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With the high cost of turnover, every employer hopes to make a great hire the first time around. But the “perfect” candidate who checks every box on the job description is often a myth, and the longer a role stays open, the more it costs you. So here’s a question worth sitting with: should you ever hire an under-qualified employee and train them into the role instead of holding out for someone who already ticks every box?

It sounds counterintuitive. Yet plenty of leaders argue that the right under-qualified candidate, coached well, can outperform the polished résumé and stick around a lot longer while doing it. Before you rule it out, it’s worth understanding why.

Reasons to Hire Under-Qualified Employees

The idea was made famous by David K. Williams, founder of the inventory-management company Fishbowl, who made an emphatic case for hiring under-qualified employees in Forbes. His argument is simple: skills can be taught, but character can’t. When you hire someone who is hungry to prove themselves and grow into a role, you often get more loyalty, more effort, and more gratitude than you would from a candidate who feels they’ve already “arrived.”

There’s a retention upside, too. People who are given a chance to stretch tend to reward the employer who bet on them. That matters when you look at the high cost of turnover. Gallup estimates that replacing an employee can cost one-half to two times their annual salary. It’s estimated that voluntary turnover drains U.S. businesses roughly a trillion dollars a year. An employee who stays because you invested in them is one you don’t have to spend money replacing.

The 7 Traits That Matter More Than a Perfect Résumé

Williams doesn’t hire just anyone who lacks experience. Before he considers an under-qualified candidate, he screens for seven non-negotiable traits — the qualities that no training program can install:

1. Respect — for colleagues, customers, and the work itself.
2. Belief — genuine buy-in to the company’s mission and direction.
3. Loyalty — a willingness to commit to the team through ups and downs.
4. Commitment — the drive to see hard things through to completion.
5. Trust — the reliability that lets others depend on them.
6. Courage — the nerve to speak up, take ownership, and try.
7. Gratitude — an appreciation for the opportunity they’ve been given.

Notice what’s not on that list: a specific degree, a certification, or ten years in the exact same role. Those are learnable. The seven traits above are the foundation you build on — and they’re exactly what you should be probing for in interviews and reference checks when you decide to take a chance on someone.

There’s one more characteristic Williams does not mention but which I think is crucial specifically if you plan to hire an under-qualified employee. Over the years, I’ve witnessed this quality in some of our own team members, and I’ve also noticed the lack of it in others. The quality of a teachable spirit can make or break an employee’s success and their fit with your culture. Managers and coworkers are more likely to help a person who is humble and willing to accept another’s guidance and input.

Why Under-Qualified Hires Often Outperform “Perfect” Ones

A candidate who arrives already knowing everything has little reason to grow, and sometimes little humility. An under-qualified hire, by contrast, is motivated to close the gap, and that motivation is a competitive advantage.

Much of what looks like a qualifications shortfall is really just a difference in background. A strong candidate from an adjacent field frequently brings transferable skills. Abilities such as problem-solving, communication, and adaptability translate faster than you’d expect. Pair those with a solid onboarding plan and you can close a technical gap in months.

Development is also one of the most reliable retention tools you have. When you train people rather than just plug holes, they see a future with you, and they stay to pursue it. That’s the quiet compounding return on hiring for potential: lower turnover, deeper institutional knowledge, and a bench of people who grew up in your culture.

It also reframes an old debate. Instead of arguing endlessly about skills versus cultural fit, hiring for potential lets you prioritize the fit and the character now. Address the harder-to-fake half of the equation first, then build the skills over time.

How to Hire for Potential Without Getting Burned

Betting on an under-qualified candidate isn’t the same as lowering your standards. It’s shifting what your standards measure. A few ways to do it well:

• Screen for the seven traits, not just the task list. Use behavioral interview questions that surface how someone handled ambiguity, setbacks, and learning curves in the past.
• Define the gap precisely. Know exactly which skills are missing and whether they’re teachable on your timeline. A missing certification is fixable; a missing work ethic is not.
• Build a real onboarding runway. A candidate you hire for potential needs the structure of clear milestones, a mentor, and honest feedback at 30, 60, and 90 days.
• Set expectations up front. Be transparent that this is a growth role, and make the ramp-up a shared, measurable goal rather than a vague hope.

Done thoughtfully, this approach turns the perceived weakness of a candidate who doesn’t yet meet every requirement into an engine for loyalty and long-term performance.

The Bottom Line

Waiting indefinitely for a flawless résumé is expensive, and it often means passing over people who would have become your best employees. The decision to hire an under-qualified employee shouldn’t be reckless, but it also shouldn’t be off the table. When a candidate brings respect, belief, loyalty, commitment, trust, courage, and gratitude, you’re starting with the parts you can’t teach. The rest is just training.

Hire for who someone can become, invest in getting them there, and you may find that the “under-qualified” candidate becomes the most qualified person on your team.

Want help building a hiring process that spots high-potential candidates and helps them stick? Amtec can help you hire better.