Today we have a guest editorial as Steve is out of the office.

The job and recruiting site, Glassdoor, recently compiled a list of companies that no longer require college degrees. The list includes Google, Apple, and IBM.

Some people feel that this shows a trend of companies lowering their hiring standards. I believe the opposite: this is a trend of companies improving, and potentially raising, their hiring standards. 

I once consulted for a small company who had an open Senior Database Administrator position. They wanted to hire a non-remote worker in a region with a high cost of living, and they required several years of experience with a niche technology. Company policy required all full-time employees to hold a four-year degree, which could be in any subject area. The position had been open for six months. The hiring manager was frustrated that they couldn't find experienced candidates who met the other criteria. The manager eventually lowered their requirement regarding technical experience to fill the position.

The problem with this company's hiring model is that "having a degree" is an overly simplistic standard. It doesn't measure communication skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Having a degree may be an indication of a candidate's ability to complete a long-term project, but it gives little indication of how they worked with others, and if the experience bears any relationship to the job.

If a company wants to hire great people, it's in their interest to develop more sophisticated techniques in evaluating candidates. The company should document the skills they expect candidates to gain from earning a degree, then define ways to test for these skills and measure them. This empowers hiring teams be more granular about the exact traits that they are looking for, and to be fair about measuring candidates against these skills. It also helps a company maintain high standards for hiring without applying simplistic filters to the pool of talent.