Have you ever turned down a competent job applicant just because they don’t have a college degree? You’re not alone – many companies require a college diploma for their job postings. However, this may be starting, slowly, to change.
In this piece, we will ask why your company should consider overlooking university degrees – or the lack thereof – and how you could consider hiring instead.
Companies have certainly learned lessons from the pandemic, the Great Resignation of 2021 and the hard years that followed. The newer requirements may not be any more lax, but organisations have begun optimising the process to target more people that have actual skills and talent and not just college degrees.
Last year, LinkedIn saw a 21% increase in job postings advertising skills and responsibilities instead of qualifications. Another survey, midway through 2022 by the Society for Human Resource Management in the US, found that nearly 80 percent of HR professionals say scores on skills assessments are just as or more important than traditional criteria in hiring decisions. Furthermore, a quarter of companies that use these kinds of pre-employment tests plan to expand their use of them in the next five years.
Why get rid of college degrees?
- Skill over credentials. Focusing on areas beyond academic achievement can give recruiters a better overview of the applicant’s skills and overall qualifications for the job.
- Diversity and inclusion. Opening your company to people who don’t have a college degree can promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This, in turn, encourages productivity and opens your company to different perspectives that can eventually lead to innovation.
- Addressing skill shortage. The elimination of college degrees in job requirements lets companies access a wider talent pool, thereby closing skill gaps.
It’s hard to let go of college degree requirements when it’s so ingrained in your company’s tried and proven hiring practices. It could be well worth the risk, so here’s what you can do to take college graduate bias out of your organisation:
- Start small and safe
Experiment with hiring non-graduates for small teams whose work doesn’t necessarily require professional expertise. Learn from the experience and refine your hiring process, eventually scaling it up to the company level. - Introduce changes to your company’s hiring mindset
Train your team and managers to eliminate discrimination against non-degree holders or people who have taken alternative academic paths, establishing hard rules to prevent this from happening in the future. - Actively look for qualified non-degree holders
Going out and exploring the wider world of talent will help you broaden your perspectives and help you get more talent where you least expect it. - Be clear that you no longer require degrees, and update your hiring process accordingly
Non-degree holders are not inclined to send applications for jobs that traditionally require college diplomas. It helps that you provide them with adequate communication and open arms as they approach the interview desk. - Design a new hiring process that measures applicant skills
You don’t need to waste your time leafing through resumes and portfolios when you can let the job seeker demonstrate their skill through well-designed activities and tasks.
Conclusion
A college degree may prove one’s academic excellence or professional attainment, but it does not demonstrate one’s talent for the job. Companies should look beyond this to expand their horizons and adapt to an ever-changing, increasingly stringent talent market.