "can deliver enough" level that you need right now.
- You do want someone who is going to be ready to step up a
level.
Someone who is currently can do excellent at the bulk of what you
need but has something to prove about getting that next level that
you need.
Maybe someone with a "chip on their shoulder" - they are out to
prove something; and that is a strong motivator. And they haven't
yet had that role exactly, or there is some part of what we need
that is a step up.
Mark Suster talks about hiring someone who punches above their
weight class.
You have to think about the future of a person's trajectory and
balancing these things: hiring for capability to do the job, but
trying to find the person who is hungry and ready to take on more
(where the "more" is also things that we need from them).