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There's unconscious bias in hiring people with degrees only. And there's mounting evidence that when you expand your hiring outside just requiring degrees, you actually hire much better candidates.
The data backs this up:
- 95% of companies report that skills-based hires outperform those selected based on traditional credentials and degrees
- Harvard Business School research reveals that productivity levels are no different between degreed and non-degreed employees
- Retention rates are actually higher with people without degrees, giving you a more loyal workforce
- Companies save an average of $1,218 to $2,342 per role by switching to skills-based hiring (TestGorilla State of Skills-Based Hiring 2024 Report)
Why Most Companies Fail at Implementation
Despite these benefits, many companies still struggle to open up their candidate pool, even when they remove degree requirements from job postings. Here's the real problem: your policies change, but the hiring manager's unconscious bias persists. They're still thinking that someone with degrees is going to outperform someone without the degree.
When really, what you want to be doing is interviewing for performance.
Think about it—if you're still unconsciously favoring the candidate with the MBA over the person who's been solving similar problems for three years in the field, you haven't actually changed anything. You've just updated your job posting.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Let me share a story that illustrates this perfectly. We had a guy with a PhD on our team. At the time, I was just 2 years out of college, and thankfully, my managers weren't biased—I was running a team of 20 people.
When I left for another job, they wanted to put this PhD in charge as team lead. I actually told them it was a really bad idea. He wanted to run things, and I'm quoting him here, "like the military is run" where "I just say stuff and they do it."
Of course, I've heard that even the military doesn't run that way anymore, because you get buy-in from teams by getting them to agree to the plan and come up with the plan themselves. You have better execution in any team, in any environment—military or company-wise—if you have buy-in from people.
Anyway, I left, and they made him team lead despite my warning. The team was basically rioting, and within 4 weeks, they no longer had him as the team lead.
He had the credentials. But that wasn't enough. A PhD doesn't automatically translate to leadership skills, emotional intelligence, or the ability to motivate a team.
The Data Shows Progress
Recent research shows this shift is happening. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that nearly two-thirds of employers now use skills-based hiring to find candidates, with more than two-thirds using these practices "always or most of the time."
But putting this into practice remains tough. Lack of buy-in from hiring managers and cultural problems within companies top the list of challenges. Which is exactly what I've been seeing with my customers. (Almost Two-thirds of Employers Use Skills-based Hiring to Help Identify Job Candidates)
Smart Companies Are Already Winning
Fortune's analysis of the Best Companies to Work For reveals that top employers are embracing this approach—and seeing real results. Companies like Accenture have been working to reduce their degree requirements—only 26% of Accenture's software QA engineer postings specify a degree requirement.
As Fortune noted in their analysis, "A lot of companies are now recognizing that denying someone a job because they don't have a degree is hurting social mobility. Focusing on a skills-based hiring approach broadens the talent pool immensely." (How the 100 Best Companies to Work For reflect the ever-changing working world)
The companies making this shift aren't just being nice—they're being smart. They're accessing talent pools their competitors are ignoring while building more loyal, diverse teams.
The Bottom Line
You really need to be hiring for skills—and not just technical skills, obviously. Leadership, communication, problem-solving—these capabilities matter far more than where someone went to school or what letters come after their name.
Getting rid of unconscious bias across every company is extremely difficult. So I typically just concentrate on my company and my customers, helping them relieve those biases so they can hire better.
Start small. Pick one role where skills matter more than credentials. Design interview questions that test actual performance, not just knowledge. See what happens.
When we interview for performance instead of credentials, we open ourselves up to a much broader talent pool and consistently get better results. The question isn't whether you should make this shift—it's how quickly you can do it before your competitors beat you to the best talent.
If you are ever looking for a job or expanding your team, connect with Shelly, Yuliia, or Harold on LinkedIn.
Thanks for reading,
CTO Teachings