Time will march on, and the need for qualified candidates will keep growing. But how can you know which skills are important for the next big thing when there isn’t an existing pool of candidates pre-loaded with experience? And does the next shift mean Millennials will inherently have the upper hand while older candidates stay stuck a lap behind while emerging roles mature?

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Recruiting is challenging enough. Recruiting for jobs that don’t yet exist might seem virtually impossible. But there are clues in every candidate, and Millennials aren’t the only ones who possess the right skills.

Millennials Seem Naturally Aligned for Emerging Roles

The Millennial generation grew up with technology in a way that no other generation has. Their level of comfort and inherent knowledge alone make these younger candidates a natural fit for all things new. But older candidates might get shortchanged along the way.

Millennials don’t have experience with these emerging roles, either. So an assumption that they’ll adapt and perform better might not be accurate. Each generation has certain experience with problem solving and analyzing information. Younger candidates might pick up on a new process more quickly, but that doesn’t mean other people don’t also possess incredible skills. You just have to find them.

Ask the Right Questions and Get Important Insight

So there’s no history of performance for this new role being developed in your company. One thing you do know is that the right candidate needs a certain set of qualities and skills. That’s your starting point.

For example, Big Data is important now, and it’s only going to grow. According to Fast Company, you already know that analyzation skills are imperative. So while experience with Big Data is a good sign, so are the other problem-solving skills and collaboration. The skills you need can exist in any candidate, whether or not she’s in the tech-driven Millennial generation.

Get Creative and Draw out More Information

Because familiarity with certain technology doesn’t give you the whole picture, the hiring process for emerging roles has to be creative. Beyond sussing out tangible skills, recruiters should look for evidence of leadership. In a job that doesn’t yet exist, your perfect candidate will naturally be a leader whether he wants to or not.

Ask about problems solved in the past, especially ones where there was no direction, suggests Fast Company. Then listen to how the candidate explains the process. Risk assessment, decision making, and whether they confidently stepped up at all are important clues about future performance in a job where there’s no path to follow. In this area, Generation X or older might actually be the ones with the advantage.

Emerging roles are part of the business landscape. According to employee testing company, Success Performance Solutions, 65 percent of school-age children today will later work in a job that no one has imagined yet. And that’s not just in tech fields; it’s across the board.

Recruiting has always existed at some level. But hiring for positions that you’ve never heard of before means your role is changing along with everything else. Your candidates need good analyzation skills. So do you. They need good leadership qualities. You can’t hire well without them. Everything is moving forward, but with a different approach you’ll have the skills to piece together the right qualifications that make the perfect candidate for a job that doesn’t exist today.

Recruiting for jobs that do not yet exist is a difficult challenge. What tactics will your company employ in order to define which candidates may or may not be qualified for future positions?