Sales recruiting myths are a blight on the recruiting process, damaging the prospects of employer and would-be employee alike. An employer who buys into the noise around the process may implement bad metrics or useless hurdles to the process, blind themselves to available talent, or waste valuable resources in any number of ways. A would-be employee can be caught in the traps set by sales recruiting myths as well–in addition to the opportunities shut to them by a less-savvy employer, a prospective employee can close doors to themselves by buying into sales recruiting myths about what employers look for, what employers want, and how employers hire. In this article, we’ll discuss five big sales recruiting myths, including how they impact both ends of the employer-prospect equation.

Interviews Pick the Best Employee.

A terrible mechanic can have amazing people skills–and more often than not, that terrible mechanic will be hired over the excellent mechanic with terrible people skills. In sales, this is less pronounced, due to the overlap in interview skills and sales skills, but this is still one of the big sales recruiting myths to overcome.

For Employers: Just being aware of the pitfalls of relying wholly on your interview should be enough to prevent the biggest problems. Look at the complete picture. This applies to most sales recruiting myths.

For Prospects: Sell yourself. You’re fortunate in that if you’re good at sales, you can adapt your real skills to be useful in getting you a job; other workers have to develop a different skillset. Just treat the interview seriously, approach it like a sale, and you’ll be fine.

Certifications Matters More Than Experience.

Really, there are a number of sales recruiting myths built on overweighting a single metric. A degree is easy to spot on a resume and has a lot of cultural value put on it, but it hardly matters in the face of real-world experience, barring industry regulations.

For Employers: Don’t overvalue certificates of any kind. Look at entire resumes, unless you absolutely must have a particular credential for legal/insurance/etc. reasons. 

For Prospects: This one applies to the next few sales recruiting myths: Don’t be afraid to put yourself forward to a company if you think you would be a good fit.

Experience Trumps All.

Would-be newcomers probably lament this more than all other sales recruiting myths combined. It’s just that, though–a myth. Things change fast enough that newcomers have plenty of room to get in and start making the company money.

For Employers: Look at fresh graduates and the inexperienced with a critical eye. They might take more time to get rolling, but you gain a lot of control over how a newcomer develops compared to bringing on experienced sales people.

The Best Talent Goes to the Biggest Companies.

One of the biggest sales recruiting myths–one of the biggest cultural myths period, really. Geniuses don’t all end up working for the biggest names in their industry of choice. Not everyone wants to work for a mega-corp.

For Employers: Play to your strengths in recruiting. Don’t give up on good talent, and don’t try to compete with the big dogs on cash compensation. Cash compensation’s rather weak, on a psychological level–look for the personal touch, something that will always feel like it comes from The Company instead of A Company.

For Prospects: Don’t overlook the little people. Small and Mid-sized companies can provide you with amazing opportunities. Consider carefully what you want from your job and who can give it to you.

In-House Recruitment Is Always Better.

One of the biggest sales recruiting myths. Recruitment quality is tied to the experience of the people recruiting more than anything–whether that’s your company’s personal team of recruiters or a third party doesn’t matter.

For Employers: Good recruitment pays for itself. Either commit to a real in-house recruitment team or consider outsiders.