A Good Hire Doesn't Have To Graduate

“Repeat after me: A degree doesn’t guarantee a better hire.” - Shaneé Moret. 

Truer words have never been spoken. 

At one time, every job description here on LinkedIn or anywhere else had a college degree as a requirement. A very slow trend has been the elimination of that requirement. In today’s digital environment I have to ask, “Why do you still make a college degree a requirement at all?”

How does a college degree guarantee that Person A will be a better fit for your company than Person B who doesn’t? That requirement will stop you from even considering person B which could be a huge loss for your company.

In today’s digital world, anyone can learn almost anything in the business and creative world, and learn them quite well. LinkedIn Learning is full of incredible courses that were once only available at colleges, universities, and specialty training courses. (full disclosure, I am a LinkedIn Learning instructor) For whatever reason, person B did not go to college but has taken it upon themselves to get educated in the specific tasks and abilities required for your job listing. Or perhaps they went to college for something completely unrelated to your request and have since been educated in your area of need. 

Consider this. I hired a video editor who did not have a college education, had zero professional experience and was working in a big-box retailer.

What his online work showed me was that he DID have, was an eye for telling a story. What his demeanor in the interviews told me was that he would be a good fit for the team. I can teach anyone the tools of our trade. What is much tougher to find is that natural ‘eye’ for storytelling along with chemistry to fit into the team. Today he’s an incredible videographer, editor and storyteller whose long career is just getting started.

Or consider positions in which you require 10 or 15+ years of experience.

What does the college degree have to do with that position today and why is that requirement there? If you’re relying on what that candidate learned 15 years ago to drive your company forward today, they’re working with an outdated playbook. While college may have formed a foundation of knowledge, what you’re really looking for is someone who can adapt to the quickly changing marketplace that is today’s business and consumer worlds. What that person learned 10 or 15 years ago is basically irrelevant.

Looking back at my college days, there’s nothing I can take forward into today’s world except lighting design. I did learn some really great techniques for an interview and studio lighting that do actually still come into play today. As for building a creative facility, building and running a creative or studio team, creative storytelling today, not all that much applies. The technology has changed tenfold since college. And while much of what I do is rooted in traditional documentary filmmaking, the techniques and styles are driven by the dozens of distribution channels from social to live to broadcast and beyond.

About 5 years ago I eliminated education requirements for my roles, from entry-level on up. In the Creative and Marketing fields there are so many ways to learn techniques, history, and strategies that it just didn’t make sense to restrict my pool of candidates. I got pushback from HR at one company saying I had to have the requirement. When I asked why, I was told, “that’s how we’ve always done it.” If everyone ran their business today the way “they’ve always done it” they would not be able to stay relevant and compete in today’s marketplace.

Am I saying ignore college degrees entirely? No.

Am I telling the next generation not to go to college? No.

What I am saying to companies and recruiters is to consider that your next great hire may not have a college degree or the degree you think they should have. I am saying to companies and recruiters to consider dropping college degree requirements in your job postings unless that job and field absolutely, positively requires it. My dad never went to college but had an incredible 30+ year career at IBM ending up as one of their top executives.

One final consideration. Bill Gates never finished college.

(Ok, before I get hate mail, I do recognize that some jobs and careers require years of college and specialized schooling, such as the medical field. I would never want to offend anyone who has had to go through many years of training to get to where they are.)