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Stop Hiring for Experience. Start Building It—with OJT That Works

By Dr. Laura Duffy, Behavioral Insights Consultant


HR manager engaging in a thoughtful interview with a graduate, exploring potential despite the lack of experience.
HR manager engaging in a thoughtful interview with a graduate, exploring potential despite the lack of experience.

In a world where resumes often overshadow real potential, hiring graduates with no formal experience can feel like a risk. But here’s the truth: it might be one of the smartest moves your organization makes. These new professionals—fresh out of college, equipped with academic knowledge but unburdened by bad habits—offer a rare opportunity to build talent from the ground up.


The Reality Facing Today’s Graduates


Many recent U.S. graduates find themselves caught in a frustrating cycle: they need experience to get a job, but they need a job to gain experience. According to the Lumina Foundation & Cengage Group (2024), over half of U.S. graduates are employed in roles unrelated to their field of study. They arrive with technical expertise but lack the workplace readiness employers expect—things like handling conflict, managing ambiguity, or communicating across teams.


This mismatch leads many to settle for roles that don’t match their strengths or aspirations. It’s not that they’re unprepared—it’s that they’re untrained for the unwritten rules of workplace life.


The Ethical Dilemma of AI-Powered Hiring


AI tools have become central to modern hiring processes, especially at the entry level. However, Mori et al. (2025) raise a red flag: these systems often overlook critical human factors like soft skills, adaptability, and untapped potential. Candidates without formal experience are frequently filtered out—not because they’re unqualified, but because they don’t check algorithmic boxes.


This can perpetuate inequality, discourage diverse hiring, and undermine the very innovation companies seek. It also means that without human-centered hiring practices, companies may overlook promising talent simply because it doesn’t fit a preset mold.


Psychological Safety Matters More Than Ever


Younger employees—especially those entering the workforce for the first time—crave psychological safety. The American Psychological Association (2024) found that U.S. workers aged 18–25 report higher levels of stress, emotional exhaustion, and loneliness than any other age group. Nearly half feel tense during the workday, and many don’t feel safe asking questions or making mistakes.


For these new hires to thrive, companies need to build workplace cultures that normalize learning, embrace vulnerability, and support healthy risk-taking.


Hiring for Experience Is Expensive—And It’s Not Always Worth It

It’s tempting to favor candidates with long resumes and polished experience—but that choice often comes with a steep price tag. Experienced hires demand higher salaries, carry expectations shaped by previous employers, and may still require significant time to adjust to your unique systems and culture.


Worse yet, experience alone doesn’t guarantee alignment, adaptability, or performance. In fact, the wrong kind of experience—where bad habits, outdated methods, or mismatched expectations are brought in—can actually undermine your existing teams. Poorly transferred experience can be more damaging than no experience at all.


That’s why smart companies are rethinking their approach: Instead of overpaying for “experience,” they’re investing in building it—with structured, well-organized onboarding and on-the-job training that turns raw potential into real performance.


Structured Onboarding and OJT Is the Game-Changer


The solution isn’t just hiring graduates—it’s what you do after you hire them. Poor onboarding and inconsistent on-the-job training (OJT) can create confusion, frustration, and lost potential. A bad first experience at work often has more lasting consequences than no experience at all.


At Strategic Synergy Consulting Group (SSCG), we help organizations design world-class onboarding and OJT programs that:

  • Follow the 70-20-10 learning model (70% experiential, 20% social, 10% formal)

  • Include customized competency training matrices by job title

  • Embed psychological safety into the learning environment

  • Enable both confidence and competence from day one


We believe that developing talent is more than a checklist—it’s a strategic investment in the future of your organization.


Let’s Build Your Next Generation of Talent


Don’t let great potential slip through the cracks. Hiring graduates with no experience isn’t a gamble—it’s a chance to build something better from the beginning. With the right training systems in place, your organization can unlock growth, loyalty, and innovation in ways traditional hiring simply can’t match.


Let’s talk. SSCG is ready to help you build onboarding, OJT, and training frameworks that turn fresh talent into future leaders.


About the Author

Dr. Laura Duffy is a social psychologist passionate about helping individuals, teams, and communities thrive. With a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Liberty University and deep expertise in behavioral research, data analytics, and organizational development, she brings a thoughtful and analytical approach to solving complex challenges.


Dr. Duffy specializes in human decision-making, strategic operations, and workplace psychology. She is particularly drawn to mission-driven environments and nonprofit operations, where she empowers teams through data-driven insights and people-centered solutions that foster growth, inclusion, and lasting impact.


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