Google Leads The Way

I have been a cheerleader for more companies to start officially recognizing that job candidates be considered for what they actually know and can do without necessarily relying on a degree or certification to screen such candidates. This week I read articles reporting that Google has made such a decision and I am officially applauding them for that decision. You can find an article that discusses Google not using college degrees as a hiring requirement here.

Google is a huge, high profile company. They are also quite successful and what they say and do is often looked to by other companies wishing to emulate their success. They are industry thought leaders. Google could quite easily be on the cutting edge of what will become a welcome trend.

Here’s what I wrote on this topic in my book, The Art of Self-Education: How to Get a Quality Education for Personal and Professional Success Without Formal Schooling.

College degrees are far too often the litmus test by which companies have filtered out job applicants. And typically applying for a job is when the college degree issue becomes relevant.

Assuming that someone is a better fit for a job because they hold a college degree often turns out to be a terrible way to judge job candidates. Luckily, many companies are seeing the wisdom in having a more broad set of applicant requirements. You’ll often now see the words “college degree required – or equivalent work experience” listed in a job opening description. As more and more baby boomers retire and companies seek out the required workers in a dwindling pool of talent, I expect this trend to continue in spite of what education pundits believe.

I wrote that long before Google announced its current policy of not looking to college degrees as a means by which they screen job applicants. Some might call me prescient, but my prediction was based more on the logical realities of the modern workplace and its needs as well as a formal education system that simply can’t keep up with the totality of education needed for the contemporary workforce. To me the prediction simply made practical sense.

So kudos to Google for a wise hiring policy decision. May many more companies come to their senses and do the same.