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Many companies are moving to a new form of recruiting that emphasizes applicants’ skills rather than more traditional metrics like education or years of experience.
Proportion of U.S. online job postings listing specific employment tenure requirements has fallen In the two years to April 2024, this proportion will fall by 10 percentage points to 30%, according to job site Indeed.
Additionally, Indeed found that the majority of job ads (52%) had no formal education requirements, up from 48% in 2019. Mention a college degree The report said that 87% of occupational groups experienced declines during this period.
A recent ZipRecruiter survey of 2,000 employers also revealed show change A shift toward so-called “skills-based hiring,” which prioritizes “competencies” over traditional credentials: 45% eliminated degree requirements for certain positions last year, and 72% now prioritize skills among job applicants Not a certificate.
This trend of prioritizing candidates’ practical skills and real-world experience over formal education appears to be “gaining momentum,” ZipRecruiter said.
Meanwhile, hiring managers are becoming more explicit in job ads about the specific skills they are looking for in candidates, said Cory Stahle, an economist at job site Indeed.
“We’re definitely seeing a change in the way the interviewing and recruiting process is done,” Stahler said.
Skills-based recruitment is a ‘win-win’
Recruitment ‘pressure’ causing the employer to give up According to a recent joint study by Harvard Business School and the Burning Glass Institute, the college degree requirement filter “disqualifies” approximately 62% of Americans who lack a degree.
Additionally, companies are paying more attention to workplace equity, the report said.
More than 70% of black, Hispanic and rural workers No four-year degrees — and valuable skills may be overlooked due to a “paper ceiling,” according to staffing agency Randstad USA.
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Indeed’s Stahler said that while traditional measures of job fit, such as schooling, may still be important for surgeons and other professions, many employers realize that such qualifications are not always a good indicator of job fit. represent.
Job seekers can benefit through new career opportunities that they may not have had before, he added.
Harvard research shows that skills-based hiring can also lead to real, measurable “win-win” results for businesses and workers, such as higher retention rates for workers without college degrees and significant increases in average wages for such candidates .
That said, there are some limitations, such as ingrained behaviors among recruiting managers.
For example, Harvard University reported that about 45% of companies “appear to have simply changed their names without any meaningful change in actual hiring practices after removing the requirements stated in the recruitment information.”
It added that “change is difficult” for employers.
What this means for job seekers
“If[the job ad]is about skills, then your resume should be about skills,” Stahler says.
Statler added that while skills should “stand out” in this case, that doesn’t mean applicants should abandon traditional information.
They still want to accurately describe their work experience and education, he said, because recruiting managers who value those qualifications may still review applicants’ resumes.
It’s more than just a resume, though: Job seekers should be prepared for future employers to conduct some kind of skills test as part of the hiring process, he adds, although practices vary from company to company.
Developing and demonstrating identified skills are the two main keys for job seekers, he said.
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