For decades, conventional wisdom told business leaders to hire based on a proven track record. Find someone who has already done the job you are hiring for, and you’ve de-risked the decision. It feels safe. But a growing body of research, and the reality of today’s labor market, suggests that leaning too hard on identical experience can hold your business back.
The idea isn’t new, but it has aged well. Researchers Monika Hamori and Burak Koyuncu found that extensive experience in the same role doesn’t reliably predict future performance, and can even work against it. Their reasoning still holds. Some knowledge and habits have to be unlearned before someone can succeed in a new context. The candidate who has “always done it this way” may be the one least able to adapt when the way itself is changing.
In our industry, the way is changing constantly. Automation, workflow software, digital and wide-format expansion, and now AI-assisted tools are reshaping what print roles require. A résumé full of experience with yesterday’s processes is worth far less than curiosity, adaptability, and the drive to learn tomorrow’s. That’s why so many companies have shifted toward skills-based hiring: evaluating what a person can do and how fast they can grow rather than screening solely for years spent in a matching title…