As a PhD who tried to get a job outside my field of expertise I'm glad you mentioned your reluctance to hire them, as it was certainly a vibe I got. For any people hiring potential PhDs out there, I'd like to clarify (and generalize) our pros and cons. We probably don't really expect to be paid much more, unless the job is one that we are uniquely suited too. We more than make up for our lack of experience by being extremely self-motivated and self-starting. Odds are good that we have above average speaking and communication experience. Our biggest drawback is that we may take a while to become "team players". This includes a capacity for being overly critical and tendency to overthink things.