Sector-switchers can be an indispensable asset to education organizations in pursuit of innovation, bringing sharp skills honed elsewhere. And with a fresher set of eyes on your challenges, a sector switcher’s biggest asset may actually be their limited education knowledge, which allows them to question, challenge, and often break through stale approaches that can come from only hiring from within or within education.

To find them, try these tactics:

  • Limited Time Offer: Fellowships: Fellowships bring in a cohort of people to address specific problems or needs, often people from outside the sector, for a few months or a few years. The most successful fellowships start with a clear definition of the challenge—and explain why a person from outside the sector might be valuable in solving it.
  • Sourcing New Candidates Online: When Edgility works with organizations on hiring for any role, including recruiting for fellowships, we always start with a needs assessment. This is particularly important when considering sector-switchers. Once the need and the potential direction have been uncovered, it’s time for some basic research, using tools like LinkedIn and Google.
  • Diversify, Diversify, Diversify: Too many of our education networks are insular and homogenous. In order to break out of our customary networks, we need to build new and more diverse ones that reflect the diversity of talent we wish to tap.
  • Finders Keepers: Setting Sector-Switchers Up For Success: As with any other hire, finding and keeping sector switchers starts with being clear about what you need, and proactive about finding the right person.Ultimately, the only thing different about a sector-switcher’s job—at least for a permanent hire—ought to be the industry, at least when it comes to making a seamless transition.

Read the full article about edtech talent by Allison Wyatt at EdSurge.