Why Confidence Matters More Than Experience in Your Career

Why Confidence Beats Experience in the Job Market

I Have Hired Candidates With Less Experience Over Candidates With More. Here's Exactly Why.

I want to tell you about two candidates I interviewed for the same role early in my HR career.

Candidate A had eight years in the field. Their resume was textbook-perfect. They had done the job, clearly, for nearly a decade. But when they sat across from the panel and we asked about their proudest professional achievement, they minimized it. When we asked how they would handle a specific challenge the role presented, they hedged. When we asked where they saw themselves in three years, they gave us a careful, noncommittal answer designed not to sound too ambitious.

Candidate B had four years of experience. Their background was not a perfect match. But when they walked into the room, something shifted. They spoke about their work with clarity and ownership. They said "I led this" rather than "I was part of a team that." When a panel member pushed back on one of their answers, they acknowledged the pushback, held their ground on the substance, and explained their reasoning calmly. When the interview ended, three of the five panel members wanted to discuss Candidate B before the door had fully closed.

We hired Candidate B.

Going Back to a Former Employer? Here's How to Do It Right

The Boomerang Career Move — When Going Back Is Moving Forward.

Going Back to a Company You Left, Is it Career Regression or Career Strategy?

There is a particular kind of conversation I have had repeatedly over fourteen years in HR.

A former employee reaches out, often cautiously, often a little embarrassed, to ask whether the door might still be open. They have been somewhere else for a year or two. They learned things. Maybe the new place was not what they hoped. Maybe they simply grew in a direction that leads right back to where they started. And they are not sure whether returning makes them look unsuccessful.

I want to address that discomfort directly before anything else.

Going back to a former employer is not a retreat. It is a loop — and in the modern career, loops are not just acceptable, they are often the most sophisticated move on the board.

What the HR Manager Sees When You Apply to Come Back

When a former employee's name comes through on a new application, the first thing most HR professionals and hiring managers do is have a very brief, very specific internal conversation: how did this person leave?