What is the difference in hiring a trainer with limited experience & a trainer with lots of experience?
Experience is only one factor when making a hiring decision. If someone has 20 years of experience and is still training the same way they were training 20 years ago, that might not be a good thing. Some will say, “Tried and true works well,” and others will say this person hasn’t kept up with the industry well enough.
Passion.
Work Ethic.
Approachability.
A niche that isn’t filled yet but fits with company ideals.
Experience usually means that the professional will be more knowledgeable and able. But that is not always the case. And lack of experience is not always a sign of less ability and knowledge. I teach students to become fitness instructors and a few were the type of trainers that I would hire in a heart beat. And I have known some instructor with years of experience who never learned anything new or seemed to care to learn anything new. The taught the same classes and styles for years and were happy to do so. They weren’t bad trainers, but they were missing out on so many new and better ways to affect change in their clients.
If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life, that is an old quote that I don’t recall the name of the oriinator. But if you love what you do, you love to learn all there is to know about what you do.
All good answers. As suggested, experience, and certification, are certainly helpful. Not only do they help demonstrate your commitment to training, but also are a valuable source for recommendations.
I definitely agree that visiting various facilities to determine if you are impressed with their services and equipment, as well as management and hiring personnel. I also agree face-to-face contact is important.
You should also contact recognized and respected certifying organizations (e.g. ACE, ACSM, etc.) to find out you can gain access to their employment opportunities notifications.
Good luck.
Hi Keegan and Dawn,
This is one of those ‘two sides of the coin’ question.
A trainer with limited experience (hopefully) remembers what they have learned from their training better than experienced trainer.
A trainer with experience has more on the job experiences to utilize than a trainer with limited experience.
A trainer with limited experience cannot request the same salary as a trainer with more experience.
A trainer with less experience will probabaly need more supervision than a trainer with more experience.
Not to sound trite, but the difference is EXPERIENCE. Assuming that the experience has been meaningful, then the more experienced trainer SHOULD require less oversight, be able to adapt more easily to program needs and changes necessitated by the client’s condition, have a larger cadre of exercises at their command, etc. Most or all of this can come from experience.
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com