Client: “We want young, ambitious, bilingual talent with a mix of technical skills as well as solid commercial acumen, who has worked for years with our direct competitor; will match with our culture and is motivated to work for us.

”Agent: “Yep, I’m sure you do. The only issue is that so do all of your competitors.”

I’m slightly exaggerating, but there has been a shift in certain areas of the energy talent ecosystem. Today, there’s a recently developed pool of talent that has led to an attitude shift among hiring companies to consider poaching from competitors first, rather than hire the high potential talent who doesn’t yet have the optimal resume. Offshore wind, energy storage, corporate PPAs, carbon accounting, and various front and mid office roles in power markets are those in which this trend is now prevalent.

Poaching is certainly possible, and successful cases are increasing. Competition though is fierce, and demand outweighs supply, which can inflate prices and give suboptimal offers to acceptance results. Let’s look at whether poaching is the ideal approach–How to do it well, and investigate the alternative approach of hiring for talent rather than direct experience.