Typical talent is expensive to recruit and hard to find.  Valuable talent is right in front of your face every day, you just aren’t seeing it.  Finding people who will work hard and over deliver isn’t as hard as it seems.  Instead of looking for people who already know they are good at what they do you need to be looking for people who want to be good at something they aren’t doing. Look for the person who is undervalued.  They may have a lot of skill and talent but little experience, and they may be stuck in a low status job.  To find talent that wants to work for you and will work hard for you, look for these people.

Career Switchers – Teachers are a perfect example.  They may love to teach but they can’t live off of the pay. A teacher looking for a new career has skills in training as well as handling and motivating all different types of people.  If you can break down the skills needed for the job instead of just the job description you can find a lot of talent hidden where you least expect it.

Athletes - Where can you find people who have shown dedication and hard work as well as the ability to handle adversity and work in a team?  Try athletes.  Every year 400,000 college athletes enter the job market, try and grab one of them.

New Grads – They can’t get any experience unless someone gives them a chance.  They will also probably never work harder for someone than the person who gives them that chance.  Recent grads are still ready to learn and they are eager and motivated to work their way up in the world.  Look at their work, personality, and focus to determine if they have what you really need.

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