Episode: 757

Episode Title: Expand Your Hiring Pool

How does skills-first hiring benefit companies and candidates alike? Let’s talk about it, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 757 show:

Welcome to The Perna Syndicate today! Let’s get going. It seems pretty clear that a skills-first approach to hiring, where a college degree is unnecessary if you already have the right skills, is a win for job seekers. And it also helps companies by broadening the talent pool. 

One great example is the role of ‘digital marketing manager.’ LinkedIn found that the talent pool increases by almost 22 times when the degree requirement is dropped in favor of a skills-first approach. Many of the skills for this job are common across other industries. About 30 separate job titles across the U.S. have skills relevant to this job—but before skills-first hiring, many potential candidates without degrees would have been overlooked. 

Talent pools expand nearly 20 times in the U.S. alone with skills-first hiring. This is great, but how do hiring managers actually go about implementing a skills-first approach? The secret is to get really good at uncovering transferable skills. 

Some of the most common transferable and in-demand skills include leadership, communication, and technical abilities specific to the industry. 

In nearly all cases, employers will find that candidates always have at least a few skills that can be applied to a position, even if the candidate is coming from a vastly different industry. When we expand the talent pool, it makes it easier for both sides to find the right fit.

Thank you for tuning in today! Tomorrow: How can skills-first hiring open doors for everyone? I will see you then on The Perna Syndicate!