Companies not requiring college degrees
Some companies like IBM, Ernst & Young, Penguin Random House have made significant changes to their hiring policies. They are now hiring employees without college degrees. The share of managers hired without a 4-year degree has increased 20% since 2019.
With innovation, entrepreneurship, and significantly smarter fiscal policies, America should eventually escape its “hireless recovery.” But what won’t hasten new hiring — and might even dampen job prospects — is the mythical belief that higher education invariably leads to higher employment and better jobs. It doesn’t by Michael Schrage, Harvard Business Review.
Once I put too much weight on a candidate’s college degree. He had a degree in law and professional work experience from a competitor within the same industry. I did not assess his basic computer skills. Based on his law degree, I assumed his computing skills would be acceptable. This example was a pivot point for me many years ago. The pivot was to skills-based hiring.
How to win the war for talent by skills based hiring
If in an interview your focus is adjusted beyond college degrees, you will widen the talent pool. A sharp focus on skills, abilities, and attitude has proven to be effective. Concentrating only on degrees could be problematic.
The risks are great if too much weight is placed on degrees. In South Korea, hiring decision-makers have learned the risks of hiring candidates based solely on their university degrees. The pressure to get accepted into the top 3 universities in Korea is fierce.
Most applicants’ priorities are to get into the highest-ranked university possible. Their second priority is the field of study. This practice results in some graduates earning degrees in industries in which they have limited interest.
Ignore skills-based hiring at your peril
Don’t get me wrong, higher education and a habit of continual learning are values that I subscribe to. Organizations need to ask the question of interviewees, what can you do for me today? How do those facts assure me that you can deliver what I need today? Skills-based hiring focuses on what you can do. If you want to win the war for talent, you must consider Skills-Based Hiring. Ignore skills-based hiring at your peril.
by Steven B. McKinney
via Kestria.com